Rep. Michael C. Burgess

This resolution requests that the President transmit to the House of Representatives documents related to the amount of funding that was provided in specified laws regarding COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) and is currently unspent. The specified laws include the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020; the Families First Coronavirus Response Act; the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act); the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act; and Division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.

Chinese Research Funds Accounting Act This bill directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study on federal funding made available to entities located in China or majority owned or controlled by the Chinese Communist Party for research in the five years prior to enactment of this bill. Not later than 120 days after the enactment of this bill, the GAO shall brief Congress on the data that is available with respect to federal funding made available to such entities for research.

Pre-existing Conditions Protection Act of 2021 This bill reestablishes requirements for private health insurance plans with respect to preexisting conditions, guaranteed enrollment, and discrimination based on health-related factors if they are repealed by another law. In such event, the bill prohibits private health insurance plans from (1) limiting or excluding benefits covering preexisting conditions; (2) denying enrollment to employers or individual applicants, subject to specified limits; (3) establishing rules for eligibility based on an individual's health status; or (4) requiring an individual to a pay higher premium than similarly situated individuals enrolled in the plan based the individual's health status. The bill also prohibits plans from collecting genetic information in connection with issuing health insurance and provides requirements for workplace wellness programs connected to health insurance.

Taking Account of Bureaucrats' Spending Act of 2021 or the TABS Act of 2021 This bill eliminates provisions that fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) using transfers from the earnings of the Federal Reserve System. The transfers under current law permit the CFPB to be funded outside of the annual appropriations process, and this bill brings the CFPB into the regular process.

Marriage Access for People with Special Abilities Act or the MAPSA Act This bill excludes a spouse's income and resources when determining eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and disregards marital status when calculating the SSI benefit amount, for an adult who has a diagnosed intellectual or developmental disability. SSI is a federal income supplement program designed to help aged, blind, and disabled individuals with limited income and resources meet basic needs.

Premium Relief Act of 20 21 This bill establishes and provides funding through FY2024 for the Patient and State Stability Fund, which shall be used to support specified state efforts to increase access to health-insurance coverage and help stabilize the individual market. Specifically, states may use the funds to (1) lower the cost for individuals to purchase coverage, (2) lower out-of-pocket costs for individuals with insurance, (3) pay health care providers, (4) cover or provide additional specified services, and (5) otherwise increase coverage options and stabilize premiums in the state's insurance market. If a state does not apply for funds under the program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in consultation with the state, must use the funds to stabilize premiums by partially reimbursing insurers for claims in a specified cost range. The bill also revises the grace period that health insurers must provide to recipients of premium subsidies before discontinuing health coverage for nonpayment of premiums. The grace period is shortened from 3 months to 30 days unless state law includes an applicable grace period.

Reopen Schools Act This bill requires a local educational agency (LEA) to reopen its elementary and secondary schools as a condition for receiving certain supplemental education emergency relief funding. Specifically, an LEA must provide in-person instruction to at least 50% of its students in order to receive the full funding. An LEA that provides in-person instruction to at least some of its students shall have its funding reduced on a pro rata basis.

Support And Value Expectant Moms and Babies Act of 2021 or the SAVE Moms and Babies Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from approving any new drug (either as a brand-name drug or a generic) intended to terminate a pregnancy and imposes additional restrictions on such drugs that are already approved. Under the bill, an already-approved drug intended to terminate a pregnancy may be dispensed to a patient only with a prescription. Furthermore, the FDA may not approve any labeling change that would authorize (1) using the drug after 70 days of gestation, or (2) dispensing the drug by any means other than in-person administration by the prescribing health care practitioner. The FDA must also impose additional restrictions on such already-approved drugs, including by (1) requiring the prescribing health care practitioner to receive a special certification, (2) prohibiting the practitioner to also act as the dispensing pharmacist, and (3) requiring the practitioner to have the ability to provide surgical intervention to the patient. The bill also rescinds any investigational use exemption already granted to such a drug if the bill would have prohibited the FDA from granting the exemption. (Currently, the FDA may grant an exemption to certain market approval requirements if a drug is intended solely for use in safety and effectiveness investigations.)

Protecting Americans from Unnecessary Spread upon Entry from COVID-19 Act of 2021 or the PAUSE Act of 2021 This bill maintains immigration restrictions put in place under public health emergency authorities to prevent the introduction of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) from foreign countries. Specifically, the bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from rescinding or reducing the stringency of the restrictions. It also prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from stopping or reducing enforcement of the restrictions. These prohibitions remain in effect until (1) federal and state COVID-19 emergency orders are lifted, and (2) the risk of introducing COVID-19 in or from Canada and Mexico is minimal.

Targeting Rogue and Opaque Letters Act of 2021 This bill prohibits sending bad faith patent demand letters. A patent demand letter is a written communication claiming that the recipient may be liable for patent infringement. Bad faith means making knowingly false or misleading statements, making claims with reckless disregard for the truth, or omitting information with the intent to deceive. Bad faith representations include false or misleading claims about the sender's right to assert a patent and whether lawsuits have been filed. They also include making written demands for compensation for invalid patents or to demand compensation without identifying the ultimate parent entity of the letter sender. The sender shall have an affirmative defense that it acted in good faith, by proving that its misstatements or omissions were unintentional and that it made an error in spite of procedures to avoid such errors. The bill preempts state laws relating to patent assertion communications. The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general may bring actions to enforce these provisions.