Tree Spiking Mitigation Act of 2021 This bill directs the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to coordinate to take necessary actions to ensure the detection, identification, and, as determined to be appropriate, mitigation of tree spiking devices located on federal lands. A tree spiking device includes spikes, nails, or other objects hammered, driven, fastened, or otherwise placed into or on any timber to impede logging. To carry out such activities, the Forest Service and the BLM shall prioritize areas in which (1) incidences of tree spiking devices have occurred, or (2) the Forest Service and the BLM suspect that there are tree spiking devices. No later than 90 days after the enactment of this bill, the Forest Service and the BLM shall, where appropriate, update safety guidelines and training protocols to include the awareness, detection, identification, and mitigation of tree spiking devices.
This resolution supports the use and recognizes the importance of public health authorities, including those related to border protection and migration, in addressing COVID-19.
Migratory Bird Protection Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the incidental taking (e.g., capturing or killing) of migratory birds by commercial activities unless the activity is authorized under a permit or is identified as posing de minimis risk to migratory birds. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) must regulate such incidental taking, including by (1) issuing general permits for certain industries, (2) creating a mitigation fee for any incidental taking of migratory birds, and (3) identifying categories of de minimis risk activities that are exempt from liability for the taking of migratory birds. In addition, the USFWS must establish and maintain a research program (1) to evaluate the impacts of commercial activities on birds, (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of best management practices and technologies to avoid or minimize such impacts, and (3) to develop new or improved best management practices and technologies.
Creative Economy Revitalization Act This bill requires the Department of Labor to award grants to government and nonprofit agencies to provide programs that employ individuals and provide public access to art or arts programming.
Affordable Pricing for Taxpayer-Funded Prescription Drugs Act of 2021 This bill requires companies that receive federal funding for research (or a license of the rights to a patent or regulatory test data) for a biomedical product or service to agree to set reasonable prices for the resulting biomedical product or service. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must determine a reasonable price based on a formula that ensures the U.S. price for the product or service is not more than the median price for the product or service in Canada and six other reference countries with, based on specified criteria, large economies and high incomes. Companies entering these agreements also must report to HHS certain financial information related to the biomedical product or service involved.
Refuge System Protection Act This bill authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ), at the request of the Department of the Interior, to bring in a district court a civil action against any individual or entity that destroys, causes the loss of, causes Interior to make risk mitigation efforts with respect to, or injures any resource that is within the boundaries any land or water that is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The bill also authorizes DOJ, at the request of Interior, to bring in a district court an in rem action against any instrumentality (e.g., a vessel, vehicle, or aircraft) that destroys, causes the loss of, causes Interior to make risk mitigation efforts with respect to, or injures any such system resource. Among others, it shall be an affirmative defense in either type of action that the destruction of, loss of, risk mitigation regarding, or injury to a system resource was caused by an otherwise legal act or omission that occurred outside the boundaries of the resource. In either type of action, the court may award response costs and damages.
Resilient Federal Forests Act This bill modifies and sets forth provisions regarding forest management activities on National Forest System, public, and tribal lands. The bill provides for, among other things the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Interior to conduct fireshed management projects in fireshed management areas, certain categorical exclusions for various purposes, the balancing of the short- and long-term effects of forest management activities while considering injunctive relief, USDA and Interior to establish their own discretionary arbitration pilot programs as an alternative dispute resolution process for forest management activities, increasing the maximum term for a stewardship end result contract to 20 years, demonstration projects to support the development and commercialization of biochar on Indian forest lands or rangelands and in nearby communities by providing reliable supplies of feedstock from federal lands, the decommissioning of certain Forest Service Roads within designated high fire-prone areas, repealing of the Eastside Screens requirements on National Forest System lands, making the Northwest Forest Plan Survey and Manage Mitigation Measure Standards and Guidelines inapplicable to any National Forest System lands or public lands, development of a protection plan for giant sequoia trees on National Forest System lands and public lands, and permanent rights of access to the Oregon and California Railroad grant lands and the Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands for private landowners issued reciprocal road rights-of-way.
Reprioritizing Unserved Rural Areas and Locations for Broadband Act of 2021 or the RURAL Broadband Act of 2021 This bill restricts the use of Rural Utilities Service grants or loans to deploy broadband infrastructure that would overbuild or otherwise duplicate existing broadband networks.
This resolution impeaches Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas for high crimes and misdemeanors related to his actions regarding border security and immigration.
Frank Harrison, Elizabeth Peratrovich, and Miguel Trujillo Native American Voting Rights Act of 2021 This bill addresses the voting rights of Native American and Alaska Native voters and voting access on tribal lands. The bill includes provisions expanding the types of facilities that can be used as voter registration agencies; increasing polling site accessibility, including by expanding early in-person voting and providing ballot drop boxes; providing enforcement power to citizens and attorneys general; requiring approval for actions like moving a polling place; validating certain tribal identification for voting or registering to vote; permitting voters to designate another individual to return a ballot on their behalf; and expanding requirements for bilingual voting accessibility. In addition, the bill establishes a Native American voting task force grant program for the purpose of increasing voter outreach, education, registration, turnout, and accessibility for Native American communities. The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office to study and report on (1) the prevalence of nontraditional or nonexistent mailing addresses among Indians, members of tribes, and individuals residing on Indian lands; and (2) the alternatives for removing barriers to voter registration, receipt of voter information and materials, and receipt of ballots.
Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Act or the HERO Act This bill establishes and authorizes behavioral health programs for law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, 9-1-1 operators, and other public safety officers. Specifically, the Fire Administration within the Federal Emergency Management Agency must develop resources for educating mental health care providers about treating firefighters and emergency medical services personnel. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must develop best practices and resources for identifying, preventing, and treating post-traumatic stress disorder and co-occurring disorders in public safety officers. HHS must work with relevant federal departments to incorporate these resources into federal training programs for public safety officers. The bill also authorizes HHS to set up a public safety officer suicide-reporting system and a grant program for peer-support behavioral health and wellness programs within fire departments and emergency medical services agencies.
Tribal Wildlife Corridors Act of 2021 This bill authorizes tribal wildlife corridors. Specifically, the bill permits an Indian tribe to nominate a corridor within the land of such tribe as a tribal wildlife corridor. The Department of the Interior must establish criteria for determining whether such a corridor qualifies as a tribal wildlife corridor, including criteria for restoring historical habitat. Interior must provide tribes with technical assistance to establish, manage, or expand a tribal wildlife corridor. Such assistance must include support with accessing wildlife data and working with voluntary private landowners to access programs for facilitating connectivity on nonfederal land. Additionally, Interior must (1) establish a program to award grants to tribes to increase connectivity through tribal wildlife corridors, and (2) consult with tribes to determine whether a tribal wildlife corridor may be expanded into public lands or otherwise benefit connectivity between public lands and such corridor.
