Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 20 21 This bill establishes restrictions and requirements for checkoff programs, which are programs overseen by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote and provide research and information for a particular agricultural commodity without reference to specific producers or brands. The bill prohibits boards established to carry out a checkoff program or a USDA order issued under a checkoff program from entering into a contract or agreement to carry out program activities with a party that engages in activities to influence any government policy or action that relates to agriculture. A board or its employees or agents acting in their official capacity may not engage in any act that may involve a conflict of interest; anticompetitive activity; unfair or deceptive act or practice; or act that may be disparaging to, or in any way negatively portray, another agricultural commodity or product. Upon approval of USDA, a board may enter directly into contracts and agreements to carry out generic promotion, research, or other activities authorized by law if the agreement or contract requires records accounting for the funds received to be submitted to the board. The board must meet specified requirements regarding the publication of budgets and disbursements of funds. The USDA Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office must conduct specified audits regarding checkoff programs.
Sponsored bills
Voluntary Checkoff Program Participation Act This bill prohibits mandatory or compulsory checkoff programs and requires producer participation in the programs to be voluntary at the point of sale. A checkoff program is a program to promote and provide research and information for a particular agricultural commodity without reference to specific producers or brands. The Department of Agriculture oversees the programs, which are requested and funded by industry.
This resolution honors the life of Robert Dove, Parliamentarian Emeritus of the Senate, and offers the condolences of the Senate regarding his death.
Preserving Employment Visas Act This bill reclaims unused employment-based immigrant visas from FY2020 and FY2021 and makes such unused visas available in FY2022, for the purposes of calculating the total number of employment-based immigrant visas available each fiscal year. If, at the end of FY2022, there are still unused FY2020 and FY2021 visas, these unused visas shall be available in subsequent fiscal years until they are all used.
This resolution honors the contributions of small businesses in the United States and supports the designation of National Small Business Week.
Acting on the Annual Duplication Report Act of 2021 This bill establishes requirements to facilitate the implementation of certain recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office. Specifically, the Department of Defense, through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, must review options for expanding the use of administrative surcharges under the foreign military sales program. The bill modifies the calculation of military housing contractor pay for privatized military housing. With respect to the Department of Education, the bill revises requirements regarding forbearance rules and default rates. The Department of Energy must conduct a review of options for a long-range target for the optimal size and configuration of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The Department of Housing and Urban Development must report on the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), including (1) the adequacy of Ginnie Mae's guarantee fee for single-family mortgage-backed securities, (2) Ginnie Mae's workforce, and (3) alternate ways of overseeing Ginnie Mae. The Department of the Treasury must prescribe certain standards for the security of tax return information and information technology systems. The bill establishes a penalty for authorized providers of electronic filing services that fail to comply with electronic return security standards. The Internal Revenue Service must develop an organizational plan to coordinate all aspects of its efforts to protect return information while it is being held or transmitted by authorized providers of electronic filing services.
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.
America's Children Act or the Protecting Children of Long-term Visa Holders Act of 2021 This bill provides lawful permanent resident status to certain college graduates who entered the United States as children and addresses other immigration-related issues. Specifically, this bill allows an alien to apply for lawful permanent resident status if the alien (1) was lawfully admitted into the United States as a dependent child of an alien on a temporary worker visa, (2) was in the United States with such status for at least four years, (3) has graduated from an institution of higher education in the United States, and (4) is not deportable or otherwise inadmissible. In addition, the alien must have been lawfully present in the United States for at least 10 years at the time of the application. The bill also modifies various provisions related to the calculation of an alien's age for immigration purposes and the priority date of certain immigration-related applications.
Restraining Emergency War Spending Act This bill establishes (1) a statutory definition for emergency war funding , and (2) a budget point of order that may be raised in the Senate against legislation that provides new funding for a contingency operation that does not meet the requirements for emergency war funding. Funding for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) is exempt from discretionary spending limits. If this point of order is successfully raised against a provision that provides OCO funding that does not meet the requirements for emergency war spending, the bill requires the provision to be stricken from the legislation and prohibits it from being offered as a floor amendment.
Justice Safety Valve Act of 2021 This bill authorizes a court to impose a sentence below the mandatory minimum if it determines, after considering certain factors, that the mandatory minimum sentence is greater than necessary.