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
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 · 19 November 2021
Parents Bill of Rights Act This bill outlines various rights of parents and guardians regarding the elementary or secondary school education of their children. Among other requirements, the bill (1) directs local educational agencies to publicly post the curriculum for each elementary and secondary school grade level; and (2) requires schools to notify parents and guardians of their rights, including the right to review the school's curriculum and budget.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2021
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection-Inspector General Reform Act of 2021 or the CFPB-IG Act of 2021 This bill establishes a separate Office of Inspector General for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Currently, such oversight of the CFPB is combined with the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
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
Restoring Benefits to Defrauded Veterans Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay certain reissued benefits (i.e., benefits that were misused by a fiduciary) to a beneficiary's estate in situations where a beneficiary predeceases a payment. The VA must pay such benefits to an individual or entity in the following order: the estate of the beneficiary, a successor fiduciary serving the beneficiary when the beneficiary died, or the next inheritor determined by a court of competent jurisdiction.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2021
This resolution honors and remembers the victims of the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Rockaway Queens, New York. It also (1) honors and thanks the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims of the crash; (2) conveys the most sincere condolences of U.S. citizens to the families, friends, and communities of the victims; and (3) solemnly marks the twentieth anniversary of the crash.
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 · 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
This resolution expresses the House of Representatives' support for the goals and ideals of National Veterans Small Business Week, celebrates the millions of people in the United States—especially veterans and their spouses—who benefit from Small Business Administration programs, and expresses appreciation for the continued service to the United States by the nation's veterans through small business ownership and entrepreneurship.
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 · 5 November 2021
Our Veterans Earned It Act This bill prohibits members of the Armed Forces who refuse to receive a COVID-19 vaccination from being denied a federal benefit they are entitled to by reason of their service in the Armed Forces.
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
Capital Gains Inflation Relief Act of 2021 This bill allows the adjusted basis of certain assets (including any common stock in a C corporation, any digital asset, and tangible property used in a trade or business) to be indexed for inflation for the purpose of determining the gain or loss of a taxpayer (other than a corporation) who has held the asset for more than three years. The bill sets forth rules for applying the inflation adjustment to short sales; regulated investment companies; real estate investment trusts; other pass-through entities, including partnerships, S corporations, and common trust funds; dispositions between related persons; and improvements to property or contributions of capital. The Internal Revenue Service may disallow an adjustment if any person transfers cash, debt, or any other property to another person for the principal purpose of securing or increasing the adjustment allowed by this bill.
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 · 27 October 2021
Patient Advocate Tracker Act This bill requires the Office of Patient Advocacy within the Veterans Health Administration to establish an information technology system that allows veterans or their representatives to electronically file a complaint with a patient advocate and review the status of a filed complaint.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2021
This resolution recognizes National Respiratory Care Week and expresses gratitude for the contribution of respiratory therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2021
This resolution recognizes the Republic of Turkey as an important ally of the United States. The resolution expresses appreciation for Turkey's contribution to global efforts to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (also known as ISIS or Daesh), the Kurdistan Workers' Party, and other terrorist organizations. The resolution acknowledges the unique political, economic, and social challenges confronting the people of Turkey from the influx of refugees caused by the conflicts and instability in the region. The resolution commends the contributions of the Turkish-American community to America. This resolution congratulates the people of Turkey, and Turkish Americans nationwide, as they celebrate Turkish Republic Day.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2021
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service should issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring Ralph Samuelson, known as the Father of Waterskiing, to commemorate the upcoming 100-year anniversary of the invention of waterskiing.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2021
This resolution recognizes the ultimate sacrifice of the unknown soldiers interred at Arlington National Cemetery and expresses gratitude and appreciation of all the members of the Armed Forces who have served during wars and peacetime. Additionally, the resolution commends all members of the 3d Infantry Regiment, specifically those who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Solider.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2021
CBO Show Your Work Act This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to make available to Congress and the public each fiscal model, policy model, and data preparation routine that the CBO uses to estimate the costs and other fiscal, social, or economic effects of legislation. For each estimate of the costs and other fiscal effects of legislation, the CBO must also disclose, in a manner sufficient to permit replication by individuals not employed by the CBO, the data, programs, models, assumptions, and other details of the computations used to prepare the estimate. For data that may not be disclosed, the CBO must make available to Congress and the public a complete list of all data variables for the data; descriptive statistics for all data variables for the data, to the extent that the descriptive statistics do not violate the rule against disclosure; a reference to the statute requiring that the data not be disclosed; and contact information for the individual or entity who has unrestricted access to the data.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 2021
Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act This bill prohibits the Department of the Treasury from requiring a financial institution to report the transfers into and out of a financial account. This prohibition does not apply to laws or regulations in effect on October 1, 2021.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2021
Denying Earnings to the Military Oligarchy in Cuba and Restricting Activities of the Cuban Intelligence Apparatus Act or the DEMOCRACIA Act This bill provides for asset- and visa-blocking sanctions for conduct relating to Cuba. It also establishes an interagency task force to facilitate access to uncensored internet in Cuba. The President must sanction foreign persons that provide financial support to Cuban government sectors involved in human rights abuses or terrorism (e.g., the defense sector). This includes foreign persons that (1) are military contractors or mercenaries operating on behalf of the Cuban government, or (2) violate laws restricting trade with Cuba. Specified transactions, including remittances to immediate family members (subject to some limitations) and payments related to U.S. military and diplomatic sites, are not subject to these sanctions. The President must also sanction (1) foreign persons complicit or engaged in human rights abuses or corruption, (2) foreign persons supporting such conduct, and (3) specified Cuban government officials and their affiliates. The bill provides humanitarian exceptions to these sanctions, for example, donating food or agricultural commodities to organizations or individuals unaffiliated with the Cuban government. The President may not license sanctionable conduct, and U.S. persons seeking to engage in a permitted transaction must submit a written request to the Office of Foreign Asset Control of the Department of the Treasury. The President may waive the sanctions in the interest of U.S. national security. To terminate the sanctions, the President must certify that the Cuban government has legalized all political activities and taken other steps to promote political rights and freedoms. Congress must then enact a joint resolution approving the termination.
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 · 22 September 2021
Chinese Military and Surveillance Company Sanctions Act of 2021 This bill requires the President to impose property-blocking sanctions on Communist Chinese military companies upon certain findings. Specifically, if the President determines that imposing sanctions on a foreign person would address certain threats related to the financing of Chinese Communist military companies, the President must impose sanctions on that person provided that the person is identified (1) as a Communist Chinese military company in a specified report to Congress or in a November 17, 2020, executive order, or (2) by the Department of the Treasury as having engaged in transactions in the publicly traded securities (or derivatives) of a Communist Chinese military company.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2021
National POW/MIA Memorial and Museum Act This bill designates the memorial and museum that is being constructed on an approximately 26-acre area on the POW-MIA Memorial Parkway in Jacksonville, Florida, as the National POW/MIA Memorial and Museum. The director of the memorial and museum shall submit a report to Congress that includes a budget for the memorial and museum.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2021
Good Samaritan Health Professionals Act of 2021 This bill extends liability protection for harm caused by acts or omissions by volunteer health care professionals in the course of providing certain health care services during specified public-health or national emergencies or major disasters. However, such liability protection shall not apply if (1) the harm was caused by willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed; or (2) the health care professional provided services under the influence of alcohol or an intoxicating drug.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2021
This bill allows expenditures from health savings accounts and flexible spending and health reimbursement arrangements for dietary supplements (i.e., products, other than tobacco, intended to supplement the diet that bear or contain either vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, or an amino acid, and are labeled as dietary supplements).
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
Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act This bill requires the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation within the Securities and Exchange Commission to report on issues encountered by rural-area small businesses.
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 · 27 August 2021
This bill prohibits any entity that receives specified COVID-19 relief funds from mandating COVID-19 vaccines for its employees. An entity that violates this prohibition must return the funding it received.
United States · United States Congress · 27 August 2021
American Freedom and Internet Access Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of the Air Force to develop and implement Operation Starfall to deploy stratospheric balloons, aerostats, or satellite technology capable of rapidly delivering wireless internet anywhere on the planet from the stratosphere or higher.
United States · United States Congress · 24 August 2021
This bill sets out informed consent requirements for, and restricts the authority of the federal government to require, vaccinations. Specifically, the bill requires written, informed consent from any individual who receives a vaccine in the United States and imposes a criminal fine for violations of this requirement. In addition, the bill prohibits the federal government from requiring vaccinations of U.S. citizens or federal employees unless the citizen or employee is advised in writing of all known risks of, consults with a physician about, and provides voluntary informed consent for the required vaccine.
United States · United States Congress · 24 August 2021
Safe Disposal of Opioids Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Justice to award grants to establish or maintain disposal sites for unwanted prescription medications. Additionally, the bill imposes a fee on the sale of an active opioid by the manufacturer, producer, or importer. The Department of Health and Human Services must establish a mechanism to provide discounts to patients to ensure that they do not pay the fee.
United States · United States Congress · 24 August 2021
This resolution condemns the President's failure to heed military and intelligence advisors about the speed and nature of the Taliban offense in Afghanistan and urges the President to commit to maintaining the evacuation operation as long as necessary to evacuate any U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or Afghan partner who requests evacuation assistance .
United States · United States Congress · 23 August 2021
This resolution states that the United States stands firm in its commitment to protect U.S. citizens and allies in Afghanistan. It also calls on the President to provide a plan to safely evacuate all U.S. citizens from Afghanistan.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2021
Rural Medical Residency Expansion Act of 2021 This bill establishes a grant program within the Department of Health and Human Services for hospitals and other health care facilities in rural areas to establish or expand medical residency training programs.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2021
This resolution congratulates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Apollo 15 astronauts and their families, and the American people on the 50th anniversary of the successful Apollo 15 mission. The bill recognizes and celebrates the 50 years of cultural and technological history, legacy, and achievements of NASA's Apollo program. Finally, the resolution reaffirms the commitment of the House of Representatives to pursue space exploration on behalf of the American people in order to increase humankind's understanding of the universe as well as the Earth.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2021
Registration for Index-Linked Annuities Act This bill requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to create a new form for the registration of index-linked annuities to ensure that a purchaser can make a knowledgeable decision. The bill defines a registered index-linked annuity as an annuity that is deemed a security, that must be registered with the SEC, and that is issued by an insurance company subject to state supervision. Furthermore, the returns of these annuities (1) are based on the performance of a specified benchmark index or rate, and (2) may be subject to a market value adjustment if amounts are withdrawn early.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2021
National Discovery Trails Act This bill amends the National Trails System Act to include national discovery trails as part of the national trails system. Such trails (1) shall be extended, continuous, interstate trails located to provide for outstanding outdoor recreation and travel and to connect representative examples of America's trails and communities; (2) shall provide for the conservation and enjoyment of significant natural, cultural, and historic resources and be so located as to represent metropolitan, urban, rural, and back country regions of the Nation; and (3) may be designated on federal lands and, with the owner's consent, on nonfederal lands. The 6,000-mile American Discovery Trail extending from Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware, to Point Reyes National Seashore in California, splitting into northern and southern routes near Cincinnati, Ohio, and rejoining at Denver, Colorado, is designated as a national discovery trail. The bill sets forth requirements for designation of a trail as a national discovery trail. The appropriate federal department for each national discovery trail shall (1) administer the trail in cooperation with at least one competent trailwide volunteer-based organization; and (2) submit a comprehensive plan for the trail's protection, management, development, and use.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2021
Federal Insurance Office Elimination Act This bill eliminates the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within the Department of the Treasury. The bill also removes the FIO director as a nonvoting member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.