United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2021
Fair and Open Competition Act or the FOCA Act This bill prohibits federal construction contracts or controlling documents for federally supported construction projects from requiring or prohibiting project labor agreements. Such documents also may not discriminate against or give preference to a bidder or contractor who signs or refuses to sign a project labor agreement. An agency may exempt a project from this prohibition to avert an imminent threat to public health or safety or to serve the national security.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 2021
LEOSA Reform Act This bill broadens the authority for certain law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms across state lines. Specifically, the bill allows qualified active and retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms and ammunition (including magazines) in school zones; in national parks; on state, local, or private property that is open to the public; and in certain federal facilities that are open to the public. Further, the bill permits states to reduce the frequency with which retired law enforcement officers must meet certain qualification standards.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 2021
This resolution supports the designation of a National FFA Week. It also (1) recognizes the important role of the National FFA Organization (Future Farmers of America) in developing the next generation of leaders who will change the world, and (2) celebrates 50 years of National FFA alumni and supporters.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 2021
Gun Owner Privacy Act This bill restricts the use of federal funds in connection with the implementation and operation of a firearms-related background check system. Specifically, it prohibits the use of federal funds for a firearms-related background check system that does not immediately destroy all information about a person who is eligible to own firearms, or the implementation or collection of a tax or fee in connection with a firearms-related background check.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 2021
This bill directs the Department of State to include additional information in its annual reports concerning Taiwan's participation at the World Health Organization's World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer. The report shall describe changes and improvements to the State Department's plan to support Taiwan's observer status at the WHA, following any meetings at which Taiwan did not participate under such status. (China has opposed Taiwan's participation in the WHA.)
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 2021
Retirement Freedom Act This bill allows an individual to opt out of Medicare hospital services benefits without also having to opt out of Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits and without having to repay Medicare hospital services benefits already received. The bill also allows an individual to opt back in with no penalty.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2021
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act This bill establishes a new criminal offense for performing or attempting to perform an abortion if the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus is 20 weeks or more. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both. The bill provides exceptions for an abortion (1) that is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, or (2) when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. A physician who performs or attempts to perform an abortion under an exception must comply with specified requirements. A woman who undergoes a prohibited abortion may not be prosecuted for violating or conspiring to violate the provisions of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2021
This resolution opposes the use of the National Emergencies Act to declare a climate emergency and states that any policy-making actions taken to address global climate conditions should be undertaken by the legislative branch.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2021
This resolution requests that the President transmit to the House of Representatives documents related to the amount of funding that was provided in specified laws regarding COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) and is currently unspent. The specified laws include the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020; the Families First Coronavirus Response Act; the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act); the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act; and Division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2021
Life at Conception Act This bill declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual comes into being. Nothing in this bill shall be construed to authorize the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2021
Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act of 2021 This bill requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to allow an individual to possess a firearm at a Corps water resources development project as long as the individual's possession of the firearm is in compliance with the law of the state in which the project is located.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2021
Safe Bases Act This bill provides statutory authority for the Department of Defense (DOD) to allow a service member to carry a concealed firearm while on any military installation. DOD must establish a single authority within the department to issue permits for this purpose. To be eligible for a permit, the service member must be on active duty and must not be prohibited under federal law from purchasing, owning, or possessing a firearm.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2021
Protect Our Military Families' 2nd Amendment Rights Act This bill broadens the scope of allowable firearms transactions involving active duty service members and their spouses. Specifically, the bill allows a licensed gun dealer, importer, or manufacturer to sell or ship a firearm or ammunition to the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces on active duty outside the United States. Current law already allows a licensed dealer, importer, or manufacturer to sell or ship a firearm or ammunition to a member of the Armed Forces on active duty outside the United States. The bill also specifies that, for purposes of federal firearms laws, a member of the Armed Forces on active duty, or his or her spouse, is a resident of the state in which (1) the member or spouse maintains legal residence, (2) the permanent duty station of the member is located, and (3) the member maintains a home from which he or she commutes to the permanent duty station.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2021
This resolution condemns Iranian state-sponsored terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens and officials and Iranian dissidents and expresses support for the people of Iran who are engaged in legitimate and peaceful protests against the Iranian regime.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2021
This joint resolution nullifies the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act of 2020, enacted by the council on December 23, 2020, and transmitted on February 1, 2021, to Congress pursuant to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. The act authorizes a minor, 11 years of age or older, to consent to receive a vaccine if the minor is capable of meeting the informed consent standard and the vaccine is recommended by the United States Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and will be provided in accordance with its recommended immunization schedule.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2021
No taxpayer funding for United Nations Human Rights Council Act This bill prohibits the Department of State from making contributions to the United Nations Human Rights Council, either as a percentage of the U.S. contribution to the regular budget of the United Nations or as a voluntary contribution to the council.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2021
Sanctity of Human Life Act This bill defines the beginning of human life for purposes of legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood. Specifically, it declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human and is a person's most fundamental right; each human life begins with fertilization, cloning, or its equivalent; and Congress, each state, the District of Columbia, and each U.S. territory have the authority to protect all human lives.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2021
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2021 This bill modifies provisions relating to federal funding for, and health insurance coverage of, abortions. Specifically, the bill prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions or for health coverage that includes abortions. Such restrictions extend to the use of funds in the budget of the District of Columbia. Additionally, abortions may not be provided in a federal health care facility or by a federal employee. Historically, language has been included in annual appropriations bills for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions—such language is commonly referred to as the Hyde Amendment. Similar language is also frequently included in appropriations bills for other federal agencies and the District of Columbia. The bill makes these restrictions permanent and extends the restrictions to all federal funds (rather than specific agencies). The bill's restrictions regarding the use of federal funds do not apply in cases of rape, incest, or where a physical disorder, injury, or illness endangers a woman's life unless an abortion is performed. The Hyde Amendment provides the same exceptions. The bill also prohibits qualified health plans from including coverage for abortions. Currently, qualified health plans may cover abortion, but the portion of the premium attributable to abortion coverage is not eligible for subsidies.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2021
United Nations Voting Accountability Act of 2021 This bill prohibits giving assistance, such as various types of economic support or military training, to countries that opposed U.S. positions on more than 50% of the recorded votes in the most recent United Nations session. A country may be exempted if there has been a fundamental change in the country's leadership and policies and the Department of State determines that the country will no longer oppose the U.S. position. The President may also exempt a country for U.S. national security interests.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2021
Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act This bill allows individual and corporate taxpayers a tax credit for cash contributions to tax-exempt scholarship-granting organizations for elementary and secondary education expenses. It imposes a cap of $5 billion on the amount of contributions that qualify for a tax credit. The bill directs the Department of Education, in coordination with the Department of the Treasury, to establish, host, and maintain a web portal that (1) lists all eligible scholarship-granting organizations; (2) enables contributions to such organizations; (3) provides information about the benefits of this bill; and (4) enables a state to submit and update information about its programs and scholarship-granting organizations, including information on student eligibility and allowable educational expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2021
Free Speech Fairness Act This bill permits a tax-exempt organization to make certain statements related to a political campaign without losing its tax-exempt status. An organization may not lose its tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or be deemed to have participated in, or intervened in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office, solely because of the content of any statement that (1) is made in the ordinary course of the organization's regular and customary activities in carrying out its exempt purpose, and (2) results in the organization incurring not more than de minimis incremental expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2021
Protecting Religion from Government Act of 2021 This bill prohibits a state or local government from imposing any law or regulation limiting the ability of a house of worship to hold any religious service or celebrate any religious ceremony in person. It creates a federal cause of action allowing a person to challenge a state or local regulation limiting the ability of the individual or religious institution to hold in-person services.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2021
Ensuring Survivor Benefits during COVID-19 Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to get a medical opinion to determine if a service-connected disability was the principal or contributory cause of death in situations where a veteran's death certificate identifies COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) as the principal or contributory cause of death, the certificate does not clearly identify any of the veteran's service-connected disabilities as the principal or contributory cause of death, and a claim for dependency and indemnity compensation is filed with respect to the veteran.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2021
Keystone XL Pipeline Construction and Jobs Preservation Act This bill authorizes the TransCanada Keystone Pipeline to construct, connect, operate, and maintain the pipeline facilities in Phillips County, Montana, for the import of oil from Canada to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2021
Recognition of Local Interests in NEPA Decision Making This bill sets forth requirements for determining the venue for judicial review of an agency action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Specifically, the bill requires a proceeding for judicial review of an agency's compliance with NEPA to be brought in the U.S. district court for a district in which the authorized activity is proposed to be carried out or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2021
Ultrasound Informed Consent Act This bill requires abortion providers to conduct an ultrasound before performing an abortion. Specifically, before a woman gives informed consent to any part of an abortion, the abortion provider must perform an obstetric ultrasound on the pregnant woman; provide a simultaneous explanation of what the ultrasound is depicting; display the ultrasound images so the woman may view them; and provide a complete medical description of the images, including the dimensions of the embryo or fetus, cardiac activity if present and visible, and the presence of external members and internal organs if present and viewable. Providers are subject to civil actions and penalties for violations. The bill's ultrasound requirements do not apply in cases where a physical disorder, illness, or injury caused by the pregnancy endangers a woman's life. A woman is also not required to view the ultrasound images; nor may she or the provider be penalized if she declines to do so.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2021
Cost Estimates Improvement Act This bill requires cost estimates prepared by the Congressional Budget Office or the Joint Committee on Taxation to include (1) the cost of servicing the public debt; and (2) a list of any federal agencies, programs, and initiatives with fragmented, overlapping, or duplicative goals or activities covered by the legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2021
Promoting Cross-b order Energy Infrastructure Act This bill establishes a new process for approving the construction and operation of energy infrastructure across an international border of the United States and replaces the existing process established under specified executive orders. Specifically, this bill requires a person to obtain a certificate of crossing before constructing, connecting, operating, or maintaining a border-crossing facility for the import or export of oil, natural gas, or electricity across an international border. A certificate must be obtained from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a facility consisting of oil or natural gas pipelines or the Department of Energy (DOE) for an electric transmission facility. As a condition of issuing a certificate, DOE must require that an electric transmission facility be constructed, connected, operated, or maintained consistent with specified policies and standards. FERC and DOE must meet a deadline for issuing a certificate as set forth by this bill. The bill also requires FERC to meet a deadline for approving applications to import or export natural gas to or from Canada or Mexico.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2021
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act This bill establishes requirements for the degree of care a health care practitioner must provide in the case of a child born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion. Specifically, a health care practitioner who is present must (1) exercise the same degree of care as would reasonably be provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age, and (2) ensure the child is immediately admitted to a hospital. Additionally, a health care practitioner or other employee who has knowledge of a failure to comply with the degree-of-care requirements must immediately report such failure to law enforcement. A health care practitioner who fails to provide the required degree of care, or a health care practitioner or other employee who fails to report such failure, is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. An individual who intentionally kills or attempts to kill a child born alive is subject to prosecution for murder. The bill bars the criminal prosecution of a mother of a child born alive under this bill and allows her to bring a civil action against a health care practitioner or other employee for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2021
Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act of 2021 This bill requires states, as a condition of federal payment under Medicaid for family planning services, to report certain abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Currently, reporting is voluntary.) The CDC must develop standardized questions for states with respect to specified variables (e.g., maternal demographics and methods of abortion).
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2021
Second Chance at Life Act of 2021 This bill requires abortion providers to disclose information about the possibility of reversing a medication abortion. This is a procedure that uses a medication regimen to terminate a pregnancy, typically with a two-drug protocol. Providers must inform patients that it may be possible to reverse the effects of a medication abortion after taking the first drug. They must also let patients know that more information and assistance is available on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website. At least 24 hours before the procedure, the provider must share this information with the patient in person or by telephone. The provider must also include the information in written discharge instructions after the first drug is dispensed. The bill sets out an exception to these notification requirements when an abortion is necessary to resolve a physical injury or condition that threatens the life of the woman. The provider must document the circumstances giving rise to the exception in the patient's medical file. Furthermore, providers must post signs with this information in their offices or facilities, and HHS must maintain information about reversing medication abortions on its website.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2021
Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2021 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.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2021
Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act or the A PLUS Act This bill creates a framework under which states may receive federal elementary and secondary education funds on a consolidated basis and use such funds for any educational purpose permitted by state law.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2021
Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act This bill prohibits the use of federal funds for purposes outside the United States related to abortion. Specifically, the bill prohibits funding to certain foreign or domestic organizations that perform or promote abortions, furnish or develop items intended to procure abortions, or provide financial support for an entity that conducts such activities. Current U.S. policy prohibits the provision of federal funds to a foreign nongovernmental organization unless it agrees to not perform or actively promote abortions.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2021
No Abortion Bonds Act This bill denies a tax exclusion for the interest paid on state and local bonds that are used to provide a facility owned or used (for any purpose) by an abortion provider for more than 30 days during a year in which interest is paid on the bonds. An entity is not considered an abortion provider solely as a result of performing abortions if (1) the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest; or (2) a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. The Department of the Treasury may exempt certain hospitals from being considered an abortion provider by making the name of the hospital available on Treasury's public website.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2021
Support And Value Expectant Moms and Babies Act of 2021 or the SAVE Moms and Babies Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from approving any new drug (either as a brand-name drug or a generic) intended to terminate a pregnancy and imposes additional restrictions on such drugs that are already approved. Under the bill, an already-approved drug intended to terminate a pregnancy may be dispensed to a patient only with a prescription. Furthermore, the FDA may not approve any labeling change that would authorize (1) using the drug after 70 days of gestation, or (2) dispensing the drug by any means other than in-person administration by the prescribing health care practitioner. The FDA must also impose additional restrictions on such already-approved drugs, including by (1) requiring the prescribing health care practitioner to receive a special certification, (2) prohibiting the practitioner to also act as the dispensing pharmacist, and (3) requiring the practitioner to have the ability to provide surgical intervention to the patient. The bill also rescinds any investigational use exemption already granted to such a drug if the bill would have prohibited the FDA from granting the exemption. (Currently, the FDA may grant an exemption to certain market approval requirements if a drug is intended solely for use in safety and effectiveness investigations.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2021
This bill requires the Department of State to establish the Unit to Audit US Contributions to Multilateral and International Organizations to audit and report on the contributions to those organizations during the preceding fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2021
Protecting Americans from Unnecessary Spread upon Entry from COVID-19 Act of 2021 or the PAUSE Act of 2021 This bill maintains immigration restrictions put in place under public health emergency authorities to prevent the introduction of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) from foreign countries. Specifically, the bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from rescinding or reducing the stringency of the restrictions. It also prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from stopping or reducing enforcement of the restrictions. These prohibitions remain in effect until (1) federal and state COVID-19 emergency orders are lifted, and (2) the risk of introducing COVID-19 in or from Canada and Mexico is minimal.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2021
Security And Fairness Enhancement for America Act of 2021 or the SAFE for America Act of 2021 This bill eliminates the diversity immigrant program, which makes immigrant visas available to individuals from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2021
Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2021 This bill makes it a violation of federal law for a recipient of federal funds who operates, sponsors, or facilitates athletic programs or activities to permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls. The bill specifies that sex shall be recognized based solely on a person's reproductive biology and genetics at birth.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2021
No Asylum for Criminals Act of 2021 This bill bars an individual who has been convicted of a crime from receiving asylum, with limited exceptions. Specifically, the Department of Homeland Security may designate political offenses committed outside of the United States that shall not be considered a crime for this purpose. Currently, an individual shall be barred from receiving asylum for only certain types of criminal convictions, such as if the individual is convicted for (1) an aggravated felony, or (2) a particularly serious crime and as a result deemed a danger to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2021
No Taxpayer Funding for the World Health Organization Act This bill prohibits the United States from providing any assessed or voluntary contributions to the World Health Organization.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2021
No Taxpayer Funding for Paris Climate Agreement Act This bill prohibits the use of any funds to take action providing for the United States to become a party to the Paris Agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2021
Transparent Representation Upholding Service and Trust in Congress Act or the TRUST in Congress Act This bill requires a Member of Congress, as well as any spouse or dependent child of a Member, to place specified investments into a qualified blind trust (i.e., an arrangement in which certain financial holdings are placed in someone else's control to avoid a possible conflict of interest) until 180 days after the end of their tenure as a Member of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2021
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to commemorate Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, J. Christopher Stevens, and Sean Smith, four Americans killed in the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. (Stevens was the U.S. Ambassador to Libya at the time, Smith was an officer in the Foreign Service, and Doherty and Woods were both government contractors and former Navy SEALs.) After the medal has been awarded, it shall be given to the Central Intelligence Agency Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2021
Pandemic Healthcare Access Act This bill preserves the eligibility of health savings account (HSA) participants covered by any health plan during the coronavirus emergency period. The coronavirus emergency period is the period beginning on March 13, 2020, and ending on the later of (1) the last day on which a presidential declaration of emergency under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act with respect to the coronavirus (i.e., the virus that causes COVID-19) is in effect, or (2) the last day on which a presidential declaration of national emergency under the National Emergencies Act with respect to the coronavirus is in effect.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2021
Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act This bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from awarding family planning grants to entities that perform abortions or provide funding to other entities that perform abortions. To receive a grant, an entity must certify it will refrain from those activities during the grant period. The bill provides exceptions for abortions (1) in cases of rape or incest; or (2) when the life of the woman is in danger due to a physical disorder, injury, or illness. It also exempts hospitals unless they provide funds to non-hospital entities that provide abortions. HHS must report annually on this prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2021
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 5302 Galveston Road in Houston, Texas, as the "Vanessa Guillen Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2021
Improving Confidence in Veterans' Care Act This bill prescribes oversight requirements for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regarding health care professionals at VA medical centers. Specifically, the bill requires the VA to ensure each VA medical center consistently compiles, verifies, and reviews specified documentation for each VA health care professional (including contractors). The VA shall ensure that specified health care professionals hold an active Drug Enforcement Administration registration. Each VA medical center must implement (1) monitoring of the performance and quality of the health care delivered by each health care professional at the center, and (2) reviews of such care if an individual notifies the VA of any potential concerns relating to a failure to meet generally accepted standards of clinical practice. The bill imposes notification requirements in situations where the VA substantiates a concern relating to the clinical competency of, or quality of care delivered by, a current or former VA health care professional. The VA is prohibited from entering into a settlement agreement relating to an adverse action against a VA health care professional if such agreement includes terms that require the VA to conceal certain information from the employee's personnel file. Such prohibition does not apply to adverse actions determined to be prohibited personnel practices. The VA must provide mandatory training, at least biannually, to employees of each medical center who are responsible for specified tasks (e.g., those who are responsible for compiling, validating, or reviewing the credentials of VA health care professionals).
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2021
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4020 Broadway Street in Houston, Texas, as the "Benny C. Martinez Post Office Building."
![Official portrait of Rep. Cloud, Michael [R-TX-27]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/115_rp_tx_27_cloud_michael_200.jpg)