Bills introduced by Sean Patrick Maloney
By Chip Rowe
On March 28, U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, whose district includes the Highlands, introduced a bill in the House to prevent Medicaid funds from being used to pay for gay conversion “therapy.”
“Conversion tactics are based on the idea that a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation are diseases to be cured,” Maloney said in a statement. “They have no legitimate medical application and should not be used anywhere.”
Most states have not banned the use of Medicaid funds for the practice, Maloney said, so a federal law is needed. His bill, which has 69 co-sponsors, was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Maloney has introduced five other bills during the current session of Congress and introduced 35 in the 2017-18 session. A sample appears below.
HR1830: Requires the U.S. Treasury to make coins at the U.S. Mint at West Point that commemorate the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New Windsor.
HR1457: Allocates $6.4 billion through 2025 to provide “green” grants for public schools to renovate or repair their facilities.
HR1322: Requires the U.S. Coast Guard to study the effects of climate change on its installations and facilities over the next 20 years.
HR6605: Enacts an excise tax of $40 per ton of carbon contained in coal, oil and gas produced in the U.S. or imported.
HR6232: Prohibits federal agents without a court order from separating an individual with a developmental disability and no permanent immigration status from his or her family at a port of entry or within 100 miles of the border.
HR4259: Provides grants for public libraries to purchase anti-opioid antidote (naloxone) kits and train librarians how to use them.
HR5827: Extends funding for the federal dam safety program through 2024. Maloney noted that nearly 100 of the 800 dams in the Hudson Valley are designated as “high hazard,” meaning their failure would likely cause death and major economic damage. [Passed as part of the Water Resources Development Act.]
HR2485: Requires airline medical kits to include child-sized dosages. [Passed as part of reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration.]
