Natural Gas Tax Repeal Act This bill eliminates a program administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that provides incentives for petroleum and natural gas systems to reduce their emissions of methane and other greenhouse gases. It also repeals a charge on methane emissions from specific types of facilities that are required to report their greenhouse gas emissions to the EPA's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Program.
Freedom for Health Care Workers Act This bill nullifies the rule titled Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination, which was issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on November 5, 2021, and prohibits the issuance of any substantially similar rule. The rule requires health care providers, as a condition of Medicare and Medicaid participation, to ensure that staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
9-8-8 Lifeline Cybersecurity Responsibility Act This bill requires the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to undertake efforts to protect the 9-8-8 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline from cybersecurity threats. (The lifeline is a three-digit number that connects callers in suicidal crisis or mental health distress to a national network of crisis centers.) The bill also expands related reporting requirements. Specifically, the network administrator for the lifeline must report identified cybersecurity incidents and vulnerabilities to SAMHSA, and the Government Accountability Office must conduct a study that evaluates cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities associated with the lifeline and report the findings to Congress.
Pregnant Women Health and Safety Act of 2023 This bill establishes requirements for physicians who perform abortions and abortion clinics. Specifically, the bill requires a physician who performs an abortion (1) to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital; and (2) at the time of the abortion, to notify the patient of the hospital location where the patient can receive follow-up care if complications arise. A physician who fails to comply is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to two years, or both. A woman who undergoes an abortion may not be prosecuted. The bill also requires an abortion clinic, in order to receive federal funds or assistance, to (1) be licensed by the state in which it is located, and (2) be in compliance with federal standards for ambulatory surgical centers.
Close the Medigap Act of 2023 This bill (1) expands guaranteed issue rights with respect to Medigap policies (Medicare supplemental health insurance policies), (2) eliminates certain limitations on Medigap policies for newly eligible Medicare beneficiaries, and (3) modifies other provisions related to Medigap policies. (Guaranteed issue rights require that a policy be offered to any eligible applicant without regard to health status.)
This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to implement or enforce mandates that require individuals to wear face coverings or receive vaccinations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). The bill provides for an exception that applies in health care settings.
This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to maintain a database or collect information that can be used to identify an individual's COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) vaccination status.
Protecting American Energy Production Act This bill prohibits the President from declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium. The bill also expresses the sense of Congress that states should maintain primacy for the regulation of hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas production on state and private lands. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the formation.
This bill prohibits any entity that receives specified COVID-19 relief funds from mandating COVID-19 vaccines for its employees. An entity that violates this prohibition must return the funding it received.
This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to revise regulations so as to specifically require Medicare skilled nursing facilities and Medicaid nursing facilities to report the identity of medical directors and related information.
Improving Science in Chemical Assessments Act This bill modifies procedures related to specified chemical assessments performed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Specifically, chemical hazard identification and dose response assessments must be performed by the appropriate EPA program office (they are currently performed by the Integrated Risk Information System program). Additionally, the bill requires the EPA to establish a steering committee to ensure there is no duplication of effort by relevant program offices in conducting covered assessments.
Travel Mask Mandate Repeal Act of 2023 This bill prohibits federal agencies from mandating the use of masks or face coverings on planes, trains, buses, and other public conveyances and at transportation hubs to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Specifically, the bill nullifies (1) the rule issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on January 29, 2021, that mandates such use of masks or face coverings; and (2) orders and directives of the Transportation Security Administration that relate to the CDC rule.
Advanced Safe Testing at Residence Telehealth Act of 2023 This bill temporarily establishes several programs to provide telehealth services for at-home testing, evaluations, and other health care. Specifically, the bill establishes a demonstration program to provide assistive telehealth consultations and home- and community-based care for certain Medicare beneficiaries through Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Covered services include certain at-home diagnostic tests, telehealth consultations, transportation services, and meal benefits. Beneficiaries must be (1) age 65 or older and eligible to enroll in a qualifying MA plan and to receive certain low-income subsidies under the Medicare prescription drug benefit, or (2) dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid benefits. The bill also establishes a grant program for state Medicaid programs to cover similar at-home tests and related telehealth consultations. Additionally, the Department of Veterans Affairs must establish a pilot program to provide tests and related telehealth consultations free of charge to veterans.
Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2023 This bill restricts federal funding for Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc. or any of its affiliates or clinics for one year. Specifically, it prohibits funding those entities unless they certify that the affiliates and clinics will not perform, and will not provide funds to entities that perform, abortions during that year. If the certification requirement is not met, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture must recoup any federal assistance received by those entities. However, the bill's funding restriction does not apply to abortions performed in cases of rape or incest or when necessary to resolve a physical condition that endangers a woman's life. The bill also provides additional funding for community health centers for the one-year period. These funds are subject to the same abortion-related restrictions and exceptions.
Rural Broadband Window of Opportunity Act This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to prioritize the processing of applications for certain rural broadband expansion projects that are located in areas with the shortest construction seasons (e.g., areas with long winters and heavy snowfall).