United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2021
Congressional Review of Agency Legal Settlements Act of 2021 This bill requires federal agencies to submit certain settlement agreements to Congress and allows Congress to disapprove of such agreements. The bill applies to proposed voluntary compromise settlements that include (1) a financial award paid by an agency that is more than $10 million aggregated across all similarly situated cases or legal claims against the agency, or (2) an agreement to modify or alter an agency rule. Before an agency may enter into such an agreement, the agency must submit to Congress a report that includes specified information, such as the terms and class of claimants covered by the agreement. The bill (1) specifies the effect of passage of a joint resolution of disapproval related to such an agreement, and (2) provides for an expedited procedure for such resolutions.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2021
This resolution expresses support for the goals and ideals of Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Month. Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder than can lead to pain, anemia, infections, and stroke.
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 · 6 December 2021
Taylor Force Martyr Payment Prevention Act of 2021 This bill expands the institutional factors the Department of the Treasury must consider when making a finding that a foreign financial institution is of primary money laundering concern and is therefore subject to special measures, including the prohibition of opening or maintaining correspondent accounts in U.S financial institutions. Specifically, Treasury must consider (1) the extent to which an institution knowingly provides financial services to Hamas, or to an agent of Hamas; and (2) the extent to which an institution, transaction, or type of account is used to facilitate or promote payments for certain acts of terrorism against U.S. and Israeli citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2021
Protect American Taxpayer Dollars from Illegal Immigration Act This bill prohibits expending federal funds for legal settlements to individuals who violated certain laws relating to the proper time and place to enter the United States, if the settlement pertains to claims based on the lawful detention of such an individual as part of a family unit after the individual's entry into the United States at the southern border after January 20, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2021
This bill prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from taking specified actions against a member of the National Guard based on whether the member has received a COVID-19 vaccine. Specifically, DOD may not (1) involuntarily discharge or discipline the member, (2) withhold pay or benefits from the member, or (3) prohibit the member from participating in training or using equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2021
Strategic Production Response Act or the SPR Act This bill limits the drawdown of petroleum in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until the Department of Interior issues a plan or updates a previously issued plan to increase the production of oil and gas on federal land. The bill defines federal land to (1) include Outer Continental Shelf land; and (2) exclude land otherwise not available for oil and gas development within the National Park System, the National Wildlife Refuge System, the National Wilderness Preservation System, a National Marine Sanctuary, or Indian land.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2021
Upholding the Law at Our Border Act This bill requires the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to periodically investigate and report on certain issues until there have been fewer than 35,000 apprehensions at the southwest border for three consecutive months. When required, the reports must address certain issues, including (1) the vetting procedures applicable to aliens seeking entry into the United States who were apprehended along the southwest border, (2) the total number of individuals not lawfully present who have been processed and released into the United States, (3) the number of such individuals who have received parole, and (4) an audit of the parole applications. The office must submit such reports (and provide briefings on the reports) to the President, Congress, DHS, and the Department of Justice.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2021
Disaster Contract Transparency Act of 2021 This bill modifies the process for contracting following natural disasters. Specifically, the bill (1) requires state and local governments to have advance contracts in place for debris removal services in order to be eligible for the public assistance grant program; and (2) limits Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursement of debris removal to the lower of federal, state, or local contract rates. The bill further requires FEMA to penalize vendors for failing to adhere to pre-disaster contracts, develop and implement clear rules regarding the oversight of debris removal contracts, develop a documented risk-based approach for grants that federal coordinating officers can use to determine appropriate cost-effective field presence required for debris removal oversight, and report to Congress annually detailing a comprehensive list of advance contracts and a review of the need for advance contracts that may be lacking for debris removal and other services.
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 · 16 November 2021
Supporting Made in America Renewable and Traditional Energy Act or the SMART Energy Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to (1) conduct certain sales of leases of onshore and offshore federal land for the development of oil and gas; (2) establish priority areas for geothermal, solar, and wind energy projects on federal lands; and (3) review and make proposals for leasing federal offshore land for wind energy projects in the Atlantic and Pacific Regions of the outer Continental Shelf. The bill also limits delays on federal oil and gas leases.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2021
This bill terminates the Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families and addresses related issues. (The task force's duties include identifying children separated from their families on the U.S.-Mexico border between January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2021.) Specifically, the bill rescinds (1) the February 2, 2021, executive order that established the task force; and (2) all policy and legal decisions issued, settlement agreements (or consent decrees) entered into, and immigration benefits provided pursuant to that executive order. Furthermore, the Department of Justice (DOJ) may not enter into a settlement agreement pertaining to specified issues, such as the separation of family members by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, unless the Government Accountability Office certifies that the agreement complies with federal law and regulations concerning the collection and compromise of federal claims. The Office of Personnel Management must withhold the salaries of all federal employees who serve on the task force and deposit the amounts into an account for paying judgments against the United States. The withholding must continue until the deposited amount is equal to the amount paid to aliens under settlements entered into pursuant to the executive order. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must publicly publish a report on the task force with information such as an accounting of the task force's incurred costs and all communications between task force members and nongovernmental entities. DOJ and the OMB must also publicly publish all settlement agreements entered into pursuant to the executive order.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2021
Prohibiting Taxpayer Funded Settlements for Illegal Immigrants Act This bill prohibits using federal funds to make settlement payments to compensate any individuals for being separated from family members while detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection if the detention was (1) a result of the individual improperly entering (or attempting to improperly enter) the United States, and (2) in accordance with a Department of Justice memorandum that adopted a zero-tolerance policy for such improper entry into 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 · 28 October 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
Helping Account for Rural Medical Outpatient Needs in Oklahoma Act or the HARMON Oklahoma Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to continue to allow Harmon Memorial Hospital in Hollis, Oklahoma, to retain its designation as a critical access hospital and to seek designation as a rural emergency hospital under Medicare after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, as specified in a prior letter sent to the hospital. The bill also requires the CMS to issue final regulations implementing the newly created Medicare rural emergency hospital program by November 1, 2022.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2021
Keeping Our COVID-19 Heroes Employed Act This bill exempts essential workers from COVID-19 vaccination requirements imposed by the federal government and contractors, public entities that received federal COVID-19 relief funds, and private entities that received any federal funds. An essential worker is an individual who was deemed to be essential or exempted from response measures during the COVID-19 pandemic by a state, tribe, or territory.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 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 · 21 October 2021
Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act This bill prohibits the Department of the Treasury from requiring a financial institution to report the balances, transactions, or the transfers into and out of a financial account. This prohibition does not apply to laws or regulations in effect on the date of enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2021
Extending Limits of United States Customs Waters Act of 2021 This bill extends the customs waters territory of the United States. Under current law, customs waters means waters within four leagues of the coast of the United States. This bill revises the definition to include (1) the territorial sea of the United States to the limits permitted by international law in accordance with Presidential Proclamation 5928, dated December 27, 1988, that extended such limits to 12 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States; and (2) the contiguous zone of the United States to the limits permitted by international law in accordance with Presidential Proclamation 7219, dated September 2, 1999, that extended such limits to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2021
Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2021 This bill establishes several requirements and standards relating to prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Specifically, MA plans must (1) establish an electronic prior authorization program that meets specified standards, including the ability to provide real-time decisions in response to requests for items and services that are routinely approved; (2) annually publish specified prior authorization information, including the percentage of requests approved and the average response time; and (3) meet other standards, as set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, relating to the quality and timeliness of prior authorization determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2021
This resolution addresses free speech issues at institutions of higher education (IHEs). Specifically, the resolution recognizes that free speech zones and restrictive speech codes of IHEs are inherently at odds with the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. In addition, the resolution urges (1) IHEs to facilitate and recommit themselves to protecting the free and open exchange of ideas; (2) the Department of Education to promote policies that foster debate, academic freedom, intellectual curiosity, and viewpoint diversity on campuses of public IHEs; and (3) the Department of Justice to defend and protect the First Amendment across public IHEs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2021
Viral Gain of Function Research Moratorium Act This bill prohibits the award of federal research grants to institutions of higher education or research institutes that conduct gain-of-function research. Gain-of-function research refers to any research that (1) may be reasonably anticipated to confer attributes to influenza, MERS, or SARS viruses such that the virus would have enhanced pathogenicity or transmissibility in an organism; or (2) involves the enhancement of potential pandemic pathogens or related risky research with potentially dangerous pathogens.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2021
Service Contract Modernization Act This bill increases a threshold used to determine whether an employee of a federal services contractor or subcontractor is entitled to wages and fringe benefits prevailing in the locality where services are performed (or in a predecessor contractor's collective bargaining agreement). Under current law, a federal contractor or subcontractor that enters into a service contract in excess of $2,500 must comply with prevailing wage and related requirements. This bill increases that amount by adjusting it for inflation since 1965 and provides for future increases based on inflation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2021
Department of Defense Improved Hiring Act This bill makes permanent the Department of Defense (DOD) direct hire authority for domestic defense industrial base facilities (i.e., any DOD depot, arsenal, or shipyard in the United States), the Major Range and Test Facilities Base, and the Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2021
This resolution supports the designation of October 3-October 9, 2021, as National 4-H Week. It also (1) recognizes the important role of 4-H in youth development and education, and (2) encourages all citizens to recognize 4-H for the significant impact the organization and members have made and continue to make by empowering young people with the skills needed to lead for a lifetime.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2021
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment limiting Representatives to eight terms and Senators to three terms. Terms beginning before the ratification of this amendment do not count towards term limits.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2021
Better Enforcement of Grievous Offenses by unNaturalized Emigrants or the BE GONE Act This bill expands, for immigration purposes, the definition of aggravated felony to include 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.)
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2021
Bicameral Congressional Trade Authority Act of 2021 This bill requires congressional approval for a presidential import adjustment due to a national security threat from an import related to military equipment, energy resources, or critical infrastructure essential to national security. Specifically, the bill requires the President to submit a proposal to Congress, which Congress may approve by a joint resolution. Under current law, the President determines whether any adjustment of an import is necessary and must submit to Congress the reasons for any action taken or not taken. The Department of Defense (currently, the Department of Commerce) must investigate the effect of these imports on national security. The bill retroactively applies to any proposed action made four years before enactment of this bill. In general, any rate of duty modification occurring in the time period beginning four years before and ending the day before enactment of this bill must revert to the previous rate unless it receives congressional approval.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2021
Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission Whistleblower Protection Act This bill clarifies that the scope of whistleblower protections under the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 covers civil servants filing complaints against their employers, such as the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), if the employers discharge or otherwise discriminate against civil servants who engage in certain protected activities, including (1) reporting alleged nuclear safety violations to the employer, (2) refusing to engage in certain unlawful practices, or (3) testifying at or participating in certain governmental proceedings. In 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Peck v. Department of Labor dismissed a complaint by a civil servant against the NRC for discriminating against the civil servant for whistleblowing activities on the grounds that the act does not waive sovereign immunity (i.e., the federal government's immunity from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts). Specifically, the court held that (1) the whistleblower protections in the act authorize complaints against persons (e.g., corporate employers) that discriminate against their employees, and (2) federal employers like DOE and the NRC are not considered to be persons. The bill modifies the act to waive sovereign immunity by clarifying that the whistleblower protections apply to employees of any employer— not just a person — that discharges or otherwise discriminates against its employee for being a whistleblower of nuclear safety violations. Thus, the bill includes civil servants under the act's whistleblower protections on nuclear safety violations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2021
Stop Vaccine Mandates Act This bill rescinds the executive order titled Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors and the executive order titled Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees , both published on September 9, 2021. The bill provides that these executive orders shall have no force or effect.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2021
Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2021 This bill excludes Indian tribes and tribal enterprises and institutions on tribal land from requirements for employers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). (Currently under the NLRA, employers may not engage in unfair labor practices and must allow employees to form unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take collective action.)
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2021
No Hearing, No Vote Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the Senate from considering a budget reconciliation bill unless at least one committee hearing has been held regarding the bill. (Reconciliation bills are considered by Congress using expedited legislative procedures that prevent a filibuster and restrict amendments in the Senate.) Specifically, the bill prohibits the Senate from considering a reconciliation bill unless (1) the bill was reported by a committee that received reconciliation instructions or by the Senate Budget Committee after receiving recommendations from committees that received instructions, and (2) each committee that reported the bill or ordered recommendations to be reported to the Senate Budget Committee held at least one hearing regarding any major provision of the bill that is within the jurisdiction of the committee.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2021
Saving Money and Accelerating Repairs Through Leasing Act or the SMART Leasing Act This bill authorizes the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish a pilot program that allows federal agencies to lease underutilized properties with GSA approval and to use the rent payments to help fund capital projects and facilities maintenance. The GSA may not enter into a lease under the pilot program unless it certifies that the lease will not have a negative impact on its mission or that of the applicable federal agency. The bill provides for a maximum of six leases under the program during each fiscal year, with a term of up to 15 years.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2021
Setting Manageable Analysis Requirements in Text Act of 2021 or the SMART Act of 2021 This bill requires agencies, when publishing a proposed or final major rule, to include a framework for assessing whether the rule achieves its regulatory objective. An agency must assess a rule in the time frame included in the framework. The assessment must compare the rule's anticipated and actual benefits and costs. The bill defines a major rule as a rule likely to cause (1) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices; or (3) significant effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, health, safety, the environment, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2021
Early Participation in Regulations Act of 2021 This bill directs agencies to publish advance notice of a proposed rulemaking at least 90 days before publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking for a major rule that the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) determines is likely to impose (1) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, government agencies, or geographic regions; or (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, health, safety, the environment, or the ability of U.S. enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises. The advance notice must include, among other information, a written a description of the rule and the legal authority under which it is proposed; and solicit and provide a period of at least 30 days for submission of written data, views, and argument from interested persons. Any difference between such advance notice and the notice of proposed rulemaking may not be considered arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. Advance notice is not required if the proposing agency is not required to publish notice of proposed rulemaking or OIRA finds that such advance notice is (1) not in the public interest, (2) duplicative of another statutory requirement, (3) not practicable due to a required deadline, or (4) for a rule that is routine or periodic in nature. Such a determination made by OIRA is not subject to judicial review.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2021
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Accountability Act of 2021 This bill changes the source of funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from Federal Reserve System transfers to annual appropriations. Under current law, the transfers from the Federal Reserve System permit the CFPB to be funded outside of the annual appropriations process.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 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 · 21 September 2021
COVID-19 Vaccine Dishonorable Discharge Prevention Act This bill provides that a member of the Armed Forces who was discharged on the basis of choosing not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine may only receive an honorable discharge.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 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.
![Official portrait of Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000575_200.jpg)