Criminal Alien Removal Clarification Act of 2021 This bill subjects to deportation an alien who at any time after admission has been convicted of a felony or two misdemeanors under state or federal law. Currently, an alien is subject to deportation for a single conviction for certain felonies (such as an aggravated felony), two or more convictions for crimes involving moral turpitude, or being a drug addict.
Disabled Access Credit Expansion Act of 2021 This bill modifies the tax credit allowed to eligible small businesses for expenditures to provide access to disabled individuals to increase (1) the maximum allowable amount of such credit to $20,500, and (2) the limitation on the gross receipts of such businesses to $2.5 million for purposes of determining eligibility for the credit. The bill directs the Department of Justice (DOD) to carry out an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Mediation Program to facilitate voluntary mediation to resolve disputes arising under the ADA and to provide training for mediators. DOD must report to Congress on its ADA Information Line (a toll-free line to provide information and materials to the public about ADA requirements).
Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act of 2021 This bill eliminates the Optional Practical Training Program or any successor program, unless Congress expressly authorizes such a program. (The program provides an F-1 student visa holder temporary employment authorization before or after completion of the student's studies, or both.)
This bill bars individuals affiliated with the Chinese military from entering the United States on visas for students (F visa) or work-and-study exchange (J visa). The President shall publish a list identifying research, engineering, and scientific institutions affiliated with or funded by China's People's Liberation Army. Aliens who are or were previously employed, sponsored, or funded by any institution on the list shall be subject to the bar. When a Chinese national applies for an F or J visa for an academic field related to an item on the Commerce Control List (a list of items subject to export controls), the consular officer handling the application shall request a special background check on the applicant.
No Frivolous Application for Short-Barreled Shotguns Act or the NFA SBS Act This bill removes certain short-barreled shotguns from the definition of firearms for purposes of the National Firearms Act. It also eliminates the prohibition on the sale or transportation of such shotguns in interstate commerce and treats persons who acquire or possess a short-barreled shotgun as meeting the registration or licensing requirements for such shotguns where such requirements are determined by reference to the National Firearms Act. The bill preempts state or local laws that impose a tax or recordkeeping requirements on short-barreled shotguns. The Department of Justice must destroy records relating to the registration of shotguns described by this bill within one year after the enactment of this bill.
No Taxpayer Funding for the Central American Minors Program Act This bill prohibits using federal funds to carry out the Central American Minors program, a Department of Homeland Security and Department of State program that reunites qualified children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras with their parent who is lawfully present in the United States.
China COVID-19 Restitution Act This bill requires the President to impose duties on goods and components manufactured in China and to use the collected funds to provide compensation and reimbursement for losses related to COVID-19. From this bill's enactment until December 31, 2021, the President must impose a 10% ad valorem duty on any good manufactured in China and any component manufactured in China and incorporated in a good imported from any country. This duty shall increase by an additional 10% each calendar year after 2021. The amounts from this duty shall go into a trust fund, which shall also include any amounts provided by China's government to provide compensation and reimbursement related to COVID-19. Using the amounts in the trust fund, the Department of Justice shall establish and administer a program to provide compensation and reimbursement for economic and financial losses related to COVID-19, including for assistance made available by the federal government.
Nuclear Family Priority Act This bill imposes limits on various types of family-sponsored immigration visas. The alien parents of U.S. citizens shall not qualify for visas for immediate relatives , which are not subject to any direct numerical limits. Currently, the spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of citizens are considered immediate relatives. The bill also creates a nonimmigrant visa for such parents of citizens. Such aliens shall not be eligible for employment or any public benefits. The bill also reduces the baseline annual cap for family-sponsored visas from 480,000 to 88,000, and revises the methods for calculating the cap. Currently, the 480,000 cap may be adjusted depending on various factors but shall not be less than 226,000. Preference allocations (visa categories subject to various annual caps) for various family-sponsored visas shall be eliminated, including those for the siblings and married children of citizens. The bill provides for a preference allocation for the unmarried children under 21 and spouses of permanent residents, subject to the 88,000 annual cap.
Cutting Unnecessary Regulatory Burdens Act This bill generally requires agencies to repeal at least two rules before promulgating a major rule (i.e., a rule with a significant economic impact, cost to consumers, or adverse effects on competition). Further, unless required by law, an agency may not issue a rule that exceeds the total cost of the rules to be repealed without approval by the Office of Management and Budget. These requirements do not apply to major rules related to agency procedures, the Armed Forces, national security, or foreign affairs.
Fairness in Firearm Testing Act This bill establishes additional requirements for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Specifically, the bill requires the ATF to make a video recording of its process for evaluating and testing an item to determine if it is a firearm or ammunition.
Disarm Hate Act The bill expands the categories of persons who are prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm. Specifically, it prohibits firearm sale or transfer to and receipt, possession, shipment, or transport by a person (1) who has been convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime, or (2) who has received an enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sentence.
World Deserves To Know Act This bill requires sanctions on certain members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and officials of Chinese health agencies. It also addresses related issues. The President must impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on any foreign person who is a CCP official and who is knowingly responsible for or complicit in (1) the disappearances of whistleblowers and citizen journalists in China relating to COVID-19, or (2) limiting free speech and academic freedom in China relating to COVID-19. The President must also impose such sanctions on specified individuals who have leadership positions in China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention and China's National Health Commission (NHC). The authority to impose such sanctions shall end when the President certifies to Congress that an independent and unimpeded investigation into the potential origin of COVID-19 from the Wuhan Institute of Virology has taken place. The bill also bars federal funds and certain federal student assistance from going to institutions of higher education that enter into a contract with any element or China-based affiliate of the NHC. Federal funding to the National Academy of Sciences may not be used to enter into a contract with any element or China-based affiliate of the NHC. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress a review of all funds that the National Institutes of Health have made available to the NHC since FY2010. This report must also be publicly available.
