Increasing Access to Osteoporosis Testing for Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2021 This bill specifies that certain Medicare payment rules applicable to imaging services shall apply to dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry services used in bone mass scans beginning in 2022. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must establish national minimum payment amounts for such services.
Pharmacy DIR Reform To Reduce Senior Drug Costs Act This bill establishes certain requirements for prescription drug plans and the prices of covered drugs under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Specifically, the bill requires price concessions, payments, and fees that are negotiated with a pharmacy to be included in a drug's negotiated price, excluding incentive payments, and for this price to be provided at the point of sale. Additionally, prescription drug plans must report price concessions or incentive payments that are made after payment for covered drugs at the point of sale, including by contracted intermediaries, to the pharmacy at least annually. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must establish standardized pharmacy performance measures with respect to incentive payments and price concessions; such measures must account for all pharmacy types, including specialty pharmacies, and focus on patient health outcomes and other targeted areas.
End Polluter Welfare Act of 2021 This bill limits or eliminates certain fossil fuel oil and gas subsidies for oil companies, including by (1) eliminating the limit on liability for offshore facilities and pipeline operators; (2) eliminating the authority of the Department of Energy to carry out the Fossil Energy Research and Development Program and prohibiting funds made available to the Advanced Research Project Agency from being used to carry out any project that supports fossil fuels; (3) terminating certain provisions relating to enhanced oil recovery, producing oil and natural gas from marginal wells, and limitations on percentage depletion for oil and natural gas wells; (4) terminating other deductions and accounting methods supporting oil, natural gas, and coal companies; (5) increasing the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund financing rate; (6) denying a tax deduction for removal costs and damages relating to oil spills; (7) imposing an excise tax on the removal price of any taxable crude oil or natural gas; (8) increasing amortization periods for tertiary injectant expenses, development expenditures of a mine or other natural deposit, mining exploration expenditures, and intangible drilling and development costs for oil and gas wells and geothermal wells; (9) repealing the tax credits for the production of electricity from refined coal and for carbon oxide sequestration; and (10) requiring a study and elimination of certain other fossil fuel subsidies.
This resolution expresses approval of the sales of defense items to Israel that were notified to Congress on May 5, 2021, on the basis that those sales are consistent with the foreign policy interests of the United States.
This resolution expresses support for the designation of a national day of remembrance for members of the U.S. Armed Forces who were killed or injured by the terrorist attack on the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 23, 1983.
This resolution expresses the sense of Congress that legislation and policies that address poverty, low wages, and related issues should be prioritized. Among other priorities, the resolution commits to updating the poverty measure; raising the minimum wage; expanding unemployment insurance; ensuring that all workers receive paid family and medical leave; implementing a federal jobs guarantee; guaranteeing safe and quality housing, a right to water, high-quality public education, and quality health care for all; enacting relief from household and personal debt that cannot be paid; ensuring that state, local, and tribal governments are adequately funded; expanding and protecting the right to vote; eliminating persistent racial inequities; protecting the constitutional rights of assembly and free speech; enacting comprehensive and just immigration reform; ensuring all the rights of Native and Indigenous peoples and tribal nations; transforming the economy into a green renewable energy economy; demilitarizing U.S. foreign policy, borders, and policing; enacting fair taxes on corporations and the wealthy; using deficit spending to meet pressing needs; and encouraging states and cities to enact policies that follow the direction provided by this resolution.
Safe Gun Storage Act of 20 21 This bill requires safety standards for firearm locks and safes. Under such standards, firearm locks must be reasonably designed to (1) prevent the firearm from discharging while the lock is activated, and (2) prevent unauthorized access to the firearm. Further, firearm safes must be reasonably designed to (1) secure firearms, and (2) prevent unauthorized access to the safe through physical manipulation or damage.
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 to facilitate patients' access to investigational drugs that diagnose or treat ALS. 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 severely debilitating 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.
Allowing Steady Savings by Eliminating Tests Act or the ASSET Act This bill prohibits the use of asset tests or resource limits in certain means-tested public assistance programs and increases the resource limits to qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSI is a federal income supplement program designed to help aged, blind, and disabled individuals with limited income and resources meet basic needs. Under the bill, states may not use asset or resource limits to determine eligibility for (1) programs funded by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grants, (2) the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or (3) the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. In addition, an individual may have up to $10,000 in certain resources (or up to $20,000 for a couple) and qualify for SSI. Under current law, the limit is $2,000 for an individual (or $3,000 for a couple).
Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act This bill modifies the Conrad 30 Waiver program, which incentivizes qualified foreign physicians to serve in underserved communities. It also extends statutory authority for the program for three years from this bill's enactment. Aliens coming to the United States under a J-1 nonimmigrant visa to receive medical training typically must leave the country and reside for two years abroad before being eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or permanent residence. The Conrad program waives this requirement for individuals who meet certain qualifications, including serving for a number of years at a health care facility in an underserved area. The bill increases the number of waivers that a state may obtain each fiscal year from 30 to 35 if a certain number of waivers were used the previous year, and provides for further adjustments depending on demand. An alien physician may be employed at an academic medical center to meet the Conrad program's employment requirements if the alien's work is in the public interest, even if the medical center is not in an underserved area. Employment contracts for alien physicians under the Conrad program shall contain certain information, such as the maximum number of on-call hours per week the physician shall have to work. Certain alien physicians (along with the physician's spouse and children) shall be exempt from the direct annual numerical limits on immigration, including those physicians that have met certain requirements related to visas for physicians to serve in underserved areas.
Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2021 This bill establishes grants to support the implementation of extreme risk protection order laws at the state and local levels, extends federal firearms restrictions to individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders, and expands related data collection. Extreme risk protection order laws, or red flag laws, generally allow certain individuals (e.g., law enforcement officers or family members) to petition a court for a temporary order that prohibits an at-risk individual from purchasing and possessing firearms. Among its provisions, the bill directs the Department of Justice to establish a grant program to help states, local governments, Indian tribes, and other entities implement extreme risk protection order laws; extends federal restrictions on the receipt, possession, shipment, and transportation of firearms and ammunition to individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders; and requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to compile records from federal, tribal, and state courts and other agencies that identify individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders.
National Signing Bonus Act of 2021 This bill replaces existing Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation payments for unemployed individuals with two-time signing bonuses for newly employed individuals. Specifically, the bill allows states to provide up to two direct payments to individuals who are eligible for Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation prior to commencing employment with a new employer. The individual must continue employment with the new employer for at least four weeks before July 4, 2021, to be eligible for the first $1,212 payment under the bill and for at least eight weeks before July 4, 2021, to be eligible for the final $1,212 payment. The bill otherwise eliminates federal reimbursement for Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation payments.
