FAIR Leave Act or the Fair Access for Individuals to Receive Leave Act This bill repeals the limit on the aggregate number of workweeks of family and medical leave that spouses employed by the same employer may be entitled to during any 12-month period. The current limit is 12 aggregate workweeks.
Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2021 This bill modifies eligibility for, and other components of, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, including by (1) increasing applicable income and resource limits used to determine SSI eligibility, (2) equalizing treatment of married couples when both spouses receive SSI as compared to two unmarried individuals, and (3) eliminating the penalty on SSI applicants or recipients who transfer resources to another individual for less than fair market value.
Environmental Justice in Recreation Permitting Act This bill requires the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture to complete an interagency report on the use of special recreation permits by recreation service providers serving environmental justice communities. The bill defines an environmental justice community as a community with significant representation of communities of color, low-income communities, or tribal and indigenous communities, that experiences, or is at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse human health or environmental effects than other communities. Interior and USDA shall contact all existing or prospective recreation service providers to request a voluntary estimate of the number of user days used by, or, in the case of a prospective recreation service provider, expected to be used by, individuals from environmental justice communities during the period covered by the report; request from recreation service providers and interested members of the public any other information required for the report; and not use the participation of, or the provision of information to the Secretaries by, a recreation service provider under this subsection as a condition of a special recreation permit.
Keep It in the Ground Act of 2021 This bill eliminates new fossil fuel production projects on federal public land and waters. Specifically, it prohibits the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) from issuing, renewing, reinstating, or extending any nonproducing lease, or issuing any authorization for the exploration or production of fossil fuel on the Outer Continental Shelf. BOEM must also cancel any lease issued in the Beaufort Sea, Cook Inlet, or Chukchi Sea (three of the five bodies of water that encompass the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf). Further, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) may not issue, renew, reinstate, or extend any nonproducing lease for the exploration or production of any onshore fossil fuels on land subject to the Mineral Leasing Act. The bill provides for exceptions if there is an imminent national security threat that would be significantly reduced by granting an exception. In addition, BOEM and the BLM may allow a nonproducing lease to be renewed or extended if (1) the lease contract was signed before enactment of this bill, and (2) it is determined that giving effect to any provision of this bill is likely to lead to a judicial ruling that there was a material breach of the nonproducing lease contract.
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States must establish (1) electricity as a basic human right; and (2) a publicly- and community-owned power system that is just, equitable, antiracist, and resilient to climate changes and disasters.
Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research In Vehicle Evolution Act or the SELF DRIVE Act This bill establishes the federal role in ensuring the safety of highly automated vehicles by encouraging the testing and deployment of such vehicles. A highly automated vehicle is a motor vehicle, other than a commercial motor vehicle, that is equipped with an automated driving system capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task on a sustained basis. The bill preempts states from enacting laws regarding the design, construction, or performance of highly automated vehicles or automated driving systems unless such laws enact standards identical to federal standards. The Department of Transportation (DOT) must require safety assessment certifications for the development of a highly automated vehicle or an automated driving system. Manufacturers of highly automated vehicles must develop written cybersecurity and privacy plans for such vehicles prior to offering them for sale. The bill applies certain safety exemptions and testing standards to highly automated vehicles. DOT must (1) inform prospective buyers of highly automated vehicles of the capabilities and limitations of such vehicles; (2) establish the Highly Automated Vehicle Advisory Council to, among other things, develop guidance regarding mobility access for the disabled, elderly, and underserved populations; (3) require all new passenger motor vehicles less than 10,000 pounds to be equipped with a rear seat occupant alert system; and (4) research updated safety standards for motor vehicle headlamps.
Made in America Act of 2021 This bill requires that materials used in carrying out federal infrastructure aid programs are made in the United States. The term produced in the United States means, in the case of iron or steel products, that all manufacturing processes for the iron or steel product, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, occurred in the United States; manufactured products, that the product was manufactured in the United States and that the cost of the components of the manufactured product that are mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States is greater than 50% of the total cost of all components of the manufactured product; and construction materials, that all manufacturing processes for the construction material occurred in the United States. The Department of Commerce must (1) issue uniform standards that define the term all manufacturing processes for purposes of this bill, and (2) take into consideration and seek to maximize the jobs benefited or created in the production of the construction material. The bill requires that all steel, iron, manufactured products, non-ferrous metals, plastic, concrete and aggregates, glass (including optical glass), lumber, and drywall used in these programs be produced in the United States. Includes within infrastructure addressed by this bill federal-aid highways, railroads, public transportation, civil aviation, drinking water, and stormwater.
Community Broadband Mapping Act This bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service to award telecommunications grants to local governments, electric and telephone cooperatives, economic development and community groups, and small internet providers for collecting local broadband service information.
This bill requires the President to establish an interagency task force, the China Censorship Monitor and Action Group. The task force shall oversee the development and execution of a federal government strategy to monitor and address Chinese government efforts to censor or intimidate individuals and entities in the United States, including U.S. companies doing business in China, when such individuals and entities are exercising their free speech rights. The Department of State shall seek to enter into an agreement with a qualified independent research entity to report to Congress on Chinese government efforts to censor or intimidate U.S. individuals and entities in the United States, including attempts to censor or intimidate U.S. companies doing business in China.
Hamas International Financing Prevention Act This bill imposes sanctions targeting Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and any affiliate or successor groups. The President shall periodically report to Congress a list of each foreign person or instrumentality that knowingly assists, provides significant support or services to, or is involved in a significant transaction with a senior member or supporter of any of the targeted groups. The President shall impose two or more sanctions on the named persons. Specifically, the person may be (1) denied credit and services from the Export-Import Bank, (2) barred from purchasing certain controlled defense articles, (3) denied exports of items on the U.S. Munitions List, (4) prevented from receiving exports of certain goods or technology controlled for national security reasons, (5) prohibited from receiving financing of more than $10 million from any U.S. financial institution, or (6) subject to property-blocking restrictions. The President shall periodically report to Congress a list of foreign governments that have repeatedly provided material support for the targeted groups' terrorist activities. The President shall bar these governments from receiving for one year (1) U.S. assistance, or (2) exports of controlled munitions. The Department of Treasury shall instruct U.S. leadership of international financial institutions to oppose the provision of assistance to an identified government for one year. The bill provides for certain exceptions and waivers, such as for transactions that would serve U.S. national interests. The President shall report to Congress and periodically provide briefings on other specified topics related to the targeted groups, such as where these groups secure financing and surveillance equipment.
This bill prohibits the Department of the Interior, during 2021, from using the COVID-19 pandemic or any issue related to the pandemic as a basis for restricting or limiting outdoor recreational use of land or water administered by the National Park Service.
Armed Forces Transgender Dependent Protection Act This bill expands the policy of the Office of Special Needs within the Department of Defense to address transgender dependents. Specifically, the bill codifies the definition of a medical or educational special need to include gender dysphoria. Under the bill, the policy of the office must prohibit the assignment of a military family with special needs to a permanent duty location where the law restricts medically necessary treatment for a medical or educational special need. A member who is serving at a location when such a law is established may elect to be reassigned.
