Partner with Korea Act This bill creates an E-4 treaty trader visa category for up to 15,000 nationals of South Korea each fiscal year who are coming to the United States solely to perform specialty occupation services, subject to various requirements. The 15,000 limit shall only apply to principal aliens and not the spouses or children of such aliens. (A specialty occupation is one that requires the theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor's degree or higher.)
Greyhound Protection Act of 2021 This bill modifies the federal criminal statute commonly known as the Wire Act. Currently, the Wire Act contains four prohibitions on the use of a wire transmission facility (e.g., the telephone or internet) for certain gambling activities. All four prohibitions apply to sports gambling. However, there have been conflicting interpretations of the applicability of the prohibitions to nonsports gambling (e.g., state lotteries). This bill amends the Wire Act to expressly state that the statute does not authorize the use of wire communications to gamble on commercial greyhound racing or permit the transport of animals for commercial dog racing or related activities.
Federal Initiative to Guarantee Health by Targeting Fentanyl Act This bill places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act. Additionally, the bill prohibits the application of a mandatory minimum prison term for certain drug offenses involving fentanyl-related substances.
Biomass and Biogas for Electric Vehicles Act This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to, with respect to electricity from renewable biomass used as a transportation fuel, (1) provide for the generation of Renewable Identification Numbers under the renewable fuel program (in accordance with certain maximum quotas), and (2) allow only the operator of a registered facility to generate Renewable Identification Numbers with respect to such electricity.
This resolution expresses the House of Representatives' support for the goals and ideals of National Veterans Small Business Week, celebrates the millions of people in the United States—especially veterans and their spouses—who benefit from Small Business Administration programs, and expresses appreciation for the continued service to the United States by the nation's veterans through small business ownership and entrepreneurship.
Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2021 This bill expands eligibility for Post-9/11 GI bill educational assistance benefits and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home loan program. Specifically, the bill explicitly includes the following persons as eligible veterans: Black veterans who served on active duty during World War II who can certify they were denied a specific benefit on the basis of race; and the living surviving spouses, children, grandchildren, or other direct descendants of such veterans described above who can certify the veteran was denied a specific benefit on the basis of race. Such veterans described above must apply for educational or home loan benefits within the five-year period after the passage of this bill to be eligible for benefits. The Government Accountability Office must report on the number of individuals who received educational or housing loan benefits and the total value of such benefits administered by the VA due to the amendments made by the bill. Finally, the VA must appoint a panel of independent experts to develop recommendations regarding additional benefits and assistance for female and minority members of the Armed Forces.
Keep Food Containers Safe from PFAS Act of 2021 This bill prohibits food packaging that contains intentionally added PFAS (i.e., a perfluoroalkyl substance or a polyfluoroalkyl substance that is man-made with at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom).
Teacher, Principal, and Leader Residency Access Act This bill expands the federal work-study programs at institutions of higher education (IHEs) to include work-study programs that compensate students serving in a residency program at the IHE. R esidency program refers to a school-based educator preparation program in which a prospective teacher, principal, or school leader (1) works for one academic year with a mentor teacher, principal, or other school leader; (2) receives concurrent instruction from the IHE; (3) acquires effective teaching or school leader skills; and (4) attains certification or licensure prior to completion of the program.
Rachel Booth Act This bill provides eligibility for transitional compensation to dependents of members of the Armed Forces in situations where a member (1) has been convicted of a dependent-abuse offense in a civilian court but has been separated from duty for an offense other than the abuse offense, or (2) has been accused but not convicted of such an offense but has been determined to have committed the offense by a commander and required to forfeit pay and allowances pursuant to an offense other than the abuse offense.
Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2021 This bill allows certain individuals to sue and recover damages for harm from exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987. This action is available only to individuals who were exposed to contaminated water for at least 30 days. The bill prohibits the U.S. government from asserting specified immunity from litigation in response to such a lawsuit. The bill also prohibits an individual who brings such an action from bringing a separate tort action against the United States based on the same harm.
Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2021 This bill extends increased dependency and indemnity compensation to the surviving spouse of a veteran who dies from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) regardless of how long the veteran had such disease prior to death. Under current law, such compensation is paid for a service-connected disability that was rated totally disabling for a continuous period of at least eight years immediately preceding death. For purposes of this bill, a surviving spouse is a person who was married to the veteran for a continuous period of eight years or longer prior to the veteran's death.
This bill expands eligibility for Department of Veterans Affairs hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to include veterans of World War II who are not already covered.
