Rep. Gerald E. Connolly

Cures 2.0 Act This bill addresses pandemic preparedness and public health issues, caregiver and patient engagement, drug development, insurance coverage, and biomedical research. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must undertake research and other activities concerning COVID-19 and develop a strategy for future pandemics and declared emergencies. Additionally, the bill specifies actions to combat antimicrobial resistance. HHS may award grants for caregiver training. The bill also addresses diversity in clinical trials, collecting patient experience data during clinical trials, and coverage for care related to participation in specified clinical trials. The bill modifies the timeframe and requires additional guidance relating to expedited approval of certain breakthrough drugs, devices, or products. It also establishes two intercenter institutes within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) focused on particular diseases that meet specified criteria. The bill also addresses (1) coverage in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program for telehealth, genetic and genomic testing, and other services; (2) electronic prescribing standards for Medicare drug benefits; and (3) access to Medicare and Medicaid claims data by certain registries. Furthermore, the bill prohibits the use of geographic tracking or biometrics in Medicaid electronic visit verification systems. The bill establishes the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) within the National Institutes of Health to accelerate biomedical research and innovation through grants, contracts, cash prizes, and other means. The FDA may work with ARPA-H to expedite the development of medical products through specified activities.

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.

This bill posthumously provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of the 13 service members who died on August 26, 2021, while stationed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.

African American History Act This bill authorizes the National Museum of African American History and Culture to carry out educational programs and related activities. Such activities include developing and making available accurate, relevant, and accessible resources to promote the understanding of African American history; and expanding the collection acquisition and collection access processes, including conservation and digitization. The museum may also develop and maintain on its website content designated for educators, students, and families to improve their awareness and understanding of African American history.

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.

Periodically Listing Updates to Management Act or the PLUM Act This bill replaces the congressional publication titled United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions , commonly known as the PLUM Book, with an online public directory. The PLUM Book contains personnel information for federal civil service leadership and support positions in the legislative and executive branches that may be subject to noncompetitive appointment, including heads of agencies and policy executives. The book is used to identify presidentially appointed positions and is published every four years (after each presidential election) by certain congressional committees. The bill requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to publish the information contained in the PLUM Book on a public website in a format that is easily searchable and that otherwise meets certain data standards. Agencies must upload updated information to the website on a monthly basis; OPM must verify the accuracy of the information twice a year in coordination with the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. The bill terminates publication of the PLUM Book in its current form on January 1, 2024.

Humane Cosmetics Act of 2021 This bill generally prohibits animal testing in the evaluation of cosmetic products, and it prohibits the sale or transport of cosmetics developed using animal testing, subject to civil penalties. These prohibitions begin one year after enactment. The bill specifies exceptions to these prohibitions, including if such animal testing (1) is conducted outside the United States to comply with a foreign regulatory authority; (2) is pursuant to a specified finding that there are no nonanimal alternatives to test the safety of a potentially dangerous cosmetic product or ingredient; (3) is of a product or ingredient for a drug or device subject to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); or (4) is required for a noncosmetic purpose pursuant to a state, federal, or foreign regulatory authority. Further, no animal-testing evidence may be used to establish the safety of a cosmetic product or ingredient that is regulated by the FDA after the effective date of this bill, subject to limited exceptions.

This resolution states that the Chinese government is responsible for ongoing abuses against the Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups and that these abuses constitute genocide and crimes against humanity. The resolution also condemns such genocide and crimes against humanity and calls on the President to take certain actions to put an end to these atrocities.

Strengthening the Office of Personnel Management Act This bill provides statutory authority for the mission of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), establishes the Chief Management Officer and the OPM Advisory Committee on Human Capital Management, and specifies additional requirements for the appointment of the OPM Director and the removal of the OPM Director or Deputy Director.