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.
Sponsored bills
Fair and Open Competition Act or the FOCA Act This bill prohibits federal construction contracts or controlling documents for federally supported construction projects from requiring or prohibiting project labor agreements. Such documents also may not discriminate against or give preference to a bidder or contractor who signs or refuses to sign a project labor agreement. An agency may exempt a project from this prohibition to avert an imminent threat to public health or safety or to serve the national security.
Feed Emergency Enhancement During Disasters with Cover Crops Act of 2021 or the FEEDD Act of 2021 This bill expands relief under the federal crop insurance program for agricultural producers that harvest second crops as a result of a prevented planting. Specifically, a producer may collect 100% of the prevented planting guarantee for the acreage of the first crop if (1) the acres planted are in an area with low hay or forage supplies due to widespread excessive moisture, flood, or drought; (2) the second crop will be planted with an intended use of animal feed that is hayed, gazed, or chopped; and (3) the second crop will be donated or used by the producer. Additionally, the Department of Agriculture may not reduce the amount of a payment collected by a producer that hays, grazes, or chops over crops on prevented planting acres after the harvest date that it establishes for each region of the United States.
Nicholas and Zachary Burt Memorial Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2021 This bill directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to award grants to states and tribal organizations to install carbon monoxide alarms in the homes of low-income families and older adults and facilities that commonly serve children or older adults. Such carbon monoxide alarms must comply with specified standards.
Officer Eugene Goodman Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman for his actions to protect the Senate chamber during the security breach at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting total outlays for a fiscal year from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year unless Congress authorizes the excess by a two-thirds vote of each chamber. The prohibition excludes outlays for repayment of debt principal and receipts derived from borrowing. The amendment prohibits total outlays for any fiscal year from exceeding 18% of the gross domestic product of the United States, unless two-thirds of each chamber of Congress provides for a specific increase above this amount. The amendment requires a two-thirds vote of each chamber of Congress to impose a new tax, increase the statutory rate of any tax, or increase the aggregate amount of revenue. It requires a three-fifths vote of each chamber to increase the limit on the debt of the United States. The President must submit an annual budget in which total outlays do not exceed total receipts and 18% of the gross domestic product of the United States. The amendment prohibits a court from ordering a revenue increase to enforce the requirements. Congress may waive specified requirements when a declaration of war is in effect or the United States is engaged in a military conflict that causes an imminent and serious military threat to national security.
Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Act This bill requires the Department of Energy to establish a pilot program to award grants for providing nonprofit buildings with energy-efficiency materials.
Keystone XL Pipeline Construction and Jobs Preservation Act This bill authorizes the TransCanada Keystone Pipeline to construct, connect, operate, and maintain the pipeline facilities in Phillips County, Montana, for the import of oil from Canada to the United States.
USPS Fairness Act This bill repeals the requirement that the U.S. Postal Service annually prepay future retirement health benefits.
This concurrent resolution calls for honoring the 235th anniversary of the enactment of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on Religious Freedom Day, January 16, 2021. The resolution affirms that religious freedom includes the right of individuals of any faith and individuals of no faith to live, work, associate, and worship in accordance with their beliefs; all people of the United States can be unified in supporting religious freedom because it is a fundamental human right; and the American people will remain forever unshackled in matters of faith.