United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2021
Higher Education Mental Health Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Education to establish an Advisory Commission on Serving and Supporting Students with Mental Health Disabilities in Institutions of Higher Education. The commission must conduct a study and report on services available to students with mental health disabilities in institutions of higher education (IHEs) and the effectiveness of such services in supporting these students; the impact of policies and procedures, such as reasonable accommodation and disciplinary policies, that help or hinder the goal of providing equal opportunity to these students; the use of protected health information of these students by IHEs; the impact of providing mental health services on a student's academic performance, well-being, and ability to complete college; conclusions on the major challenges facing these students; and recommendations to improve the overall education, retention, and graduation of these students.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2021
This resolution recognizes the ultimate sacrifice of the unknown soldiers interred at Arlington National Cemetery and expresses gratitude and appreciation of all the members of the Armed Forces who have served during wars and peacetime. Additionally, the resolution commends all members of the 3d Infantry Regiment, specifically those who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Solider.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2021
Fresh Start Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Department of Justice to award grants for states to implement automatic expungement laws (i.e., laws that provide for the automatic expungement or sealing of an individual's criminal records).
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2021
Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Management Act This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to address chronic wasting disease afflicting deer, elk, and moose populations. Specifically, the bill directs USDA to establish a program to research and manage the disease. Under the program, USDA must offer to enter into agreements with state or tribal wildlife agencies and departments of agriculture, institutions of higher education, and research centers to support research on the transmission of, resistance to, and diagnosis of the disease. In addition, USDA must offer to enter into agreements with such agencies and departments to support state and tribal efforts to develop and implement management strategies that address the disease. USDA must also develop and maintain materials to inform the public on chronic wasting disease and techniques to help prevent the spread of the disease. In addition, USDA must solicit public feedback on potential updates and improvements to standards of the chronic wasting disease herd certification program.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 2021
Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act This bill prohibits the Department of the Treasury from requiring a financial institution to report the transfers into and out of a financial account. This prohibition does not apply to laws or regulations in effect on October 1, 2021.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2021
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3900 Crown Road Southwest in Atlanta, Georgia, as the "John R. Lewis Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2021
Student Veteran COVID-19 Protection Act of 2021 This bill addresses the administration of certain Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) educational assistance benefits and home loans, including by authorizing the VA to waive certain enrollment verifications, exempting foreign educational institutions from certain requirements, extending the time limitations on the use of educational assistance benefits, and adjusting certain home loan fees.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2021
Accountability in Foreign Animal Research Act This bill prohibits the National Institutes of Health from conducting or supporting research that involves testing on vertebrate animals in China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, or other countries determined to be a foreign adversary.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2021
Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2021 or the PAST Act of 2021 This bill addresses the practice of soring horses. The soring of horses includes various actions taken on horses' limbs to produce higher gaits that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness. Specifically, the bill expands soring regulation and enforcement at horse shows, exhibitions, sales, and auctions, including by establishing a new system for inspecting horses for soring. In addition, the bill increases penalties for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2021
Equal Access to the Right Nutrition for Military Families (EARN) Act of 2021 This bill facilitates the participation of military households in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by excluding from income limits the housing allowance provided to members of the Armed Forces and modifying administration and other aspects of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2021
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.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2021
This resolution celebrates the contributions of small businesses in every U.S. community and supports the designation of National Small Business Week. Further, it supports efforts to provide small businesses with aid and assistance through certain programs and initiatives.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2021
Working Dog Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue 50,000 $5 gold coins, 500,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins in commemoration of the service that working dogs provide to society. The designs of the coins minted under this bill shall be emblematic of the contributions of working dogs to society, including in detection, military service, therapy and assistance. Treasury may issue coins only during the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2023. All sales of coins shall include a surcharge, which shall be paid to America's VetDogs for general expenses associated with the fulfillment of its mission.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 2021
Honoring Purple Heart Recipients Act This bill requires the Department of Defense to include individuals who are awarded the Purple Heart after the date of the enactment of this bill on its publicly accessible website that lists individuals who are recipients of certain military awards. Under the bill, the individual or their next of kin must elect to have the individual included on the list.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 2021
Curriculum Review of Teachings Transparency Act or the CRT Transparency Act This bill requires a local educational agency, in order to receive certain federal education grants, to post on a publicly accessible website the curriculum for each grade level of its elementary and secondary schools.
United States · United States Congress · 31 August 2021
This bill posthumously provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of the 13 service members who died on August 26, 2021, while stationed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.
United States · United States Congress · 24 August 2021
This resolution condemns the President's failure to heed military and intelligence advisors about the speed and nature of the Taliban offense in Afghanistan and urges the President to commit to maintaining the evacuation operation as long as necessary to evacuate any U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or Afghan partner who requests evacuation assistance .
United States · United States Congress · 20 August 2021
Mental Health Stigma in the Military Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Defense to implement a pilot program through July 1, 2022, to survey access to mental health care under the military health system. Command climate surveys must be administered to active duty service members of not fewer than 20 commands, 10 of which must be deployable, in each military department.
United States · United States Congress · 13 August 2021
Rare Earth Magnet Manufacturing Production Tax Credit Act of 2021 This bill allows a new tax credit for the domestic production of rare earth magnets manufactured in the ordinary course of a taxpayer's trade or business. The bill defines rare earth magnet as a permanent magnet comprised of (1) an alloy of neodymium, praseodymium, iron, boron, terbium, or dysprosium; or (2) an alloy of samarium, gadolinium, and cobalt.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2021
Combating the Persecution of Christians in China Act This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should promote religious freedom in China and makes statements of policy related to such freedom. In particular, the bill states that it is U.S. policy to consider senior Chinese government officials who are responsible for the persecution of Christians in China to have committed (1) a gross violation of internationally recognized human rights for the purpose of imposing certain sanctions, and (2) a particularly severe violation of religious freedom for the purpose of determining whether such an individual is admissible into the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2021
Fiscal State of the Nation Resolution This concurrent resolution requires the congressional budget committees to conduct an annual joint hearing to receive a presentation from the Comptroller General regarding (1) the Government Accountability Office's audit of the financial statement of the executive branch, and (2) the financial position and condition of the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2021
Countering Communist China Act This bill addresses issues related to China, tax incentives, and other topics. The bill imposes visa- and property-blocking sanctions on certain entities and individuals that (1) are involved in acts of malign disinformation on behalf of a foreign government or political party, or (2) have engaged in a pattern of significant infringement of intellectual property belonging to a U.S. entity or individual. It also authorizes sanctions on developers and owners of software that makes unauthorized transmissions of user data to servers that are located in China and are accessible by China's government. The bill also provides tax incentives for relocating pharmaceutical, medical supply, or medical device manufacturing to the United States, including by allowing accelerated depreciation of nonresidential real property acquired in connection with such relocation; eliminates the five-year amortization requirement for research and experimental expenditures scheduled to begin in 2022, thus allowing continued expensing of such expenditures in the taxable years in which they are incurred; prohibits an institution of higher education from receiving certain federal funds if the institution has a contractual partnership with an entity controlled by China's government or organized under China's laws; modifies presumptions and evidentiary standards in administrative patent validity challenges; bars China from asserting sovereign immunity in certain instances; requires U.S. representatives to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to take certain actions, such as opposing any increase to the weight given to China's currency when determining the value of IMF Special Drawing Rights; and permanently rescinds unobligated funds previously made available for certain economic relief programs related to COVID-19.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2021
Stop Copay Overpay Act This bill prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from charging a covered individual (i.e., individuals enrolled under the TRICARE program) a co-payment exceeding a certain rate for an outpatient visit for mental health or behavioral health under the TRICARE program, regardless of whether the visit is furnished by a specialty care provider. Specifically, the co-payment amount may not exceed the amount of a co-payment that would be charged under the TRICARE program for an outpatient visit for primary care services. During the one-year period after this bill is enacted, DOD may not increase the co-payment amount charged to a covered individual for any service (1) furnished by a specialty care provider under the TRICARE program, and (2) that is not mental or behavioral health care.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2021
Plugging Orphan Wells and Environmental Restoration Act of 2021 or the POWER Act of 2021 This bill addresses orphaned, abandoned, or idled oil and gas wells on federal, tribal, state, or private lands. Specifically, the bill reauthorizes through FY2026 the program to remediate, reclaim, and close orphaned, abandoned, or idled oil and gas wells located on federal land. Additionally, the Department of the Interior must establish a program to provide grants to states and Indian tribes to remediate, reclaim, and close orphaned oil and gas wells located on state, tribal, or private lands. In providing grants, priority must be given to states and Indian tribes that already have an established program to carry out such activities. Finally, the Department of Energy must provide technical assistance to oil and gas producing states and Indian tribes to ensure practical and economical remedies for environmental problems caused by orphaned or abandoned oil and gas well sites on state, tribal, or private land.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2021
Steel Industry Preservation Act This bill extends and modifies the production tax credit for steel industry fuel. (Under current law, steel industry fuel is a fuel that is (1) produced through a process of liquefying coal waste sludge and distributing it on coal, and (2) used as a feedstock for the manufacture of coke.) Specifically, the bill modifies the tax credit to (1) extend the credit period and the placed-in-service date for steel industry fuel producing facilities, (2) revise the definition of steel industry fuel to allow blends of coal and petroleum coke or other coke feedstock in the fuel, and (3) specify requirements for treating an owner as producing and selling steel industry fuel. The bill also allows a taxpayer that produces steel industry fuel to elect to accept an increased tax credit in lieu of certain deductions for expenses in connection with the production of steel industry fuel.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2021
This resolution directs the Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services to engage with the World Health Organization to promote tobacco control and tobacco harm reduction approaches to combat non-communicable diseases associated with cigarette smoking globally.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2021
School Milk Nutrition Act of 20 21 This bill revises requirements for milk provided by the National School Lunch Program of the Department of Agriculture. The bill permits schools participating in the program to offer students low-fat flavored milk.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2021
Entrepreneurs Need Timely Replenishment (for) Eating Establishments Act or the ENTRÉE Act This bill provides FY2021 supplemental appropriations for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and modifies requirements related to administration of the fund. The fund was established in response to COVID-19 to make grants to eligible food and beverage purveyors for covering specified costs such as payroll, operational expenses, and paid sick leave. The bill correspondingly rescinds unobligated amounts previously made available for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program and coronavirus state and local fiscal recovery funds. Further, the bill requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) to (1) review and process grant applications in the order in which they are received; (2) impose requirements on applicants that reduce waste, fraud, and abuse; and (3) submit and report monthly on an oversight and audit plan outlining the SBA's policies, procedures, and activities with respect to these grants.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2021
Tax Fairness for the Self-Employed Act of 2021 This bill allows the tax deduction for health insurance costs in determining net earnings from self-employment.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2021
Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act of 2021 This bill generally prohibits federal agencies and private businesses from publicly posting the personally identifiable information (e.g., home addresses) of federal judges and their immediate family members. It also (1) requires information to be removed upon written request from the federal judge concerned, (2) prohibits data brokers from purchasing or selling such information, and (3) establishes programs to protect such information at the state and local level and to enhance security for judges.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2021
Facilitating Innovative Nuclear Diagnostics Act of 2021 This bill establishes separate payment requirements for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals under the Medicare prospective payment system for hospital outpatient department services. The bill's requirements apply to diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals that have an average daily cost of $500 or more in 2022 and as adjusted based on a specified fee schedule factor in each year thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2021
This bill provides supplemental FY2021 appropriations to the National Guard for its response to the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The bill designates the funding as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2021
Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2021 This bill requires the Small Business Administration to carry out a pilot program assessing the feasibility and advisability of making grants to eligible veterans to start or acquire a small business concern, a franchise business enterprise, or any other appropriate category of business enterprise. Eligible veterans are those veterans or members of the Armed Forces who (1) are currently retiring or separating from the Armed Forces or have been honorably discharged from active duty, (2) have completed a specified minimum period of active duty, and (3) are entitled to certain educational assistance programs. Grant recipients must complete an entrepreneurship readiness program and prepare a business plan, and they may use grant funds for purposes such as purchasing goods or services, funding a project that is directed toward economic development objectives, and acquiring a business enterprise.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2021
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provides essential protection for our country from foreign and domestic threats and that defunding DHS would be detrimental to our national security.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2021
No Frivolous Application for Short-Barreled Shotguns Act or the NFA SBS Act This bill removes certain short-barreled shotguns from the definition of firearms for purposes of the National Firearms Act. It also eliminates the prohibition on the sale or transportation of such shotguns in interstate commerce and treats persons who acquire or possess a short-barreled shotgun as meeting the registration or licensing requirements for such shotguns where such requirements are determined by reference to the National Firearms Act. The bill preempts state or local laws that impose a tax or recordkeeping requirements on short-barreled shotguns. The Department of Justice must destroy records relating to the registration of shotguns described by this bill within one year after the enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2021
Energy Poverty Prevention and Accountability Act This bill addresses energy poverty (i.e., insufficient access to affordable energy) in at-risk communities. An at-risk community is a community that is low-income, minority, rural, elderly, or Native American. The Department of the Interior must report on (1) barriers to the ability of at-risk communities that live on or near federal land or tribal land to access reliable and affordable energy, including how the presence of adequate energy transmission infrastructure affects such access; and (2) actions that it and the Forest Service may take to reduce such barriers. In addition, certain executive actions may not be carried out until Interior conducts energy poverty studies for such actions. The Congressional Budget Office must report on how a bill or resolution will affect the cost of energy for at-risk communities. The Government Accountability Office must (1) analyze federal energy and environmental laws and regulations, and state renewable portfolio standards, to determine how such laws, regulations, and standards affected electricity prices, home heating prices, gasoline prices, motor vehicle prices, natural gas prices, and household appliance prices in at-risk communities; and (2) develop criteria to determine whether an at-risk community is experiencing energy poverty. The Office of Management and Budget must review and publish each applicable energy regulation to determine if any regulation imposes, relative to the general population, disproportionate costs on at-risk communities.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2021
Stop Inflationary Spending Act This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide inflation projections for bills that Congress considers using the budget reconciliation process. Specifically, the CBO must estimate the impact on inflation that will occur from implementing each reconciliation bill, including the impact on inflation that will occur during each of the first five years after the enactment of the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2021
Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Authorization Act This bill authorizes the allocation of certain funds for purposes related to the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, requires the Department of State to develop a strategy for prioritizing efforts to increase disaster response and resilience in the Caribbean, and establishes monitoring and reporting requirements. Funds for carrying out the initiative shall be used for purposes that include (1) promoting citizen safety, security, and the rule of law in the Caribbean; (2) prioritizing efforts to combat corruption; and (3) promoting the rule of law in the Caribbean and countering influence from authoritarian regimes. The State Department shall develop a strategy that incorporates specific, measurable benchmarks demonstrating a prioritization of efforts to increase disaster response and resilience through carrying out specified coordination, resilience, and preparedness programs in beneficiary countries. The State Department must also submit an implementation plan that includes a timeline and stated objectives for such actions to be taken.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2021
Know Your Social Security Act This bill requires the Social Security Administration to provide Social Security account statements by mail to each individual who is 25 or older and who is eligible for, but not currently receiving, Social Security retirement benefits. Individuals may choose to receive their account statements electronically.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2021
Minor League Baseball Relief Act This bill establishes a program for the relief of certain minor league baseball clubs and independent professional baseball clubs that experienced large business losses. The bill provides funding for the Small Business Administration to make grants to such clubs that experienced decreases in gross revenue in 2020 of at least 75%, as measured against revenues in 2019 (or, if revenues were negatively affected by a natural disaster or weather disruption in 2019, by the average of revenues over the prior three-year period). The source of funding for the grants shall be funds appropriated under enacted COVID-19 relief legislation that have not been obligated and are no longer being used to carry out activities authorized under those laws. Grant amounts provided to any club may not exceed $10 million.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2021
This resolution requires an analytical statement to be included in committee reports on whether, and the extent to which, the increased budget authority, outlays, or revenue produced by the enactment of a bill or joint resolution may have an inflationary impact on prices and costs in the operation of the national economy and the purchasing power of low- and middle-income families.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2021
Foreign Gain-of-Function Research Prevention Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to conduct or support gain-of-function research involving potential pandemic pathogens by China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, or other foreign adversaries. Gain-of-function research is any research that is anticipated to confer an attribute on a pathogen to enhance its pathogenicity or transmissibility in mammals. If the Department of State finds that an entity has used funds for prohibited research, the entity may not receive any federal funding for a period of five years.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2021
Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic Notarization Act of 2021 This bill allows a notary public commissioned under state law to remotely notarize electronic records and perform notarizations for remotely located individuals. The bill provides technical requirements for such notarizations, including the creation and retention of video and audio recordings and the use of communication technologies (i.e., video chat). Additionally, the bill requires U.S. courts and states to recognize notarizations—including remote notarizations of electronic records and notarizations of remotely-located individuals—that occur in or affect interstate commerce and are performed by a notary public commissioned under the laws of other states. The bill also allows a notary public to remotely notarize electronic records involving an individual located outside of the United States, subject to certain requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2021
Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2021 This bill exempts traditional large and premium cigars from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation and FDA-assessed user fees.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2021
Taiwan Defense Act of 2021 This bill establishes that it shall be U.S. policy to maintain the ability of the U.S. Armed Forces to defeat attempts by China to invade and seize control of Taiwan before U.S. forces can respond effectively.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2021
H-2B Returning Worker Exception Act of 2021 This bill modifies the H-2B (temporary nonagricultural workers) nonimmigrant visa program, including by exempting certain workers from an annual numerical limit on such visas and requiring civil penalties for program violations. Under this bill, if a worker seeking a H-2B visa has been counted toward the 66,000 annual cap on such visas in one of the three preceding fiscal years, that worker shall not be counted against the cap again. Furthermore, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must impose a civil monetary penalty on an employer for (1) failing to meet requirements related to an H-2B visa petition, or (2) making a willful misrepresentation of material fact in such a petition. DHS must also ensure the establishment of an electronic platform (1) for employers to submit and request approval of an H-2B petition, and (2) to act as a single point of access for applicants and the relevant government agencies. The Department of Labor must maintain a publicly available online database of all job orders by H-2B employers. Furthermore, Labor may take certain actions to enforce program requirements, such as imposing penalties and seeking injunctions. The bill provides statutory authority for the current practice of limiting the program to workers who are nationals of countries approved by DHS. DHS may make exceptions to this limitation in individual cases if it is in the U.S. interest to do so. DHS shall select approved countries based on various factors, such as the rate of overstay by H-2B visa holders from each country.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2021
Renter Protection Act of 2021 This bill limits the use and availability of assistance provided under certain emergency rental assistance programs created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, rental assistance not yet used by grantees to assist eligible households as of July 1, 2021, must only be used for rental arrears after this date, and not for rent, utilities and home energy costs and arrears, or other expenses as allowed under current law. Further, the bill changes the deadline for distribution of these funds from September 30, 2022, to December 31, 2021.
![Official portrait of Rep. Reschenthaler, Guy [R-PA-14]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/r000610_200.jpg)