United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2021
Forest Litigation Reform Act of 2021 This bill sets forth provisions regarding legal challenges to federal forest management activities on land suitable for timber production. The bill revises the standard of review for a court considering a request for injunctive relief applicable to an agency's qualified forest management activity. Specifically, a court must balance the impact to the ecosystem of undertaking the agency action against not undertaking the agency action. The bill also limits the length of preliminary injunctive relief and stays pending appeal in such cases to 60 days. Additionally, the bill directs the Department of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest System lands, and the Department of the Interior, with respect to public lands, to each establish a discretionary arbitration pilot program as an alternative dispute resolution process for challenges to qualified forest management activities. The bill prohibits amounts from being obligated or expended from the Claims and Judgment Fund and awards to pay any fees or other expenses to any plaintiff related to an action challenging a qualified forest management activity.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2021
Salvaging American Lumber Via Action with Greater Efficiency Act or the SALVAGE Act This bill provides for certain activities related to salvage operations and certain reforestation activities conducted on National Forest System lands or public lands. The bill categorically excludes salvage operations carried out by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior, on certain National Forest System lands or certain public lands, respectively, from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement. Each salvage operation covered by the categorical exclusion may not contain treatment units that exceed a total of 10,000 acres. An environmental assessment for a salvage operation or reforestation activity proposed to be conducted on National Forest System lands or public lands that are adversely impacted by a large-scale catastrophic event shall be completed within 60 days after the conclusion of the event. In the case of such reforestation activities USDA and Interior shall, to the maximum extent practicable, achieve reforestation of at least 75% of the impacted lands during the five-year period following the conclusion of the catastrophic event. No later than 60 days after a wildfire is contained on National Forest System lands, USDA shall convert any timber sales on lands impacted by such wildfire to salvage sales. No restraining order, preliminary injunction, or injunction pending appeal shall be issued by any U.S. court respecting any decision to prepare or conduct a salvage operation or reforestation activity in response to a large-scale catastrophic event.
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 · 19 July 2021
Responding Aggressively to Prevent Insects and Disease Act or the RAPID Act This bill expands exemptions from environmental review requirements for projects of the Forest Service concerning wildfire resilience or insects and disease.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2021
Protecting and Restoring Our Trees by Enhancing Conservation and Treatments Act or the PROTECT Act This bill categorically excludes forest management activities carried out on specified public lands from requirements to conduct environmental assessments and environmental impact statements. In order to be excluded from environmental review, the primary purposes of such activities must be to address insect or disease infestations, reduce hazardous fuel loads, protect municipal water sources, protect critical habitats from catastrophic disturbances, increase water yield, remove dead or dying trees or trees at high risk of dying, or facilitate native species restoration. The bill limits the categorical exclusion to activities that manage up to 10,000 acres of land. However, activities that manage up to 30,000 acres of land may be categorically excluded from environmental review if the activities are developed through a collaborative process, proposed by certain resource advisory committees, or covered by community wildfire protection plans.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2021
Tribal Biochar Promotion Act of 2021 This bill establishes biochar demonstration projects. Biochar refers to carbonized biomass produced by converting feedstock through reductive thermal processing for nonfuel uses. Specifically, the bill directs the Department of the Interior (for land under Bureau of Land Management jurisdiction) and the Department of Agriculture (for land under Forest Service jurisdiction) to enter into agreements with tribes or tribal organizations to carry out biochar demonstration projects. These projects must support the development and commercialization of biochar on Indian forest land or rangeland and in nearby communities by providing them with reliable supplies of feedstock from federal lands.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2021
Wildfire Prevention and Drought Mitigation Act of 2021 This bill categorically excludes forest management activities carried out on specified public lands from requirements to conduct environmental assessments and environmental impact statements. In order to be excluded from environmental review, the primary purposes of such activities must be to protect a municipal or tribal water source from damage caused by wildfire; improve watershed or habitat conditions; improve, maintain, or restore water yield or quality; improve, maintain, or restore snowpack; or adapt the forest landscape to an increased threat of drought. The bill limits the categorical exclusion to activities that manage up to 10,000 acres of land. However, activities that manage up to 30,000 acres of land may be categorically excluded from environmental review if the activities are located in areas that (1) are in a severe, extreme, or exceptional drought; or (2) have been in such droughts in the previous five years.
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 · 9 July 2021
Clean Energy Protection Act This bill sets forth provisions to enable the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California to remain in operation. Specifically, it directs California and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to issue any permits or licenses that are necessary to enable the power plant to remain in operation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2021
Protect American Trade Secrets Act of 2021 This bill explicitly grants extraterritorial jurisdiction over civil claims for conduct involving trade secret theft occurring outside the United States and impacting U.S. commerce, including conduct by an offender who is (1) not a U.S. person or lawful U.S. resident, or (2) a foreign organization.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2021
Active Forest Management, Wildfire Prevention and Community Protection Act This bill establishes forest management, forest conservation, and wildfire prevention programs and activities. The bill establishes a collaborative prescribed fire program, an incentive program for large, cross-boundary prescribed fires, a program to remove or treat bark beetle-killed or infested trees, the Restoration and Resilience Partnership Program, and Forest Reserve Revenue Areas to generate revenue for counties. The bill also provides for, among other things the removal of certain trees or parts of those trees that come within 500 feet of an electric power line as hazard trees, the selection and implementation of landscape-scale forest restoration projects, removing the maximum term limits on stewardship end result contracting projects, study of only two alternatives (action vs. nonaction) in proposed collaborative forest management activities, the balancing of the long- and short-term effects of forest management activities on the affected ecosystem while considering injunctive relief, categorical exclusions from certain environmental requirements for specified forest management activities, and the expansion of the fire regime areas outside the wildland-urban interface for which a collaborative restoration project may be conducted.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2021
Veterans in Parks (VIP) Act This bill makes the America the Beautiful-National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available, without charge, to members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and Gold Star Families. The pass covers the entrance fee and standard amenity recreation fee for all federal recreational lands and waters.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2021
Removing Federal Barriers to Offering of Mobile Wagers on Indian Lands Act This bill establishes provisions related to the regulation of certain online wagers (i.e., bets) as Indian gaming. The bill deems an online wager as occurring exclusively on Indian lands, and therefore subject to the jurisdictional framework that governs Indian gaming, if (1) the person placing the wager and the server that accepts the wager are located in the same state, and (2) the applicable state and Indian tribe have entered into a gaming compact. For the purposes of regulation as Indian gaming, an online wager is deemed to be made at the physical location of the server or other computer equipment used to accept the wager, unless otherwise agreed to by the state and Indian tribe.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2021
Student Veterans Counseling Centers Eligibility Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish counseling, including counseling through a Vet Center, to veterans or members of the Armed Forces who are pursuing a course of education using specified Department of Defense or VA educational assistance benefits.
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 · 25 June 2021
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Fraud Protection Act This bill creates several requirements for states to address fraudulent claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), temporarily increases penalties for fraud related to PUA, and requires each state to establish a hotline for victims of unemployment fraud. Specifically, the bill requires states to cross reference PUA claims with federal and state prison records and E-Verify to ensure that claimants are eligible for PUA, submit to the Department of Labor plans to recover fraudulently obtained PUA, develop an anti-fraud task force to investigate and recover fraudulently obtained PUA, make restitution to Labor for the amount of any overpayment of PUA made by the state, and establish a hotline designed to encourage individuals who are victims of unemployment fraud and have received an incorrect statement of unemployment compensation to report that fraud. The bill also temporarily enhances the maximum penalty for fraud related to PUA through December 31, 2021, so that the offense is classified as fraud in relation to a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency and punishable by up to 30 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000,000, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2021
Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act of 2021 This bill imposes a limitation on the tax deduction for qualified conservation contributions made by certain partnerships if the amount of the contribution exceeds 2.5% times the sum of each partner's relevant basis in the partnership. This limitation also applies to other pass-thru entities, such as S corporations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2021
Retain Skilled Veterans Act This bill modifies the restriction related to the appointment of retired members of the Armed Forces to certain civil service positions in the Department of Defense. Under the bill, the 180-day waiting period before a retired member may be appointed to a position only applies to those positions in the excepted or competitive service classified at or above GS-14 of the General Schedule (or equivalent).
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2021
Necessary to Ensure Expeditious Delivery of Water Act or the NEED Water Act This bill addresses drought in California. The bill requires the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior to direct the operations of the Central Valley Project and allow operations of the State Water Project ( both in California) to provide the maximum quantity of water supplies possible to (1) the Central Valley Project agricultural, municipal and industrial, and refuge service and repayment contractors; and (2) State Water Project contractors. The bill extends the authority for the funding of federally owned storage projects and state-led storage projects that Interior determines to be feasible before January 1, 2031. The bill extends various water projects in California until December 31, 2031. The bill extends federal agency cooperation with state and local agencies to resolve water resource issues concerning the conservation of endangered species in any consultation or reconsultation on the coordinated operation of the Central Valley Project and the State Valley Project until December 31, 2036.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2021
Making Aid for Local Disasters Equal Now Act or the MALDEN Act This bill modifies requirements pertaining to the time frame for approval of major disaster or emergency declarations and the ability to make federal resources available to rural communities. Specifically, a major disaster or emergency declaration must be made not later than 30 days after a request by a governor or the chief executive of an affected Indian tribal government. Failure to meet the 30-day requirement shall result in an automatic approval of the request. Additionally, if a disaster or emergency occurs in a rural area, regardless of whether a declaration has been made, the Small State and Rural Advocate within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shall work in coordination with local agencies to provide guidance on developing a recovery team, including resources to help prevent flooding, mudslides, rockslides or any other natural disaster that could result after a wildfire and identifying available resources for both short-term and long-term recovery. If a request for individual assistance for residents in a rural area is made but denied, the Small State and Rural Advocate shall work in coordination with local agencies to make disaster case workers available to such residents.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2021
Fellowships and Traineeships for Early-Career AI Researchers Act This bill directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to award grants and fellowships to support students and researchers in fields related to artificial intelligence. Specifically, the NSF must award grants to institutions of higher education to establish traineeship programs for graduate students who pursue artificial intelligence-related research leading to a masters or doctorate degree. Among other things, an institution of higher education shall use such grant funds to (1) provide traineeships to students who are pursuing research in artificial intelligence leading to a masters or doctorate degree; and (2) establish scientific internship programs for students receiving traineeships in artificial intelligence at for-profit institutions, nonprofit research institutions, or government laboratories. The NSF shall award fellowships to masters and doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers at institutions of higher education who are pursuing degrees or research in artificial intelligence and related fields, including in the field of technology ethics.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2021
Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development Act or the SHRED Act This bill establishes the Ski Area Fee Retention Account. A specified portion of rental charges for ski area permits on a Forest Service unit shall be deposited in such account. Amounts in the fund shall be available to the unit for expenditure without further appropriation for ski area administration, improvements, visitor services, and wildfire preparedness. Funds may be reallocated only if the amounts collected exceed the reasonable needs of the unit.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2021
Essential Caregivers Act of 2021 This bill requires skilled nursing facilities, nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities for the intellectually disabled, and nearby inpatient rehabilitation facilities to establish an essential caregivers program during a public health emergency. Under the program, facilities must allow each resident to select up to two essential caregivers to provide daily living assistance, emotional support, or companionship during the emergency. Facilities must afford such caregivers 12 hours of access to residents each day (or unlimited access for end-of-life care), and caregivers must agree to follow facility protocols for staff safety. Facilities may deny access to caregivers who violate protocols, subject to certain notification requirements; the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must establish an appeals process relating to such decisions and may take specified enforcement actions against facilities that violate the bill's requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2021
Reopening to address Every COmplete Record request for Devoted Servicemembers Act of 2021 or the RECORDS Act of 2021 This bill directs the Office of the Archivist of the United States to take specified steps to address record request backlogs. Specifically, the office must take actions to ensure that (1) the number of individuals employed by the National Personnel Records Center is equal to or exceeds the number of such individuals employed on March 2, 2020, and (2) the percentage of such individuals regularly reporting to work in person is equal to or exceeds the percentage of such individuals regularly reporting to work in person on that date. The office shall submit to specified congressional committees a report that provides a comprehensive plan to address the record request backlog of the National Personnel Records Center and improve the efficiency and responsiveness of operations at the center, identifies measurable goals with respect to the comprehensive plan and metrics for tracking progress toward such goals, and describes strategies to prevent future record request backlogs.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 2021
This bill designates the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in San Diego, California, as the Jennifer Moreno Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The bill also expresses the sense of Congress that the VA should designate a prominent physical space within the Jennifer Moreno Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center to honor Kathleen Mae Bruyere.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 2021
Mono Lake Kutzadikaᵃ Tribe Recognition Act This bill extends federal recognition to the Mono Lake Kutzadikaᵃ Tribe. The bill makes the tribe and its members eligible for services and benefits provided to federally recognized tribes and their members, without regard to the existence of a reservation or the location of the residence of any member. The service area of the tribe is considered to be Mono and Inyo counties, California. In addition, the bill grants the tribe hunting and fishing rights on all federal lands within its aboriginal land area. Further, the tribe must submit a membership roll to the Department of the Interior as a condition of receiving recognition, services, and benefits. The tribe must maintain the membership roll. Interior, upon the request of the tribe, must take into trust certain land in Mono County, California, for the benefit of the tribe.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2021
Department of Energy Science for the Future Act This bill supports specified research and development activities of the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. The bill establishes various programs, including a basic energy sciences research and development program; a biological systems science and climate and environmental science research and development program; earth and environmental systems science research; a coastal zone research initiative; a Quantum User Expansion for Science and Technology program or QUEST program; a collaborative research and development program of fusion energy technologies; a research program on the fundamental constituents of matter and energy and the nature of space and time; a high energy physics research program; research activities on the nature of the primary contents of the universe, including the nature of dark energy and dark matter; a research program to discover and understand various forms of nuclear matter; and a high intensity laser research initiative. The DOE Office of Science shall continue to leverage U.S. participation in the Large Hadron Collider and prioritize expanding international partnerships and investments in the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility and Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. The bill requires DOE to expand opportunities to increase the number, diversity, equity, and inclusion of highly skilled science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals working in DOE.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2021
Surface Transportation Research and Development Act of 202 1 This bill addresses provisions related to surface transportation research, development, and deployment programs of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Among other provisions, the bill reauthorizes through FY2026 DOT highway research and development programs, including highway safety, technology and innovation deployment, training and education, and intelligent transportation systems; sets forth a program to provide awards to institutions of higher education or nonprofit research organizations to establish regional road weather research and development centers; reauthorizes through FY2026 the University Transportation Centers Program, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the public transportation research and development program, the National Cooperative Rail Research Program, the hazardous materials research and development program, and the National Cooperative Freight Transportation Research Program; establishes Centers of Excellence to advance research and development that improves the resilience of regions of the United States to natural disasters, extreme weather, and the effects of climate change on modal and multimodal transportation and infrastructure; directs DOT to carry out and publish the results of a study for the purpose of informing land use and transportation planning for accessible health, food, education, and other essential services and activities; and requires DOT to establish a multimodal national cooperative freight transportation research program, a Heavy Freight Automated Trucking Research Initiative, and an Advanced Transportation Research and Innovation Program.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2021
United States Army Rangers Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to the U.S. Army Rangers Veterans of World War II in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2021
Reducing Barriers for Military Voters Act This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop a plan for providing end-to-end electronic voting services (e.g., services for registering to vote and returning a ballot) in participating states for absent uniformed service members who are deployed or mobilized in locations with limited or no postal service. Specifically, DOD must develop the plan by consulting with state and local election officials. Further, the plan must include (1) methods to ensure that voters have the opportunity to verify that their ballots are received and tabulated, (2) methods to generate a verifiable and auditable vote trail, and (3) an assessment of whether commercially available technologies may be used to carry out the plan. DOD must implement the plan for a trial group of voters in participating states for the 2024 federal elections. The plan must be implemented for all voters in participating states for the 2026 federal elections and subsequent years.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2021
National Center for the Advancement of Aviation Act of 202 1 This bill establishes the National Center for the Advancement of Aviation to serve as a national independent forum to facilitate collaboration and cooperation between aviation and aerospace stakeholders to support and promote civil and military aviation and aerospace. The center must perform the following duties support the development of aviation and aerospace education curricula; support the professional development of educators using such curricula; promote aviation and aerospace employment opportunities; support Armed Forces personnel seeking to transition to a career in civil aviation or an aerospace-related field through outreach, training, apprenticeships, or other means; serve as a central repository for publicly available economic data, safety data, and research efforts related to the aviation and aerospace sectors; and serve as a forum, through symposiums, conferences, and other means as appropriate, for cross-disciplinary collaboration among aviation and aerospace stakeholders. Additionally, the center may issue grants to organizations that have experience in, and knowledge of, creating, developing, and delivering or updating (1) high school aviation curricula; or (2) aviation curricula used at institutions of higher education, secondary educations institutions, or by technical training and vocational schools.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2021
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.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2021
This bill requires the Office of Personnel Management to establish one or more occupational series for positions in the federal government in the fields of software development, software engineering, data science, and data management.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2021
Saving Gig Economy Taxpayers Act This bill modifies requirements for third party settlement organizations to eliminate their reporting requirement with respect to the transactions of their participating payees unless they have earned more than $20,000 on more than 200 separate transactions in an applicable tax period. A third party settlement organization is the central organization that has the contractual obligation to make payments to participating payees (generally, a merchant or business) in a third party payment network. This reverses a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 that lowered the reporting threshold to $600 with no minimum on the number of transactions.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2021
Transatlantic Telecommunications Security Act This bill directs the Department of State and other federal agencies to help Central and Eastern European countries improve the security of their telecommunications networks. A project located in a Central or Eastern European country shall be eligible for assistance if it (1) improves telecommunications networks; (2) is inclusive, transparent, economically viable, sustainable, supplied only with secure equipment and services, and compliant with international standards and laws; (3) does not use equipment or services from China or replaces such equipment or services; and (4) enhances telecommunications market integration across the Central or Eastern European region that is secure against malign actors. To support eligible projects, the State Department shall provide diplomatic and political support and shall also encourage international financial institutions to provide investment support. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and other specified federal agencies shall also provide project support, such as feasibility studies and finance-related support, as necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2021
Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2019 or the RPM Act of 2019 [ sic ] This bill authorizes the modification of a vehicle's air emission controls for vehicles that are not legal for operation on a street or highway and are used solely for competition.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2021
Next Generation Computing Research and Development Act of 2021 This bill provides for the support of advanced scientific computing programs and activities at the Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE Office of Science shall carry out a research and development program to advance computational and networking capabilities to analyze and predict complex phenomena relevant to the development of new energy technologies and U.S. competitiveness. DOE shall establish a program to implement a strategy for achieving computing systems with capabilities beyond exascale computing systems; support a program of fundamental research and development of energy efficient computing technologies relevant to advanced computing applications in high performance computing, artificial intelligence, and scientific machine learning; and provide for an upgrade to the Energy Sciences Network user facility in order to meet federal research needs for highly reliable data transport capabilities optimized for the requirements of large-scale science. The DOE Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research shall support the development of a computational science workforce. The DOE Office of Science shall maintain a balanced portfolio within the advanced scientific computing research and development program that supports robust investment in applied mathematical, computational, and computer sciences research needs relevant to DOE's mission; and associated high-performance computing hardware and facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2021
This resolution calls on the Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Education and state attorneys general to assist elementary and secondary schools in complying with existing civil rights laws and investigate and enforce such laws. In addition, the resolution condemns the practice of requiring teachers to receive education in critical race theory as a condition of certification.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2021
This bill prohibits any executive agency from contravening Executive Order 13950 (Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping), except as such order relates to contractors and grant recipients.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2021
Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2021 This bill establishes several requirements and standards relating to prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Specifically, MA plans must (1) establish an electronic prior authorization program that meets specified standards, including the ability to provide real-time decisions in response to requests for items and services that are routinely approved; (2) annually publish specified prior authorization information, including the percentage of requests approved and the average response time; and (3) meet other standards, as set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, relating to the quality and timeliness of prior authorization determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2021
Combatting Racist Training in the Military Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the Armed Forces and academic institutions of the Department of Defense from promoting specified anti-American and racist theories (e.g., that any race is inherently superior or inferior to any other race). Specifically, the bill prohibits including anti-American and racist theories or materials in curricula, reading lists, seminars, workshops, trainings, or other educational or professional settings in a manner that could appear as sponsorship, approval, or endorsement; contracting with, hiring, or otherwise engaging speakers, consultants, diversity trainers, and other persons for the purpose of advocating anti-American and racist theories; compelling members of the Armed Forces to affirm or profess belief in anti-American and racist theories; and segregating members of the Armed Forces by race in any setting, including educational and training sessions.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2021
Modernizing Access to our Public Land Act or the MAPLand Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to jointly develop and adopt interagency standards to ensure compatibility and interoperability among federal databases for the collection and dissemination of outdoor recreation data related to federal lands. Interior, the Forest Service, and the Corps of Engineers must digitize and publish geographic information system mapping data that includes federal interests, including easements and rights-of-way, in private land; status information as to whether roads and trails are open or closed; the dates on which roads and trails are seasonally opened and closed; the types of vehicles that are allowed on each segment of roads and trails; the boundaries of areas where hunting or recreational shooting is regulated or closed; and the boundaries of any portion of a body of water that is closed to entry, is closed to watercraft, or has horsepower limitations for watercraft.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2021
Federal Law Enforcement Officer Service Weapon Purchase Act This bill directs the General Services Administration to establish a program under which a federal law enforcement officer may purchase a retired handgun from the agency that issued the handgun to the officer. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that amounts received from the sale of handguns should be used for evidence-based gun violence prevention or gun safety education and training programs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2021
Protect and Serve Act of 2021 This bill establishes a new criminal offense for knowingly assaulting a law enforcement officer and causing serious bodily injury (or attempting to do so) in circumstances that affect interstate commerce. It imposes criminal penalties—a prison term, a fine, or both—on a violator.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2021
Military Spouse Hiring Act This bill expands the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to include the hiring of a qualified military spouse. (The WOTC permits employers who hire individuals who are members of a targeted group such as qualified veterans, ex-felons, or long-term unemployment recipients to claim a tax credit equal to a portion of the wages paid to those individuals.) A qualified military spouse is any individual who is certified by the designated local agency as being (as of the hiring date) a spouse of a member of the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2021
This concurrent resolution declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over the air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2021
This resolution promotes increased public awareness of motorcyclist profiling. The resolution also encourages the motorcyclist community and law enforcement to collaborate and communicate on efforts to end motorcyclist profiling.
![Official portrait of Rep. Obernolte, Jay [R-CA-23]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/o000019_200.jpg)