Sen. Chuck Grassley

Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2021 This bill establishes a framework to allow federal court proceedings—in district courts, in circuit courts, and at the Supreme Court—to be photographed, recorded, broadcast, or televised. Specifically, it authorizes the presiding judge to permit media coverage of court proceedings, subject to requirements and limitations.

Cameras in the Courtroom Act This bill requires the Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open sessions of the Court unless it decides by majority vote that allowing such coverage in a particular case would violate the due process rights of any of the parties involved.

This resolution recognizes the 100th anniversary of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on July 1, 2021. It also commends the GAO for 100 years of service to Congress and the United States as the preeminent independent government watchdog agency in the world.

Define WOTUS Act of 2021 This bill describes which bodies of water fall under federal jurisdiction for purposes of the Clean Water Act. Specifically, the bill redefines navigable waters and establishes a process for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine, upon request, whether certain waters are navigable waters.

People's Liberation Army Visa Security Act This bill bars individuals affiliated with the Chinese military from entering the United States on visas for students (F visa) or work-and-study exchange (J visa). The President shall publish a list identifying research, engineering, and scientific institutions affiliated with or funded by China's People's Liberation Army. Aliens who are or were previously employed, sponsored, or funded by any institution on the list shall be subject to the bar. When a Chinese national applies for an F or J visa for an academic field related to an item on the Commerce Control List (a list of items subject to export controls), the consular officer handling the application shall request a special background check on the applicant.

This resolution designates June 19, 2021, as Juneteenth Independence Day to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.

IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act of 2021 This bill modifies provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to whistleblower protections. Specifically, the bill revises the standard for review of whistleblower awards in the Tax Court to require a de novo review standard (currently, the standard is abuse of discretion); exempts whistleblower awards from reductions due to budget sequestration; establishes a rebuttable presumption that whistleblowers would suffer harm if their identities were disclosed in a Tax Court proceeding; modifies the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whistleblower report to require inclusion of a list and description of the top 10 tax avoidance schemes disclosed by whistleblowers; requires the IRS to pay interest on whistleblower awards if not paid within one year of receipt of proceeds collected from whistleblower disclosures, allows the IRS to retain 3% of whistleblower proceeds (up to $10 million) to pay administrative costs of the whistleblower program; and allows payment of the attorney fees of whistleblowers regardless of whether the whistleblower award was paid through the mandatory or the discretionary whistleblower award program.

Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2021 This bill deems an individual receiving outpatient observation services in a hospital as an inpatient for purposes of satisfying the three-day inpatient hospital-stay requirement with respect to Medicare coverage of skilled nursing facility services.

Metropolitan Statistical Area Preservation Act This bill prohibits the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from establishing, for purposes of designating areas as metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), a minimum population for the urban area of such MSA that is more than 50,000. The OMB may, for statistical purposes only, establish other statistical area designations with higher minimum population requirements for such urban areas.

This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to authorize Congress to prohibit the physical desecration of the U.S. flag.