Crucial Communism Teaching Act This bill directs the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation to develop a civic education curriculum and oral history resources for high school students to promote understanding of certain political ideologies (e.g., communism and totalitarianism) that conflict with principles of U.S. democracy.
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.
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.
This resolution modifies requirements for written statements required of nongovernmental witnesses who appear before standing committees of the House of Representatives. Specifically, the resolution eliminates a requirement that a witness disclose whether they are a fiduciary of an organization or entity that has an interest in the subject matter of the hearing, in favor of a requirement that they disclose whether they are a fiduciary of an entity that has received payments from a specified foreign entity. The resolution also requires nongovernmental witnesses to disclose in their written statement certain contracts with specified foreign persons or entities. If the committee determines that a witness knowingly and willfully failed to truthfully comply with such disclosure requirements, the witness is prohibited from testifying before the committee for three years.
Fairness for Federal Contractors Act of 2021 This bill prohibits executive agencies from requiring contractors to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to study the degree to which Executive Order 14042 (Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors) caused disruptions to federal contracts, supply chains, and transportation systems.
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.
Uyghur Stop Oppressive Sterilizations Act or the Uyghur SOS Act This bill expands existing visa-blocking sanctions to cover certain high-ranking foreign government officials who are responsible for coercive population control policies, such as forced abortions, with a focus on those responsible for such policies against ethnic minority groups in China. Specifically, the Department of State may not issue a visa to a foreign national who is a head of state, head of government, or cabinet-level minister and responsible for establishing or enforcing such policies if the policies are (1) imposed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group; or (2) targeting ethnic minority groups (e.g., Uyghurs, Kazakhs, or Tibetans) or individuals peacefully expressing internationally-recognized human rights in China. (Currently, these sanctions do not apply to any foreign government officials at these higher ranks.) The State Department must make a public announcement each time sanctions are imposed under this bill. The bill also requires the State Department to provide all appropriate assistance to women who belong to an ethnic minority group in China and who have experienced sexual violence, torture, or coercive population control policies.
Protecting Jobs and Wages from Regulations Act of 202 1 This bill revises and expands the requirements for federal agency rulemaking by requiring agencies, in making a rule, to base all preliminary and final factual determinations on evidence and to consider the legal authority under which the rule may be proposed, the specific nature and significance of the problem the agency may address with the rule, any reasonable alternatives for the rule, and the potential costs and benefits associated with such alternatives.
Federal Firearms Licensee Protection Act This bill modifies provisions related to theft of firearms. Under current law, it is unlawful to steal a firearm from a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer, or from their business premises. This bill broadens the scope of unlawful conduct to also prohibit stealing a firearm from a gun range that rents firearms or a shooting club. An attempt to commit an offense is subject to the same penalties as a substantive offense. The bill modifies these penalties by increasing the maximum prison term.
Having Employees Return to Duty Act or the HERD Act This bill addresses federal employees who comply with Executive Order 14043 (requiring COVID-19 vaccination for federal employees). Specifically, the bill requires each federal agency to require employees who comply with the order to work from their duty station and to work the hours required as of February 15, 2020. The bill's requirement does not apply to immunocompromised employees. Additionally, the bill does not prohibit an agency from implementing different policies at a particular work site if the agency finds that (1) there is substantial transmission of COVID-19 within a community in which such requirements would otherwise be carried out; and (2) implementing those different policies will not degrade the level of service that the agency provides to the public.
