This resolution recognizes and appreciates the dedication and devotion demonstrated by the men and women of law enforcement. It also condemns calls to defund, disband, dismantle, or abolish the police.
This resolution expresses support for the designation of Second Chance Month to promote awareness of unnecessary legal and social barriers that prevent individuals with criminal records from becoming productive members of society.
This resolution recognizes the opportunity for Black Maternal Health Week to raise national awareness of the state of Black maternal health in the United States.
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.
EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes the EB-5 Regional Center program through FY2026 and makes various changes to the program, such as imposing various oversight requirements. (EB-5 visas provide permanent resident status to qualified alien investors. A regional center allows EB-5 aliens to pool investments to meet various investment and job creation requirements.) Oversight-related provisions include requiring each center to (1) notify the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of proposed changes to the center's structure, (2) maintain certain records and make such records available to DHS for audits, (3) obtain approval for each particular investment offering, and (4) annually report to DHS. The bill prohibits certain individuals and entities from involvement in a center, such as (1) a person who had committed a violation involving fraud in the previous 10 years, (2) a non-U.S. national not admitted for permanent residence, or (3) a foreign government official. DHS shall deny petitions, such as a petition to certify a regional center or to classify an alien as an alien investor, if approval would threaten U.S. national interest. The bill provides various enforcement authority to DHS and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, including the ability to permanently bar an individual from participating in the regional center program. The bill establishes the EB-5 Integrity Fund to fund program enforcement activities. The bill contains various provisions related to EB-5 petitions, such as a provision authorizing DHS to extend an alien's conditional permanent residence status.
Sara's Law and the Preventing Unfair Sentencing Act of 2021 This bill modifies federal sentencing options for individuals who commit criminal offenses as juveniles. Specifically, the bill authorizes federal sentencing courts to do the following: impose a sentence below the mandatory minimum for a juvenile who was convicted of a violent offense against a person who engaged in certain conduct (e.g., trafficking, abuse, or assault) against the juvenile, impose a sentence below the mandatory minimum by up to 35% to reflect the juvenile's age and prospect for rehabilitation, and reduce a prison term imposed on a defendant convicted as an adult for an offense committed as a juvenile if the defendant has served at least 20 years in custody and is not a danger to public safety.
Safeguarding Educational Institutions, Colleges, Universities, and Research Entities from China's Attempts to Misappropriate Property of the United States Act of 2021 or the SECURE CAMPUS Act of 2021 This bill prohibits certain Chinese citizens from receiving visas to participate in graduate or post-graduate studies in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) and contains other related provisions. This prohibition applies to F (academic student) and J (exchange visitor) visas and does not apply to citizens or permanent residents of Taiwan or Hong Kong. (China considers Taiwan a Chinese province. Hong Kong is a special administrative region within China, and most of its permanent inhabitants are Chinese citizens.) The Department of State may waive this prohibition on a case-by-case basis for national security purposes or if the applicant is a member of a religious or ethnic group that is systematically oppressed by the Chinese Communist Party. Institutions of higher education in the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program must annually certify that no prohibited Chinese citizens are permitted to participate in the institution's graduate or post-graduate STEM programs. A recipient of a federal STEM research grant must certify that the recipient (1) is not a Chinese citizen or a participant in a Chinese government foreign researcher recruitment program (a program that compensates individuals to conduct STEM-related research and development), and (2) will not knowingly use grant funds to employ such an individual. Entities that receive certain federal research or education assistance shall not knowingly employ any individual participating in a Chinese government foreign researcher recruitment program. An individual who recruits or performs research for such a program must register as an agent of a foreign principal.
Lower Costs, More Cures Act of 2021 This bill establishes and modifies several programs and requirements to address prescription drug prices. The bill modifies provisions under Medicare and Medicaid relating to prescription drug coverage and price transparency. Among other changes, the bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to publish certain information, as reported by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), relating to generic dispensing rates, drug discounts and rebates, and payments between PBMs, health plans, and pharmacies; caps annual out-of-pocket spending under the Medicare prescription drug benefit; allows prescription drug plan sponsors under the Medicare prescription drug benefit to offer additional plans in a region; requires pass-through pricing models, and prohibits spread-pricing, for payment arrangements with PBMs under Medicaid; and allows states to include in the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program covered outpatient drugs that are provided as part of physician or outpatient hospital services. The bill also generally modifies other provisions relating to the regulation and costs of generic and brand-name drugs. Among other changes, the bill prohibits the manufacturer of a brand-name, generic, or biosimilar drug from entering into certain agreements to resolve or settle a patent infringement claim in connection with the sale of a drug or biological product; permanently allows high deductible health plans to waive deductibles for insulin and associated products; and establishes the position of Chief Pharmaceutical Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Maximum Pressure Act This bill expands sanctions and economic penalties on Iran. It also restricts the President from unilaterally lifting or waiving the sanctions or penalties and increases congressional oversight of them. Specifically, the bill requires the President to impose visa- and asset-blocking sanctions. Additionally, it modifies existing sanctions, including by (1) providing statutory authority for executive orders imposing sanctions; (2) applying sanctions to additional sectors of Iran's economy; and (3) broadening sanctionable conduct to cover, for example, assisting Iran with the acquisition of ballistic missiles and the complicity of Iranian officials in human rights violations in specified countries. The bill also requires reporting on licenses that authorize activities subject to sanctions. The bill prohibits U.S. representatives at the International Monetary Fund from voting to allow Iran's access to special drawing rights (a currency support tool) and places restrictions on financial transactions with Iran. The restrictions include requiring domestic financial institutions to implement special measures with respect to foreign financial institutions that conduct significant transactions connected to the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (a European mechanism that bypasses U.S. sanctions when carrying out trade with Iran). The Department of State must maintain the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' designation as a terrorist organization and must designate Ansharallah (or Houthis), which operates in Syria, as a foreign terrorist organization. The bill also requires reports on U.S. sanctions concerning Iran, the status of Iran's nuclear weapons program, and other matters.
Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2021 This bill establishes transparency and public accountability standards for federal agencies with respect to (1) certain civil actions seeking to compel agency action, and (2) related consent decrees and settlement agreements. For example, an agency must publish a complaint filed against it within 15 days. Additionally, settlement proceedings must be conducted through mediation or an alternative dispute resolution program of the court, and those proceedings must include intervening parties. The bill also creates a presumption in favor of a motion to intervene in settlement proceedings. Further, at least 60 days prior to entering a consent decree or settlement agreement, an agency must publish, and accept and respond to public comment on, the proposed agreement or decree. An agency also must provide the court with the administrative record, a summary of the public comments, and access to the record of any public hearings on the proposed decree or agreement. The Department of Justice, or the agency litigating a matter independently, must certify to the court its approval of certain terms included in an agreement or decree, including terms that convert a discretionary authority into a nondiscretionary duty. A court may not approve a consent decree or settlement agreement unless the agency has sufficient time and procedures to comply with federal administrative procedures, other rulemaking statutes, and applicable executive orders. Finally, courts must review a consent decree or settlement if an agency files a motion to modify the decree or agreement on the basis of changed facts or circumstances.
Restoring Environments, Soils, Trees, and Operations to develop the Rural Economy Act of 2021 or the RESTORE Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA), at the request of a governor of a state, to select a forest landscape in the state on which to conduct a forest landscape project. For a project, USDA must carry out one or more specified management activities, including installing fuel breaks, conducting controlled burns, and removing dead trees.
American Critical Mineral Independence Act of 2021 This bill provides support for a domestic supply of critical minerals, establishes deadlines to complete the environmental review of critical mineral projects on federal land, and sets forth related requirements to expedite the review of such projects under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Specifically, the National Science Foundation must award grants to support research to advance critical mineral mining strategies and technologies. The Department of Energy must also provide grants to research, develop, and assess technologies and techniques to recover critical minerals from mine waste and metallurgical activities. If an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement is required for a critical mineral project, then all necessary federal review and permit considerations must be completed within 18 or 24 months, respectively. However, the review may exceed the time limit if the project sponsor agrees. The lead agency of the environmental review of such project must allow a state or another appropriate entity to assume certain federal responsibilities regarding the environmental review of the project upon the request of such entity. Further, the bill authorizes a lead agency to determine that the requirements of NEPA have been satisfied if a state or federal agency acting under state or federal law has addressed specified factors. If the lead agency does not make such a determination, then the agency must enter into an agreement with the project sponsor to set time limits for each part of the permitting process.
