Rep. Gwen Moore

Cybersecurity Opportunity Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to establish a grant program to promote cybersecurity training and education at institutions of higher education with an enrollment of needy students, historically Black colleges and universities, and minority-serving institutions.

Revising and Expediting Actions for the Crisis Hotline for Veterans Act or the REACH for Veterans Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to update training and procedures for call responders of the Veterans Crisis Line. Specifically, the VA must enter into an agreement with an outside organization to review the training for crisis line call responders. The VA must update the training if any deficiencies are identified after the review. Among other requirements, the VA must develop guidelines on retraining and quality management for when a call responder has an adverse event or needs improvement, annually perform a common cause analysis for identified callers to the crisis line who died by suicide in situations where the crisis line was the last point of contact, develop enhanced guidance and procedures to respond to calls to the crisis line related to substance use and overdose risk, review the current emergency dispatch standard operating procedure of the crisis line, and solicit feedback from veterans service organizations on how to conduct outreach regarding the move to 988 as the new suicide and mental health crisis hotline. Each call responder must be subject to at least two calls per month that are silently monitored by a supervisor to check for quality of conduct. The Veterans Crisis Line, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention of the VA, and National Center for Patient Safety of the VA must establish quality management processes and expectations for staff of the crisis line.

Making Advances in Mammography and Medical Options for Veterans Act This bill addresses the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provision of mammograms and breast cancer treatment. Among other requirements, the VA must submit a strategic plan for improving breast imaging services for veterans, implement a three-year pilot program to provide telemammography services for veterans who live in locations where access to breast imaging services at a VA facility is difficult or unfeasible, upgrade all mammography services at its facilities to use three-dimensional breast imaging, update guidelines to increase the use of testing for the breast cancer gene and genetic counseling for veterans diagnosed with breast cancer, and update its policies and directives to ensure that it confirms the accessibility of a breast imaging site when referring a veteran with a spinal cord injury or disorder to a non-VA provider. In addition, the VA must enter into a partnership with at least one cancer center of the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health in each Veterans Integrated Service Network to expand access to high-quality cancer care for women veterans. In implementing such partnerships, the VA must ensure that veterans with breast cancer who reside in rural areas or states without a partner cancer center are able to receive care through telehealth. Finally, the VA must collaborate with the Department of Defense and report on all current research and health care collaborations between the departments on treating veterans and members of the Armed Forces with breast cancer.

This resolution expresses support for the designation of National Vitiligo Awareness Day. (Vitiligo is a chronic condition that results in the loss of pigment in patches on the skin, hair, eyes, and inside of the mouth; the condition may lead to discomfort, itching, and pain.)

Choose Home Care Act of 2021 This bill provides for coverage of home-based extended care services under Medicare. Specifically, the bill provides for coverage of services that are furnished to Medicare beneficiaries in their homes by home health agencies, including nursing care, meals and nutritional support, home medical supplies, nonemergency medical transportation, and care coordination. Coverage includes 30 days of post-hospital care and other periods of extended illness, as determined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Home health agencies that provide such services may receive additional payments in accordance with a specified methodology. The CMS may make payments for covered services furnished before 2022 during any period in which there is a public health emergency.

Animal Freedom from Testing, Experiments, and Research Act of 2021 or the AFTER Act of 2021 This bill requires federal research facilities to facilitate the adoption or nonlaboratory placement of certain warm-blooded animals (e.g., dogs, cats, monkeys, guinea pigs, hamsters, and rabbits) with animal rescue organizations, animal sanctuaries, animal shelters, or individuals. In order to be adopted or placed, the animals must (1) no longer be needed for research; (2) be suitable for release; (3) not be birds, rats, or mice.

Urban Agriculture and Community Food Security Act This bill addresses Department of Agriculture programs relating to urban agricultural production. Specifically, the bill establishes and provides funding for an urban agriculture conservation easement program for the conservation of certain private land, improved community food security, and improved access to cropland for beginning farmers or ranchers, socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers; and majority-controlled producer-based business ventures through easements or other interests in land; establishes and provides funding for an urban agriculture microentrepreneur assistance program to provide loans and grants to support microentrepreneurs in the development and ongoing success of urban agriculture microenterprises; and authorizes additional funding for a program that provides grants for nonprofit entities to establish and carry out community food projects.

Indigenous Peoples' Day Act This bill designates Indigenous Peoples' Day as a legal public holiday in lieu of Columbus Day.

This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct outreach to build awareness among former members of the Armed Forces of the process established for the review of discharge characterizations related to sexual orientation (i.e., on the basis of Don't Ask, Don't Tell or a similar policy). DOD must also provide for specified relief for former members of the Armed Forces who were impacted by the discharge characterizations and ensure that DOD oral historians review related facts and receive testimony from affected individuals.

This resolution recognizes the cultural and historical significance of the Hmong New Year and wishes Hmong Americans and all individuals who observe this holiday a happy new year.