National Climate Emergency Act of 2021 or the Climate Emergency Act of 2021 This bill directs the President to declare a national emergency relating to climate change. Further, the President must ensure that the federal government invests in projects to mitigate the emergency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At least 40% of such investments must be for historically disadvantaged communities. In addition, the President must ensure that the federal government reinvests in existing public sector institutions and creates new public sector institutions to strategically mobilize and channel investments at the scale and pace required by the emergency.
Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2021 This bill provides funding for several programs related to controlling water pollution or protecting drinking water, revises requirements concerning the clean water state revolving fund (SRF) and the drinking water SRF, and creates or reauthorizes several grant programs for water infrastructure. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency must establish a grant program for repairing, replacing, or upgrading septic tanks and drainage fields. In addition, the bill makes permanent a grant program for household water well systems in rural areas. It also increases the amount of appropriations for grant programs, including a program that awards grants to prevent lead from contaminating drinking water fountains in schools and day care facilities.
Data Care Act of 20 21 This bill imposes various duties on online service providers with respect to their handling of individual-identifying data that can be reasonably linked to a specific user. Specifically, online service providers have a duty to (1) reasonably secure such data from unauthorized access, (2) refrain from using such data in a way that will result in reasonably foreseeable harm to the end user, and (3) not disclose such data to another party unless that party is also bound by the duties established in this bill. The bill authorizes the Federal Trade Commission and specified state officials to take enforcement actions with respect to breaches of such duties.
Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2021 This bill establishes a series of oversight and disclosure requirements relating to the prices of brand-name drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review at least annually all brand-name drugs for excessive pricing; HHS must also review prices upon petition. If any such drugs are found to be excessively priced, HHS must (1) void any government-granted exclusivity; (2) issue open, nonexclusive licenses for the drugs; and (3) expedite the review of corresponding applications for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products. HHS must also create a public database with its determinations for each drug. Under the bill, a price is considered excessive if the domestic average manufacturing price exceeds the median price for the drug in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. If a price does not meet this criteria, or if pricing information is unavailable in at least three of the aforementioned countries, the price is still considered excessive if it is higher than reasonable in light of specified factors, including development cost, revenue, and the size of the affected patient population. The bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified financial information for brand-name drugs, including research and advertising expenditures.
Funding Attorneys for Indigent Removal Proceedings Act or the FAIR Proceedings Act This bill expands access to counsel for aliens in immigration proceedings and provides for protections related to such proceedings. An alien shall have the privilege of being represented by counsel in any immigration proceeding, whereas currently this privilege is statutorily provided for only in removal proceedings. Similarly, the Department of Justice (DOJ) may provide counsel at government expense to aliens in any immigration proceeding, whereas currently DOJ is statutorily authorized to provide counsel to aliens only in removal proceedings and at no expense to the government. Under this bill, DOJ shall provide counsel to children and vulnerable individuals in such proceedings, at government expense if necessary. If DOJ fails to do so, certain limits on filing a motion to reopen removal proceedings (such as the time limit for filing) shall not apply, and the alien's removal shall be stayed upon the motion's filing. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall provide each alien, generally at the beginning of proceedings, a complete copy of the alien's case file in DHS possession, unless the alien waives this right in writing. Failure to provide such documents shall delay the alien's removal proceeding. DHS shall facilitate for all detained aliens access to counsel and programs that inform such aliens of their immigration-related rights and obligations.
Survivors' Access to Supportive Care Act or SASCA This bill sets out programs and requirements to address access and quality issues related to sexual-assault examinations. Specifically, the bill establishes training and technical assistance programs for health care providers on conducting sexual-assault examinations and treating survivors of sexual assault, including in rural and tribal settings; grants for states to assess the availability of trained providers to perform sexual-assault examinations; and a task force to assist state-level efforts to improve medical forensic evidence collection related to sexual assault. The bill also requires institutions of higher education to provide information about the availability of sexual-assault examinations to survivors of sexual assault. Additionally, hospitals and specified components of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must report on access and quality issues concerning sexual-assault examinations and related services. Furthermore, HHS must address access to, and the quality of, trained health care providers who conduct sexual-assault examinations in the National Quality Strategy. This is a national effort to align public-sector and private-sector stakeholders to achieve better health and health care.
Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act This bill makes a series of changes relating to the prices of prescription drugs under the Medicare prescription drug benefit and Medicare Advantage (MA) prescription drug plans (PDPs). Under current law, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) may neither negotiate the prices of covered drugs nor establish a formulary. The bill repeals these restrictions and instead specifically requires the CMS to (1) negotiate the prices of covered drugs; and (2) either establish a formulary for covered drugs, or require changes to PDP formularies that take into account CMS negotiations. If the CMS is unable to negotiate an appropriate price for a drug in accordance with certain criteria, the price must be the lowest of three specified options (e.g., the median price in other countries). The CMS must identify drugs that are subject to negotiation, with priority given to certain categories of drugs based on usage and cost. Additionally, drug manufacturers must issue rebates to the CMS for drugs dispensed to eligible low-income individuals. Subject to civil monetary penalties, a Medicare or MA PDP sponsor must report, both to drug manufacturers and to the CMS, specified information related to the determination and payment of such rebates.
Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act This bill allows expanded importation of eligible prescription drugs and addresses related issues. Current law allows the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to authorize the importation of certain eligible prescription drugs from Canada if HHS certifies to Congress that doing so would pose no additional risk to public health and safety and would result in significant cost savings for consumers. The bill removes this certification requirement and requires HHS to issue regulations that permit the importation of qualifying prescription drugs from Canada. After a certain amount of time, HHS may authorize importation from certain other countries if it determines that importation from Canada has resulted in cost savings for consumers and increased access to safe medication. The bill also expands the types of prescription drugs eligible for importation to include, for example, biologics such as insulin. Furthermore, the bill allows individuals to use an eligible licensed foreign pharmacy to fill a U.S.-issued prescription for a qualifying drug for personal use. Currently, an individual seeking to import a prescription drug generally must acquire a waiver from HHS. The bill imposes various requirements related to certification of foreign sellers, labeling of imported drugs, and supply chain security. The bill also (1) prohibits certain acts that discriminate against foreign sellers, such as charging higher prices to foreign sellers than to other sellers in the same country; and (2) imposes criminal penalties for online websites that sell counterfeit drugs or dispense drugs without a required prescription.
Safe Step Act This bill requires a group health plan to establish an exception to medication step-therapy protocol in specified cases. A medication step-therapy protocol establishes a specific sequence in which prescription drugs are covered by a group health plan or a health insurance issuer. A request for such an exception to the protocol must be granted if (1) an otherwise required treatment has been ineffective, (2) such treatment is expected to be ineffective and delaying effective treatment would lead to irreversible consequences, (3) such treatment will cause or is likely to cause an adverse reaction to the individual, (4) such treatment is expected to prevent the individual from performing daily activities or occupational responsibilities, (5) the individual is stable based on the prescription drugs already selected, or (6) there are other circumstances as determined by the Employee Benefits Security Administration. The bill requires a group health plan to implement and make readily available a clear process for an individual to request an exception to the protocol, including required information and criteria for granting an exception. The bill further specifies timelines under which plans must respond to such requests.
Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act of 2021 or the CROWN Act of 2021 This bill prohibits discrimination based on a person's hair texture or hairstyle if that style or texture is commonly associated with a particular race or national origin. Specifically, the bill prohibits this type of discrimination against those participating in federally assisted programs, housing programs, public accommodations, and employment. Persons shall not be deprived of equal rights under the law and shall not be subjected to prohibited practices based on their hair texture or style. The bill provides for enforcement procedures under the applicable laws.
Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act of 2021 This bill establishes a federal statutory framework to prohibit straw purchasing of firearms, trafficking in firearms, and related conduct. A violator is subject to criminal and civil penalties, including the seizure and forfeiture of the firearms and ammunition involved in the offense, property constituting or derived from proceeds from the offense, and property used to commit or facilitate the offense. The bill authorizes law enforcement to investigate straw purchasing and trafficking in firearms offenses using wiretaps (i.e., authorized interceptions of wire, electronic, or oral communications) and makes the offenses predicate offenses (i.e., underlying offenses) for prosecutions under the federal money laundering statute and the federal racketeering statute.
Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act This bill revises the evidentiary standard for age discrimination by establishing an unlawful employment practice when the complaining party demonstrates that age or participation in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation related to an age discrimination claim was a motivating factor for an adverse practice, even though other factors also motivated the practice (thereby allowing what are commonly known as mixed motive claims). The bill (1) permits the complaining party to rely on any type or form of admissible evidence, which need only be sufficient for a reasonable trier of fact to find that an unlawful practice occurred; and (2) declares that the complaining party shall not be required to demonstrate that age or retaliation was the sole cause of the employment practice (thereby rejecting the Supreme Court's decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. , which requires the complainant to prove that age was the but-for cause for the employer's decision). The bill applies this evidentiary standard to other employment discrimination and retaliation claims, including claims under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In a claim in which age discrimination is shown, but where the employer demonstrates that it would have taken the same action absent the motivating factor of age, the bill authorizes courts to grant declaratory and injunctive relief, but prohibits the court from awarding damages or issuing an order requiring any admission, reinstatement, hiring, promotion, or payment. This limitation also applies to claims of discrimination based on disability.
