United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2021
Microelectronics Research for Energy Innovation Act or the Micro Act This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to carry out a cross-cutting program of research, development, and demonstration of microelectronics relevant to the mission of DOE and in the service of the nation's global competitiveness in the field of microelectronics. In carrying out such program, DOE shall award financial assistance to eligible entities, such as national laboratories, to carry out research projects in, among other things, foundational science areas and methods for leveraging artificial intelligence. The Office of Science within DOE shall establish up to four Microelectronics Science Research Centers to conduct mission-driven research to address foundational challenges in the design, development, and fabrication of microelectronics and to facilitate the translation of research results to industry. The Office of Science, in coordination with the Office of Technology Transitions, shall implement partnerships with industry groups to facilitate the translation and transfer of research results produced by the centers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2021
No More Free Ride Act This bill bars certain non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) from becoming a U.S. citizen or receiving any federal public benefits. Specifically, this prohibition shall apply to a non-U.S. national who (1) entered the United States unlawfully, and (2) received a payment as part of a settlement of a lawsuit for harm the individual sustained as a result of immigration enforcement.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2021
This joint resolution nullifies the rule titled Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination , which was issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on November 5, 2021. The rule requires health care providers, as a condition of Medicare and Medicaid participation, to ensure that staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2021
Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act or the HALT Fentanyl Act This bill places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act. Additionally, the bill establishes a new, alternative registration process for schedule I research that is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Veterans Affairs or that is conducted under an investigative new drug exemption from the Food and Drug Administration. The bill also makes several other changes to registration requirements for conducting research with controlled substances, including permitting a single registration for related research sites in certain circumstances, waiving the requirement for a new inspection in certain situations, and allowing a registered researcher to perform certain manufacturing activities with small quantities of a substance without obtaining a manufacturing registration.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2021
This bill requires a funeral honors detail to recite the 13 Folds of Honor as part of the flag presentment during certain funerals for veterans and members of the Armed Forces. The next of kin or other representative of the deceased person may elect to not have the recitation.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2021
Public Safety Enhancement Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes through FY2026 the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program. Additionally, the bill requires a certain amount of funds made available under the COPS grant program to be used for the hiring and retention of law enforcement officers.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2021
Securing American Families from Exploitation at the Border Act or the SAFE Border Act This bill directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish a temporary grant program to reimburse landowners for loss or damage to property caused by an individual illegally crossing the southern border or to improve the security of such property. Specifically, FEMA may provide grants to landowners who have experienced (or are at risk of experiencing) property theft or damage in areas within 10 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2021
Recognizing the Unborn Act of 2021 This bill replaces the term fetus with unborn child throughout federal law, including provisions relating to abortions and medical research. The bill also creates a default statutory definition for unborn child : a child in utero, or a member of the species Homo sapiens , at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2021
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to conduct a comprehensive review of VA medical examinations provided to individuals who submit claims for compensation for a service-connected disability related to military sexual trauma. Specifically, NASEM must review VA examinations that are provided for mental and physical conditions linked to military sexual trauma and are conducted to assess the impairments of individuals arising from such trauma. NASEM must report on its review, and the VA must report on its plans to implement actions based on NASEM's findings and recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2021
Benjamin Berell Ferencz Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Benjamin Berell Ferencz in recognition of his service to the United States and the international community during the post-World War II Nuremberg trials and his lifelong advocacy for international criminal justice and the rule of law.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2021
Circumspectly Reducing Unintended Consequences Impairing Alliances and Leadership Act of 2021 or the CRUCIAL Act of 2021 This bill establishes requirements relating to the President's ability to impose sanctions on individuals or entities that engage in a significant transaction with the defense or intelligence sectors of Russia's government if the transaction involves a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. (The dialogue is a coalition comprised of the governments of the United States, Japan, India, and Australia.) Specifically, before imposing such sanctions for a transaction involving a member of the dialogue, the President must certify to Congress that the government in question is not participating in the dialogue on security matters that are critical to U.S. strategic interests.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2021
Upholding the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Law Act of 2021 This bill prohibits using federal funds to establish any diplomatic facility in Jerusalem other than the U.S. Embassy to Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2021
Science-Based Emissions Standards Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing any rule to amend the new source performance standards for stationary sources under the Clean Air Act to reduce methane emissions from new and modified oil and natural gas facilities until the Department of Energy takes specified actions. Specifically, the Department of Energy must first (1) complete and publish the results of the study titled Quantification of Methane Emissions from Marginal (Small Producing) Oil and Gas Wells, and (2) provide a period of at least 90 days for public comment on the application of the study's results. The EPA must take the results of the study into consideration when finalizing the rule.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2021
This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Labor emergency temporary standard for preventing the transmission of COVID-19 in employment settings. Under the standard issued on November 5, 2021, employers with 100 or more employees must require their onsite employees to either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2021
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1304 4th Avenue in Canyon, Texas, as the "Gary James Fletcher Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2021
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4110 Bluebonnet Drive in Stafford, Texas, as the "Leonard Scarcella Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2021
Illegal Immigrant Payoff Prohibition Act This bill prohibits the payment of a settlement to an alien for a civil action brought against the United States in connection with the alien's inadmissibility to, or unlawful presence in, the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2021
Protect Communities from a Porous Border Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to notify a state before placing an alien in that state and gives the state final authority to prohibit such a placement. At least 10 business days before placing (e.g., detaining or housing) such an individual in a state, DHS must provide certain information to that state, including (1) the individual's biographic and biometric information, including DNA; and (2) a certification that the biometric and biographic information has been checked in various law enforcement and counterterrorism databases. No federal court shall have jurisdiction to review (1) the requirements and procedures established under this bill, or (2) a decision by a state to prohibit the placement of such an individual in the state. The bill also prohibits any federal official from waiving any of the bill's requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2021
Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2021 This bill phases in a new funding formula for determining benefit amounts under the windfall elimination provision (WEP). The WEP reduces Social Security retirement and disability benefits for those who receive pensions for certain non-covered employment. The new formula adjusts an individual's total lifetime earnings based on the proportion of those earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes. It applies to individuals who (1) become eligible for Social Security benefits after 2061, and (2) have earnings from non-covered service performed in a year after 1977. Beneficiaries who become eligible for benefits between 2023 and 2061 receive the higher of their benefit calculated under the existing WEP or the new formula. In addition, certain beneficiaries currently impacted by the WEP receive an additional payment. The Social Security Administration must include non-covered earnings in Social Security account statements and must study the feasibility of partnering with certain pension systems to address data sharing issues related to non-covered pensions.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2021
Department of Veterans Affairs Telehealth Strategy Ac t This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to submit a strategy to Congress for the telehealth services furnished by the Veterans Health Administration. Additionally, the VA must report on the utilization of end-user devices provided to veterans by the VA to facilitate telehealth during FY2020 and FY2021.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2021
State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act This bill allows states, tribes, territories, and localities to use certain COVID-19 relief funds for new categories of spending, including for natural disasters and infrastructure projects. It also makes changes to expenditure deadlines and other aspects of this funding. Specifically, recipients may use funds for emergency relief from natural disasters and associated negative economic impacts of natural disasters. In addition, recipients may use a portion of their COVID-19 relief funds for designated infrastructure projects, such as nationally significant freight and highway projects. Furthermore, the bill allows recipients to expend COVID-19 relief funds on these types of infrastructure projects until September 30, 2026. Under current law, recipients must expend the funds by December 31, 2024. Other changes in the bill include (1) modifying eligibility and allocation requirements for funding set aside for counties and Indian tribes that are near public lands, (2) allowing Indian tribes an additional year to expend their COVID-19 relief funds, and (3) establishing a process for government entities to decline COVID-19 relief funds and requiring any declined funds to be used to reduce the federal deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2021
VITAL Assessment Act This bill implements changes related to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership (VITAL) program, which focuses on enhancing student veterans' academic success and retention by assisting with things like mental and physical health. The VA must report on the program and establish best practices, goals, and measures for the program that are uniform among the VA's medical centers. The bill also requires the VA to conduct outreach among the Armed Forces, veterans service organizations, institutions of higher learning, and noncollege degree programs regarding the VITAL program. Additionally, the VA must assess the feasibility and advisability of including the suicide rate for student veterans in the National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report.
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 · 24 September 2021
Freedom from Mandates Act This bill nullifies certain executive orders regarding COVID-19 safety and prohibits the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services (HHS) from taking specified actions with respect to vaccination against COVID-19. Specifically, the bill nullifies Executive Order 14042 (relating to ensuring adequate COVID-19 safety protocols for federal contractors) and Executive Order 14043 (requiring COVID-19 vaccination for federal employees). Labor may not issue any rule requiring employers to mandate vaccination of employees against COVID-19 or requiring testing of employees who are unvaccinated. HHS may not (1) require a health care provider, as a condition of participation in the Medicare or Medicaid program, to mandate vaccination of employees against COVID-19 or require testing of employees who are unvaccinated; or (2) otherwise penalize such a provider for failure to mandate such vaccination or require such testing.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2021
This resolution urges the Biden Administration to expeditiously restore the Migrant Protection Protocols, a policy requiring many asylum seekers arriving at the southern border to wait in Mexico while their cases are being adjudicated. It also urges the Administration to use certain public health powers, commonly referred to as Title 42 authority, to promptly expel migrants.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2021
NOAA Weather Radio Modernization Act of 2021 or the NWR Modernization Act of 2021 This bill provides for the expansion of, and upgrades to, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio All Hazards network (NWR). NOAA shall expand coverage of NWR and ensure its reliability by maintaining support for existing systems serving areas not covered by cellular service or having poor quality cellular service; ensuring consistent maintenance of, and timely repairs to, broadcast towers and antennas; and enhancing the ability to amplify Non-Weather Emergency Messages via NWR as necessary. NOAA shall provide upgrades to NWR to ensure its capabilities and coverage remain valuable to the public. In carrying out specified objectives for the provision of such upgrades, NOAA must prioritize practices, capabilities, and technologies most capable of making real-time warning information and broadcasts available online. NOAA shall complete an assessment of access to NWR.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2021
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2021 This bill expands two programs that compensate individuals who were exposed to radiation during certain nuclear testing or uranium mining and subsequently developed medical conditions, including cancers. First, the bill expands and extends a program that compensates individuals who were exposed to radiation from atmospheric nuclear testing or other sources and subsequently developed specified cancers. Under current law, this program compensates individuals who were present in a designated geographic area during a period of nuclear testing and certain individuals employed in uranium mining. The bill expands the designated areas to include Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, and Guam and additional areas in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah; makes more individuals who worked in uranium mining eligible for the program; increases the amount of compensation awarded to and provides medical benefits for eligible claimants; and extends for 19 years following the bill's enactment the fund that supports this program and the statute of limitations for filing claims (currently, the program terminates on July 10, 2022). Second, the bill makes certain individuals employed in uranium mines or mills eligible for a program that compensates workers, including Department of Energy employees and contractors, for illnesses caused by occupational exposure to radiation and hazardous substances during development and testing of the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile. The bill also establishes a grant program in the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for institutions of higher education to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling among individuals without occupational exposure.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2021
Make the Migrant Protection Protocols Mandatory Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to remove certain aliens from the United States while such an alien's application for admission is pending. Specifically, if an alien arrived by land from a foreign country bordering the United States and the alien is not clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to admission into the United States, DOJ must return that alien to that bordering foreign country while the alien's application for admission is pending. (Currently, DOJ may choose to detain such an alien or return the alien to the bordering foreign country while the application for admission is pending.)
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
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
Teleabortion Prevention Act of 2021 This bill restricts the use of telehealth for chemical abortions (also known as medication abortions). Specifically, it requires a provider who dispenses or prescribes medication for a chemical abortion to physically examine the patient, be physically present at the location of the chemical abortion, and schedule a follow-up visit. The bill provides an exception for a chemical abortion that is necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, injury, or condition. The bill establishes criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to two years, or both—for a provider who does not comply with the requirements. A patient who undergoes a chemical abortion may not be prosecuted.
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 · 23 August 2021
Revising and Expediting Actions for the Crisis Hotline for Veterans Act or the REACH for Veterans Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to update training and procedures for call responders of the Veterans Crisis Line. Specifically, the VA must enter into an agreement with an outside organization to review the training for crisis line call responders. The VA must update the training if any deficiencies are identified after the review. Among other requirements, the VA must develop guidelines on retraining and quality management for when a call responder has an adverse event or needs improvement, annually perform a common cause analysis for identified callers to the crisis line who died by suicide in situations where the crisis line was the last point of contact, develop enhanced guidance and procedures to respond to calls to the crisis line related to substance use and overdose risk, review the current emergency dispatch standard operating procedure of the crisis line, and solicit feedback from veterans service organizations on how to conduct outreach regarding the move to 988 as the new suicide and mental health crisis hotline. Each call responder must be subject to at least two calls per month that are silently monitored by a supervisor to check for quality of conduct. The Veterans Crisis Line, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention of the VA, and National Center for Patient Safety of the VA must establish quality management processes and expectations for staff of the crisis line.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2021
Veterans' Prostate Cancer Treatment and Research Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish in its National Surgery Office an interdisciplinary clinical pathway for all stages of prostate cancer. Clinical pathways are health care management tools designed around research and evidence-based practices that provide direction for the care and treatment of a specific condition. The clinical pathway must include specified elements, such as a diagnosis pathway and a treatment pathway. The VA must consult with and incorporate feedback from (1) veterans who have received prostate cancer care at its medical facilities, and (2) experts in multidisciplinary cancer care and clinical research. Additionally, the VA must publish the clinical pathway on a public VA website and annually update the pathway as needed based on medical literature and evidence-based guidelines. The bill also requires the VA to submit a plan to establish a prostate cancer program using the comprehensive prostate cancer clinical pathway.
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
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
Border Security for America Act of 2021 This bill addresses border security and related issues. For example, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume all activities to construct a border barrier system along the U.S.-Mexico border that were underway or planned prior to January 20, 2021; requires DHS to deploy, in addition to physical barriers, tactical infrastructure and technology to achieve situational awareness and operational control of the southwest border; authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to carry out a program to acquire innovative commercial items through a competitive selection of proposals; imposes certain requirements for DHS border security technology acquisition programs that have a total expenditure of at least $300 million; requires CBP to implement certain technologies, including a program to establish a biometric exit data system at ports of entry; requires CBP to increase or maintain certain staffing levels for agents, officers, processing coordinators, and other positions; requires CBP to implement a workload staffing model for the U.S. Border Patrol and for CBP's Air and Marine Operations; and provides statutory authority through FY2026 for Operation Stonegarden, a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that provides grants to states and territories involved in certain active CBP border security operations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2021
Say No to Indoctrination Act This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to teach or advance concepts that separate individuals based on race, color, or national origin; assign characteristics to individuals based on race, color, or national origin; or imply that the United States is an inherently racist country.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2021
VA Caregiver Transparency Act This bill modifies the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers and Program of General Caregiver Support Services, including by requiring any assistance or support decisions to be subject to the VA's clinical appeals process.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2021
Travel Mask Mandate Repeal Act of 2021 This bill prohibits federal agencies from mandating the use of masks or face coverings on planes, trains, buses, and other public conveyances and at transportation hubs to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Specifically, the bill nullifies (1) the rule issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on January 29, 2021, that mandates such use of masks or face coverings; and (2) orders and directives of the Transportation Security Administration that relate to the CDC rule.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2021
This bill designates the community-based outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in San Angelo, Texas, as the Colonel Charles and JoAnne Powell VA Clinic.
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 · 11 June 2021
National Science and Technology Strategy Act of 2021 This bill requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to develop a national science and technology strategy and publish a science and technology review. The bill revises OSTP reporting requirements to direct the OSTP to submit to Congress a comprehensive national science and technology strategy of the United States to meet national research and development objectives for the following four-year period. No later than December 31, 2022, and every four years afterwards, the OSTP shall complete a review of the science and technology enterprise of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2021
Lymphedema Treatment Act This bill provides for Medicare coverage of lymphedema compression treatment items. Specifically, the bill provides for coverage of (1) standard and custom fitted gradient compression garments that are prescribed by a physician or other specified health care professional to treat lymphedema, and (2) other devices determined to be effective in the prevention or treatment of lymphedema.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2021
Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act This bill requires the National Science Foundation (NSF) to take certain actions to increase mathematical and statistical modeling education in public elementary and secondary schools. First, the NSF must provide competitive grants to institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations for research and development to support high-quality mathematical modeling education (e.g., data science and computational thinking) in schools. In addition, the NSF must seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study and report on mathematical and statistical modeling education in schools.
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.
