Rep. Tom Malinowski

Stopping Corrupt Actors from Making Political Action Committees Act or the SCAM PAC Act This bill generally prohibits a political committee from disbursing funds to an entity that is owned or controlled by an individual, or the immediate family member of an individual, who has authority to carry out specified activities for the committee (e.g., soliciting funds) or is employed by the committee to provide it with professional services. This prohibition does not apply to (1) a political committee that certifies that a majority of the funds disbursed by the committee were for expenses other than administrative costs, fundraising costs, and employee salaries; or (2) an authorized committee of a candidate, a committee of a political party, or a separate segregated fund of a corporation or labor organization. Further, the bill prohibits a political committee from employing these individuals or allowing them to volunteer on its behalf if the related entity accepted funds from a political committee.

Maddy summaryThis bill (H.J.Res. 68) is a symbolic, procedural measure that would require the President to issue an annual proclamation designating a day as "Democracy Day." It directs the President to call on state/local governments and citizens to observe the day through programs and activities, with January 6 referenced as a potential date. The bill does not create new government programs or change existing laws - it only establishes a recurring presidential proclamation. It directly affects federal, state, and local governments by encouraging them to participate in annual observances. The bill has no budgetary impact and remains focused on promoting civic engagement through a designated day.

PrEP Access and Coverage Act This bill requires private health insurance plans to cover prescription drugs that prevent HIV, including related screenings, diagnostic procedures, administrative fees, and clinical follow-ups, without any cost-sharing obligation for the plan holder. Further, insurance plans must not impose any preauthorization requirement for this coverage. These coverage requirements also apply to public health insurance programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program. Additionally, the bill prohibits denying, limiting, or qualifying coverage or increasing premiums for disability insurance, long-term care insurance, or life insurance policies based on an individual taking medication for HIV prevention. The bill further requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to states, or directly to eligible local organizations, to provide uninsured individuals and underinsured individuals access to prescription drugs and related services that prevent HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also must develop a public awareness campaign that focuses efforts in communities with a high need for HIV prevention treatment.

This bill revises enforcement provisions under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), including by directing inspectors to confiscate or destroy in a humane manner animals found to be suffering physical or psychological harm as a result of failure to comply with the AWA.

Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act This bill establishes grant programs to address neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), and contains other related provisions. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall award grants to eligible entities for scientific research utilizing data from expanded access to investigational ALS treatments for individuals who are not otherwise eligible for clinical trials.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shall award grants to public and private entities to cover the costs of research and development of drugs that diagnose or treat ALS and other rare neurodegenerative diseases. HHS shall also establish the Public-Private Partnership for Neurodegenerative Diseases between the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and at least one eligible entity (generally, an institution of higher education or a nonprofit organization). The partnership shall support the development and regulatory review of drugs that address ALS and other rare neurodegenerative diseases. The FDA shall publish on its website a five-year action plan for fostering the development of drugs that improve or extend the lives of people living with rare neurodegenerative diseases. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress about the grants provided under this bill, including an analysis of the impact of such grants on research and development of treatments for ALS.

Wildlife Conservation and Anti-Trafficking Act of 2021 This bill sets forth provisions relating to wildlife conservation, anti-trafficking and poaching, and illegal fishing. Specifically, the bill directs the Departments of Justice, the Interior, Commerce, State, and the Treasury to develop a plan of action for awards to whistleblowers of violations of laws applicable to wildlife trafficking; directs Interior to carry out the International Wildlife Conservation Program to, among other things, address global conservation threats and combat wildlife trafficking and poaching; provides funding for the conservation of certain endangered species; authorizes Interior, in consultation with the State Department, to station not less than one U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer in the primary diplomatic or consular post of the United States in a focus country or country of concern (i.e., countries engaging in wildlife trafficking); and directs Commerce to make amounts available for illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing enforcement. The bill also modifies the federal criminal code to make wildlife trafficking and illegal fishing predicates with respect to the enforcement of certain criminal offenses, including racketeering and money laundering.

Stopping Abortion Bounties Act This bill imposes a 100% tax on amounts received as statutory damages under a state bounty statute. A bounty statute is a statute that authorizes a person to file a civil action and collect damages for assisting another person in exercising the right to have an abortion. The bill also directs the Department of the Treasury to award a grant to any person who pays or incurs amounts under a court order resulting from a suit filed under a bounty statute, including the amount paid or incurred as statutory damages and reasonable attorney's fees.

Combating International Islamophobia Act This bill establishes within the Department of State the Office to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia and addresses related issues. The office shall monitor and combat acts of Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement in foreign countries. The bill establishes the position of Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Islamophobia, who shall head the office. The bill also requires certain existing annual reports to Congress about human rights and religious freedom in foreign countries to include information about Islamophobia, such as information about (1) acts of physical violence or harassment of Muslim people, (2) instances of propaganda in government and nongovernment media that attempt to justify or promote hatred or incite violence against Muslim people, and (3) actions taken by a country's government to respond to such acts. The office shall coordinate and assist in preparing these portions of the reports. No funds made available pursuant to the bill may be used to promote or endorse a boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement ideology (i.e., economic measures against Israel or Israel-related individuals or organizations) or used to promote or endorse a Muslim ban.

Food Donation Improvement Act of 2021 This bill expands liability protections for the donation of food and grocery products. Specifically, the bill expands the liability protections to include donations of an apparently fit grocery product or apparently wholesome food for which the recipient is charged a good Samaritan reduced price that is no greater than the cost of handling, administering, and distributing the food or product; or that is donated directly to a needy individual by a retail grocer, wholesaler, agricultural producer, restaurant, caterer, school food authority, or institution of higher education. The Department of Agriculture must issue regulations that clarify the quality and labeling standards that food products donated under the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act must meet to be eligible for liability protection.

Protecting Our Democracy Act This bill addresses issues involving (1) abuses of presidential power; (2) checks and balances, accountability, and transparency; and (3) election integrity and security. Specifically, regarding abuses of presidential power, the bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the President to submit to Congress specified materials relating to certain pardons, prohibits presidential self-pardons, suspends the statute of limitations for federal offenses committed by a sitting President or Vice President, prohibits the acceptance of foreign or domestic emoluments, and sets forth provisions regarding Office of Government Ethics and Office of Special Counsel jurisdiction and enforcement authority. To address checks and balances, accountability, and transparency, the bill authorizes specified actions to enforce congressional subpoenas, imposes limits on presidential declarations of emergencies, requires DOJ to maintain a log of specified communications between it and the White House, requires cause for removal of inspectors general, increases whistleblower protections, and requires a candidate for President or Vice President to provide copies of tax returns for the 10 most recent taxable years to the Federal Election Commission. To address election integrity and security, the bill requires federal campaign reporting of foreign contacts, makes various changes to requirements concerning foreign donations to political campaigns and candidates and foreign contributions to online electioneering communications, prohibits distribution of materially deceptive audio or visual media prior to an election (i.e., deepfakes), and establishes a program to support states and localities transition to ranked choice voting systems.