United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2021
Answer COVID FOIAs Now Act This bill addresses pending Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests related to COVID-19. Specifically, the bill requires each federal agency, within 100 calendar days, to complete all pending FOIA requests related to a drug or medical device to prevent, diagnose, mitigate, or treat COVID-19; gain-of-function or potential pandemic pathogen research; or a policy, rule, or standard requiring COVID-19 vaccination of individuals. For each calendar day on which any applicable FOIA request remains pending, the Department of the Treasury must transfer $1 million from the appropriations account of the office of the head of the agency to the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program of the Health Resources and Services Administration. A person submitting such a request shall be deemed to have demonstrated a compelling need for expedited processing.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2021
COVID-19 Vaccine Accountability Act This bill excludes manufacturers of a mandated COVID-19 vaccine from certain liability protections that apply to manufacturers of medical countermeasures (i.e., medical products that may be used to treat, prevent, or diagnose conditions associated with emerging infectious diseases or chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agents). It also retroactively limits to $10,000 the liability of the United States for a death or injury caused by a COVID-19 vaccine administered on or after January 1, 2020.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2021
Saving Americans From Executive Reach in Travel Act or the SAFER Travel Act This bill prohibits executive branch agencies and private entities from imposing a vaccine mandate against COVID-19 on individuals traveling within the United States on commercial public or private transportation, including air, rail, commercial motor vehicles, vessels, or other public or private forms of transportation. Additionally, the bill prohibits executive branch agencies from requiring a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States to enter into a period of quarantine related to COVID-19 after having traveled on any commercial public or private transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2021
For the Parents Act This bill conditions receipt of federal education funds on compliance with guidance issued by the Department of Education on (1) banning in public education the teaching of critical race theory and the usage of any teaching methodology or curriculum that promotes or causes a racial divide or lack of equality, and (2) requiring that all races be treated equally. Specifically, institutions of higher education must comply with the guidance and each state must certify that each public elementary and secondary school in the state complies with such guidance.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2021
Stand Your Ground Act of 2021 This bill establishes affirmative defenses for individuals who use (or threaten or attempt to use) force in the commission of certain federal criminal violations. First, an individual is justified in using (or threatening or attempting to use) non-deadly force if the individual reasonably believes it is necessary to defend against an imminent use of unlawful force. An individual who uses or threatens to use non-deadly force in accordance with this affirmative defense does not have a duty to retreat before using or threatening to use such force. Second, an individual is justified in using (or threatening or attempting to use) deadly force if the individual reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. An individual who uses, threatens, or attempts to use deadly force in accordance with this affirmative defense does not have a duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground so long as the individual is not engaged in a criminal activity and is in a place where he or she has a right to be.
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 · 9 December 2021
Grave Injustice Parity Act This bill allows a deduction for transfers to certain nonprofit cemeteries for purposes of determining the taxable amount of decedent estates or gifts. It also exempts from the tax on distributions of tax-exempt foundations transfers made to such cemeteries.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2021
Employee Retention Tax Credit Reinstatement Act This bill provides for a reinstatement of the employee retention tax credit through 2021. The credit was established to compensate employers whose businesses were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic for wages paid to their employees.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2021
This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make publicly available all records of information submitted to the FDA in conjunction with the emergency use authorization or licensing of a COVID-19 vaccine.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2021
Protect American IPR Act This bill addresses the effects of violations of U.S. intellectual property rights in China or by Chinese persons. The bill directs the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to study the losses of revenue to holders of those rights. It directs the USTR to impose duties on merchandise from China in an amount equivalent to the annual loss of revenue to U.S. intellectual property rights holders reduced by the amount of tariffs collected for such violations. Duties collected must be used to compensate U.S. intellectual property rights holders injured by such violations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2021
Crucial Communism Teaching Act This bill directs the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation to develop a civic education curriculum and oral history resources for high school students to promote understanding of certain political ideologies (e.g., communism and totalitarianism) that conflict with principles of U.S. democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2021
Haiti Economic Lift Program Extension Act of 2021 or the HELP Act of 2021 This bill extends through FY2035 the special duty-free rules for Haiti. It also extends through December 19, 2035, the duty-free treatment provided for apparel articles assembled in Haiti and imported from Haiti or the Dominican Republic.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2021
Employee Privacy Act This bill prohibits employers from inquiring about the vaccination status of employees or prospective employees. Violations of this prohibition are subject to civil penalties, special damages, and injunctive relief as appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 23 November 2021
Promoting Ties with Taiwan Act This bill requires the Department of State to submit to Congress a strategy to (1) work with allies and partners to support the expansion of Taiwan's relations and engagement with countries around the world, (2) promote the establishment of Taiwan's presence in countries and partners where Taiwan does not have a permanent presence, and (3) strengthen economic relations and supply chain resilience among Taiwan and like-minded partners to counter threats and malign influences from authoritarian regimes. Within one year of submitting the strategy, the State Department must report to Congress on actions taken to carry out the strategy.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2021
Conscience Protection Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for certain protections for health care providers that refuse to participate in abortions based on religious beliefs or other convictions. Health care providers include individual professionals, medical facilities, health insurance organizations, and social services providers that refer clients to health care services. The federal government and entities that receive federal funding for health-related activities, including state and local governments, may not discriminate against a health care provider that refuses to be involved in, or provide coverage for, abortions. Currently, similar requirements apply to various related activities, including certain employment or personnel decisions (the Church Amendments), abortion services training (the Coats-Snowe Amendment), qualified health plans offered through health insurance exchanges, and annual appropriations bills for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other federal agencies (the Weldon Amendment). The HHS Office for Civil Rights must investigate complaints of this kind of discrimination. Furthermore, HHS may terminate or reduce HHS funding for health-related activities if a person or entity fails to comply with nondiscrimination requirements. Additionally, the Department of Justice or any entity adversely affected by such discrimination may bring a civil action to obtain appropriate relief. A plaintiff does not need to seek or exhaust administrative remedies before bringing the action. A plaintiff may also bring an action, including one for money damages, against a governmental entity. In many cases, principles of sovereign immunity shield states and some localities from these kinds of actions.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2021
We're Not Paying You To Break Our Laws Act This bill prohibits making federal funds available to pay for any settlement agreement in any civil action brought as a result of actions taken to enforce the April 6, 2018, Department of Justice memorandum pertaining to the prosecution of cases of improper entry into the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2021
Natural Immunity Transparency Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to report within 30 days of the bill's enactment to Congress concerning natural immunity to COVID-19. In particular, the report must compare certain outcomes for individuals who recovered from a COVID-19 infection without having received the vaccination and individuals who received the vaccination.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2021
This resolution modifies requirements for written statements required of nongovernmental witnesses who appear before standing committees of the House of Representatives. Specifically, the resolution eliminates a requirement that a witness disclose whether they are a fiduciary of an organization or entity that has an interest in the subject matter of the hearing, in favor of a requirement that they disclose whether they are a fiduciary of an entity that has received payments from a specified foreign entity. The resolution also requires nongovernmental witnesses to disclose in their written statement certain contracts with specified foreign persons or entities. If the committee determines that a witness knowingly and willfully failed to truthfully comply with such disclosure requirements, the witness is prohibited from testifying before the committee for three years.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2021
Fairness for Federal Contractors Act of 2021 This bill prohibits executive agencies from requiring contractors to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to study the degree to which Executive Order 14042 (Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors) caused disruptions to federal contracts, supply chains, and transportation systems.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2021
Pandemic Cessation Act This bill automatically terminates the COVID-19 public health emergency declared on January 31, 2020, when the Food and Drug Administration approves a new drug (or authorizes the emergency use of a drug) to treat COVID-19.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2021
This resolution recognizes the two-year anniversary of the November 2019 massacre by Iran. The resolution also condemns the human rights atrocities committed against Iranians by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Finally, the resolution urges the Department of State to restore the recognized death toll of the November 2019 massacre to 1,500.
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
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
This resolution requires the Joint Committee on the Library to approve or deny the statue of Rev. Billy Graham for placement in the National Statuary Hall within 30 days after North Carolina submits (1) photographs of the statue, (2) dimensions of the statue and pedestal, (3) the final weight of the statue and pedestal, and (4) any inscriptions on the statue.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2021
Supply Chain Emergency Response Act This bill directs the Maritime Administration to establish a program to provide grants to certain owners of cargo vessels to cover toll costs associated with rerouting cargo vessels from ports along the western seaboard of the United States through the Panama Canal to ports along the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern seaboard of the United States. To receive a grant, an owner of a cargo vessel shall submit documentation that such owner intends to reroute a cargo vessel and has the corresponding docking agreements. The bill allows states and localities to use COVID-19 relief funds for costs related to rerouting cargo vessels. Any marine terminal operator who is operating a port located along the western seaboard of the United States may not collect port fees from a recipient of a grant who has rerouted a cargo vessel from such port due to the inability of such port to receive such vessel. Any individual who is a member of the Chinese Communist Party or any company owned, in whole or in part, by the Chinese Communist Party may not receive a grant under this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2021
Veterans' Preference Parity Act This bill modifies the eligibility criteria for certain veterans to qualify for a preference in the federal hiring process. Specifically, an individual who is honorably discharged from active duty service is eligible for a veterans' preference, if the active duty service was performed for more than 180 total days (currently, consecutive days). Additionally, a retired member of the Armed Forces is eligible for a veterans' preference, even if the retiree (1) is not a disabled veteran and (2) retired at or above the rank of major or its equivalent.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2021
This bill prohibits military departments from taking any adverse action against a member of the Armed Forces based solely on the member's refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccination or to disclose whether they have received such vaccination.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2021
Ending Payments to Non-American Citizens Act This bill prohibits making amounts from the Judgment Fund available to an alien who is not a lawful permanent resident unless specifically authorized by law. (The Judgment Fund is an account for paying judgments and settlements against the United States.)
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2021
Protecting Our Kids from Harmful Research Act This bill prohibits the use of federal funds for research or publications concerning gender transitions in individuals under the age of 18.
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
Restoring America's Leadership in Innovation Act of 2021 This bill revises several aspects of patent law. The bill changes the U.S. patent system back to a first-to-invent system, in which the first inventor to conceive of an invention is entitled to a patent. Currently, the first person to file an application that meets all the necessary requirements is entitled to the patent. Several types of administrative patent challenge proceedings are abolished, as well as the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) body that decides those proceedings. The bill relaxes the standard for what constitutes patent-eligible subject matter. The only ineligible inventions shall be those that exist in nature independent or prior to human activity or that exist solely in the human mind. The bill also makes it easier for a patent owner that has won an infringement case in court to secure a permanent injunction against the infringing defendant. Specifically, there shall be a presumption that further infringement would cause irreparable harm to the prevailing patent owner, and the burden shall be on the infringer to prove otherwise. (Currently, a prevailing patent owner seeking a permanent injunction must prove, among other things, that further infringement would cause irreparable harm.) The bill limits what types of publications shall be treated as prior art that could be used to make an invention be considered to be anticipated or obvious (and therefore not patentable). The bill authorizes the PTO to keep and spend all the fees that it collects.
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
Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of State to submit to Congress a detailed report indicating whether the Muslim Brotherhood meets the criteria to be designated a foreign terrorist organization. If the report determines that the Muslim Brotherhood does not meet such criteria, it must provide a detailed justification as to which criteria have not been met.
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
Employment Freedom for All Act This bill prohibits an employer from enforcing a noncompete agreement with an employee, or former employee, who has been fired for not receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general are authorized to enforce this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2021
Truckers Responding At National Shipping Ports Overcoming Retail Turmoil Act or the TRANSPORT Act This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to award grants to motor carriers and motor private carriers for transporting goods from ports during declared national emergencies or when DOT determines a port is at least 50% congested. DOT may use unobligated funds available under specified COVID-19 relief laws for the grants.
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 · 2 November 2021
This resolution expresses that the House of Representatives rejects any proposal or legislation to financially compensate individuals crossing our borders illegally.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2021
Mandating Responsibility Act This bill establishes a private cause of action for employees who are harmed by their employer's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. An employee may bring an action against the employer for wrongful termination or other adverse employment actions for violating the mandate. An employee may also bring an action against the employer for wrongful death or serious injury related to the COVID-19 vaccine administration, if the employee received the vaccine solely to comply with the employer's mandate. An employee may recover damages (actual, compensatory, and punitive), injunctive relief, attorney's fees and costs, and other appropriate relief.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2021
National Patient ID Repeal Act This bill repeals the requirement that the Department of Health and Human Services adopt a standard unique health identifier for each individual, employer, health plan, and health care provider. The provision has not been implemented to date because language included in annual appropriations acts has prohibited the use of federal funds for developing a unique identifier. However, some appropriations bills introduced in recent years have not included this funding restriction.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2021
National Informed Consent Exemption (NICE) Act This bill restricts the federal government and federally funded entities from mandating that U.S. citizens receive a vaccination or a test for an infectious disease in order to participate in federal programs or activities such as travel. It also specifies that laws, regulations, or policies that discriminate on the basis of a citizen's vaccination status are unenforceable, subject to limited exceptions. The bill establishes a national vaccination exemption that may be exercised by any individual, including on behalf of the individual's children or dependents. Further, the bill prohibits vaccinating a child without the consent of each parent or guardian. One parent or guardian may consent if the other parent or guardian received, at least three days prior, written notice of the child's vaccination appointment. The bill's provisions do not apply (1) to lawfully incarcerated or institutionalized individuals, (2) to a specific individual subject to an individualized court order that meets due process protections, or (3) during declared emergencies if the jurisdiction's governing authority formally applies to the President for an exception to the national vaccination exemption that meets specified standards. An aggrieved individual may enforce the bill through a private right of action. Additionally, an entity that provides false information to influence an individual's decision about receiving a vaccine shall be liable for damages resulting from the vaccination. The Surgeon General must establish an independent commission to evaluate the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2021
Nullify Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act or the NOSHA Act This bill abolishes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA, which is part of the Department of Labor, sets and enforces workplace safety and health standards and provides related training, outreach, education, and assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2021
This concurrent resolution celebrates the first anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Consensus Declaration on Promoting Women's Health and Strengthening the Family.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2021
Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the federal government from entering into or enforcing a settlement agreement on behalf of the United States that provides for a payment to any person or entity other than the United States. The bill provides exceptions to allow payments that (1) remedy actual harm (including to the environment) caused by the party making the payment, or (2) constitute a payment for services rendered in connection with the case. Government officials or agents who violate this prohibition may be removed from office or required to forfeit to the government any money they hold for such purposes to which they may otherwise be entitled. Agencies must report annually for seven years to the Congressional Budget Office about the parties, funding sources, and distribution of funds for their settlement agreements permitted by the exceptions in this bill. The Office of Inspector General for each agency must also report annually on any settlement agreements that violate the bill's requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2021
Stop Appropriations for Obsequy Costs Act or the Stop AOC Act This bill prohibits the use of federal funds for financial assistance to an individual or household for funeral expenses if the eligibility for such assistance is derived from a cause of death related to COVID-19.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2021
Better Enforcement of Grievous Offenses by unNaturalized Emigrants Act or the BE GONE Act This bill expands, for immigration purposes, the definition of aggravated felony to include sexual abuse, sexual assault, and aggravated sexual violence. (Under current law, a conviction for an aggravated felony is grounds for deportation and may bar an individual from other immigration-related benefits.)
![Official portrait of Rep. Gohmert, Louie [R-TX-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_tx_1_gohmert_louie_200.jpg)