This resolution expresses support for the goals and ideals of Korean American Day and honors the 119th anniversary of the arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the United States.
Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act or the FAIR Act This bill modifies pay rates for federal employees in 2023. Specifically, the bill increases rates under the statutory pay systems and for prevailing rate employees by 4.1% and increases locality pay by 1%.
Planning for Aging Veterans Act of 2021 This bill addresses the long-term care of veterans, including by implementing policies for the administration of state homes. First, the bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop a strategy for the long-term care of veterans. The VA must develop a standardized process for entering into sharing agreements between state homes and VA medical centers. A state home is a home established by a state for veterans who are disabled by age, disease, or otherwise and incapable of earning a living because of such disability. The term also includes a home that furnishes nursing home care for veterans. Under the bill, the VA must furnish prescribed drugs and medicines to veterans who are catastrophically disabled and for whom the VA is paying a per diem for nursing home or domiciliary care in a state home. Generally, veterans are catastrophically disabled if they have a permanent severely disabling injury, disorder, or disease that compromises the ability to carry out the activities of daily living. The VA must monitor any contractor it uses to conduct inspections of state homes, including by reviewing inspections, reporting deficiencies, and publishing inspection results and any planned corrective actions on a public VA website. The VA must implement a two-year pilot program to provide geriatric psychiatry assistance to eligible veterans at state homes. Finally, the VA must work with public housing authorities and local organizations to assist aging homeless veterans in accessing existing housing and supportive services.
Tiny Homes for Homeless Veterans Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to implement a six-year pilot program to provide grants for the creation of five villages of tiny homes for homeless veterans. Under the bill, the villages must have associated supportive services to allow veterans to build and live in energy efficient homes, maintain social connections with each other, learn skills, and receive critical counseling. Under the bill, a tiny home is an individual housing unit that is approximately 240 square feet for one person or approximately 340 square feet if the home is for a family.
Maddy summaryHR 6278 amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to upgrade penalties for violating protections against improper storage liens on military members' property. Currently a misdemeanor, such violations would become a felony, with first offenses punishable by up to one year in prison or fines, and repeat offenses carrying up to three years in prison. This directly affects storage facilities and lienholders who enforce liens against servicemembers during active duty. The key change elevates the legal consequences from civil penalties to criminal felony charges. The bill does not alter the Act's core protections for military members but increases penalties for those who break them.
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.
College Student Hunger Act of 20 21 This bill modifies the eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to make additional students at institutions of higher education eligible for benefits.
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.
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.
Military Spouse Entrepreneurs Act of 2021 This bill requires the Small Business Administration to conduct a pilot program to award federal contracts to small businesses owned and controlled by military spouses. It also generally authorizes federal contracting officers to limit contract awards to only small businesses owned and controlled by military spouses under certain circumstances.
