Stars and Stripes Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the Department of State from displaying any flag or banner at a diplomatic or consular post other than specified flags. Such flags are (1) the U.S. flag; (2) the flag of the country wherein the post is located; (3) the flag of a state, territory, or possession of the United States; (4) a departmental or secretarial flag; (5) the flag of an Armed Force; or (6) a flag to honor prisoners of war or those missing in action.
Neighbors Not Enemies Act of 2021 This bill repeals provisions authorizing the President to apprehend and remove from the United States the citizens of a particular nation, if the United States has declared war against that nation or that nation has threatened an invasion against the United States.
Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2021 This bill expands access to free sanitary napkins and tampons (i.e., menstrual products) in certain locations and for particular groups. It also requires Medicaid to cover menstrual products, as well as liners, cups, and similar items used by individuals with respect to menstruation. Specifically, the bill imposes requirements to make free menstrual products available in federal and state correctional facilities (including facilities that house aliens detained by the Department of Homeland Security) and restrooms in federal buildings that are open to the public. It also establishes a demonstration grant program to support the provision of free menstrual products on campuses of institutions of higher education and permits elementary and secondary schools to use certain grants to provide menstrual products to students. Furthermore, the bill requires employers with at least 100 employees to provide free menstrual products for employees. It also permits the use of certain grants for emergency food and shelter to provide menstrual products to homeless individuals.
Preventing Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes Act This bill requires a designated officer or employee of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to facilitate the expedited review of anti-Semitic hate crimes and reports of anti-Semitic hate crimes. Further, the bill requires DOJ to issue guidance for state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies on expanding public education campaigns to raise awareness of anti-Semitic hate crimes. Finally, the bill increases the statutory maximum prison term for an individual who is convicted of a federal hate crime offense after a prior conviction for a hate crime offense under federal law or a hate crime felony under state law.
Keeping Our Promise Act This bill authorizes issuing visas to certain individuals who were previously refused a diversity immigrant visa or admission into the United States because of certain executive orders or the COVID-19 public health emergency. (Diversity immigrant visas are available to eligible immigrants from countries with relatively low rates of immigration to the United States.) Specifically, this bill applies to individuals who were refused such a visa solely due to certain executive orders from 2017 to 2020, including orders which suspended the entry of individuals from certain countries. The bill also applies to diversity visa applicants who, because of the COVID-19 emergency, were (1) unable to receive a visa interview despite requesting one, or (2) unable to be admitted into the United States despite being approved for a visa. The Department of State must notify each individual covered under this bill of the individual's visa eligibility. To retain eligibility, an individual must respond to the State Department's notice within one year of the notice. An individual may also lose eligibility if the State Department determines that the applicant fails to meet certain requirements. The bill also relaxes certain annual numerical limits for individuals obtaining a visa under this bill. An individual who was a child when initially selected for a visa shall be treated as a child for the purposes of a visa application under this bill.
Human-Animal Chimera Prohibition Act of 2021 This bill establishes new federal crimes related to conduct involving certain types of human-animal chimeras. The term human-animal chimera means an organism that, from an early stage of development, contains human and nonhuman parts. This bill makes is unlawful to create or attempt to create a prohibited human-animal chimera, transfer or attempt to transfer a human embryo into a nonhuman womb, transfer or attempt to transfer a nonhuman embryo into a human womb, or transport or receive for any purpose a prohibited human-animal chimera. A violator is subject to civil and criminal penalties.
First Step Implementation Act of 2021 This bill makes various changes related to federal sentencing law and requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish procedures to ensure the prompt release and accuracy of employment-related background check records. The bill allows certain reduced mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses to be applied retroactively to offenders who committed their offenses on or before December 21, 2018; permits a court, in certain circumstances, to grant safety valve relief (i.e., impose a sentence without regard to the statutory mandatory minimum penalty for certain drug offenses) for an otherwise eligible defendant who does not meet the requirement pertaining to criminal history; permits a court to reduce a sentence imposed on a defendant convicted as an adult for an offense committed as a juvenile if the defendant has served at least 20 years of the sentence; establishes a process to seal and expunge certain records of juvenile nonviolent offenses; and requires DOJ to establish and enforce procedures to ensure that records exchanged for employment-related background checks are promptly released and accurate.
Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act This bill modifies the Conrad 30 Waiver program, which incentivizes qualified foreign physicians to serve in underserved communities. It also extends statutory authority for the program for three years from this bill's enactment. Aliens coming to the United States under a J-1 nonimmigrant visa to receive medical training typically must leave the country and reside for two years abroad before being eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or permanent residence. The Conrad program waives this requirement for individuals who meet certain qualifications, including serving for a number of years at a health care facility in an underserved area. The bill increases the number of waivers that a state may obtain each fiscal year from 30 to 35 if a certain number of waivers were used the previous year, and provides for further adjustments depending on demand. An alien physician may be employed at an academic medical center to meet the Conrad program's employment requirements if the alien's work is in the public interest, even if the medical center is not in an underserved area. Employment contracts for alien physicians under the Conrad program shall contain certain information, such as the maximum number of on-call hours per week the physician shall have to work. Certain alien physicians (along with the physician's spouse and children) shall be exempt from the direct annual numerical limits on immigration, including those physicians that have met certain requirements related to visas for physicians to serve in underserved areas.
Abortion Care Awareness Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to carry out a campaign to educate the public about how to access abortion and related health services. The campaign must address, among other matters, the legality of interstate travel to obtain abortions and related services and accurate information about medication abortions.
Original National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Resolution of 2022 This resolution supports the goals and ideals of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Further, it expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should continue to raise awareness of and support programs to end domestic violence.
Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act of 2022 This bill bars the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture from prohibiting or regulating the use of lead ammunition or tackle on federal land or water that is under the jurisdiction of such departments and made available for hunting or fishing. The bill makes exceptions for specified existing regulations and where the applicable department determines that a decline in wildlife population at the specific unit of federal land or water is primarily caused by the use of lead in ammunition or tackle, based on the field data from such unit, and the state approves the regulations.
Transparency And Production of American Energy Act or the TAP American Energy Act This bill modifies requirements related to the exploration and development of energy resources (e.g., oil, gas, and renewable energy projects). For example, it sets forth provisions to (1) resume sales of onshore and offshore oil and gas leases and restrict the President from imposing bans on or otherwise limiting energy leasing and mineral withdrawals without congressional approval, (2) set timeframes for and makes other changes to certain environmental requirements that apply to energy projects, and (3) address various aspects of permitting and regulating pipelines and energy infrastructure projects.
