This concurrent resolution recognizes the importance of startups to the U.S. economy, supports assisting startups throughout the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and commits to promoting equal economic opportunity for underrepresented entrepreneurs of all backgrounds.
Tree Spiking Mitigation Act of 2021 This bill directs the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to coordinate to take necessary actions to ensure the detection, identification, and, as determined to be appropriate, mitigation of tree spiking devices located on federal lands. A tree spiking device includes spikes, nails, or other objects hammered, driven, fastened, or otherwise placed into or on any timber to impede logging. To carry out such activities, the Forest Service and the BLM shall prioritize areas in which (1) incidences of tree spiking devices have occurred, or (2) the Forest Service and the BLM suspect that there are tree spiking devices. No later than 90 days after the enactment of this bill, the Forest Service and the BLM shall, where appropriate, update safety guidelines and training protocols to include the awareness, detection, identification, and mitigation of tree spiking devices.
Shift Back to Society Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Education to establish a pilot program that awards matching grants to historically Black colleges and universities to provide educational programs for eligible offenders to facilitate reentry into the community. An eligible offender is a convicted criminal offender who has been released from incarceration for not longer than one year or who is scheduled to be released from incarceration within one year. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on the results of the pilot program.
Parental Bereavement Act of 2021 or the Sarah Grace-Farley-Kluger Act This bill entitles an eligible employee to up to 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period because of the death of a son or daughter. Such an employee may substitute any available paid leave for any leave without pay. The bill applies the same leave entitlement to federal employees.
Fair Sugar Policy Act of 20 21 This bill makes several modifications to the Department of Agriculture's sugar program. Among other modifications, the bill decreases the rate for price support loans, repeals the marketing allotments, revises the administration of import quotas, and repeals the Feedstock Flexibility Program.
Forest Improvements through Research and Emergency Stewardship for Healthy Ecosystem Development and Sustainability Act or the FIRESHEDS Act This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to National Forest System lands, and the Department of the Interior, with respect to public lands, no later than 90 days after receiving a request from a state, to enter into an agreement with such state to jointly designate one or more fireshed management areas within such state, and conduct fireshed management projects in such fireshed management areas. Not later than 90 days after entering into an agreement, the USDA or Interior, as appropriate, and such state shall jointly conduct a stewardship and fireshed assessment. The USDA and Interior shall carry out fireshed management projects in accordance with the timeline and project size limitations included in the stewardship and fireshed assessment. Fireshed management projects shall be categorically excluded from the preparation of an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement and exempt from the special administrative review process. The bill makes permanent the authority for a state to use revenue from timber sales under a good neighbor agreement for forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration services.
Commonsense Coordination Act This bill allows a federal agency to categorically exclude certain actions from the preparation of an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement if another agency has categorically excluded such actions. Such a categorical exclusion shall not be subject to judicial review. The bill also categorically excludes certain forest management activities from requirements for environmental assessments or environmental impact statements. The forest management activities designated for such a categorical exclusion are those carried out by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Department of the Interior jointly with another federal agency on certain National Forest System lands or certain public lands, respectively; and for which a categorical exclusion applies with respect to such other agency. USDA or Interior, as appropriate, may use the categorical exclusion after first obtaining written confirmation from the other federal agency that the categorical exclusion applies to the proposed forest management activity.
This resolution designates August 2021 as National Catfish Month. It also recognizes (1) the contributions of all workers, past and present, that produce, process, and provide catfish for the people of the United States; and (2) that purchasing U.S. farm-raised catfish supports farmers, jobs, and the economy of the United States.
Resilient Federal Forests Act This bill modifies and sets forth provisions regarding forest management activities on National Forest System, public, and tribal lands. The bill provides for, among other things the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Interior to conduct fireshed management projects in fireshed management areas, certain categorical exclusions for various purposes, the balancing of the short- and long-term effects of forest management activities while considering injunctive relief, USDA and Interior to establish their own discretionary arbitration pilot programs as an alternative dispute resolution process for forest management activities, increasing the maximum term for a stewardship end result contract to 20 years, demonstration projects to support the development and commercialization of biochar on Indian forest lands or rangelands and in nearby communities by providing reliable supplies of feedstock from federal lands, the decommissioning of certain Forest Service Roads within designated high fire-prone areas, repealing of the Eastside Screens requirements on National Forest System lands, making the Northwest Forest Plan Survey and Manage Mitigation Measure Standards and Guidelines inapplicable to any National Forest System lands or public lands, development of a protection plan for giant sequoia trees on National Forest System lands and public lands, and permanent rights of access to the Oregon and California Railroad grant lands and the Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands for private landowners issued reciprocal road rights-of-way.
Action Versus No Action Act This bill limits the scope of certain environmental assessments or impact statements related to forest management activities on National Forest System lands or public lands suitable for timber production to a consideration only of the effects of the forest management activity and the alternative of no action. Specifically, the bill applies to assessments or impact statements prepared by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to National Forest System lands, or the Department of the Interior, with respect to public lands, for forest management activities that meet at least one of the criteria specified. In the case of the alternative of no action, USDA or Interior shall consider whether to evaluate the effect of no action on, among other things, forest health, wildfire potential, insect and disease potential, and timber production; and the implications of a resulting decline in forest health, loss of habitat diversity, wildfire, or insect or disease infestation on potential losses of life and property, domestic water supply in the project area, and wildlife habitat loss.
Stop Causing Alarming Tree, Air, and Soil Trauma Resulting from Obstructive Progressives' and Hypocritical Environmentalists' Schemes Act or the Stop CATASTROPHES Act This bill categorically excludes certain forest management activities from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement. The activities are those that are carried out by the Department of Agriculture on National Forest System Lands or the Department of the Interior on public lands where the primary purpose is to improve or restore such lands or reduce the risk of wildfire on such lands. To be excluded, the area of the forest management activity may not exceed 10,000 acres.
Healthy Forests for Hunters Act of 2021 This bill establishes categorical exclusions from environmental review requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for certain forest management activities relating to early successional forests or outdoor recreation.
