Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act This bill prohibits the Department of the Treasury from requiring a financial institution to report the transfers into and out of a financial account. This prohibition does not apply to laws or regulations in effect on October 1, 2021.
Indian Programs Advance Appropriations Act of 2021 This bill authorizes advance appropriations for several covered appropriations accounts of (1) the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education within the Department of the Interior, and (2) the Indian Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services. The advance appropriations provide new budget authority that first becomes available for the first fiscal year after the budget year. The covered accounts within the Bureau of Indian Affairs are (1) Operation of Indian Programs, (2) Contract Support Costs, (3) the Indian Guaranteed Loan Program, (4) Construction, and (5) Payments for Tribal Leases. The covered accounts within the Bureau of Indian Education are (1) Operation of Indian Education Programs, and (2) Education Construction. The covered accounts within the Indian Health Service are (1) Indian Health Services, (2) Contract Support Costs, (3) Payments for Tribal Leases, and (4) Indian Health Facilities. The bill also requires the President's budget and the supporting documents submitted to Congress to include detailed estimates related to the advance appropriations.
Reducing Waste in National Parks Act This bill directs the National Park Service to establish a program for the National Park System to reduce disposable plastic products and, if applicable, eliminate the sale and distribution of disposable plastic products. Each regional office of the National Park Service must eliminate the sale of water in disposable plastic products and the sale and distribution of other disposable plastic products after consideration of several specified factors (e.g., the costs and benefits to overall operations). Each regional office must develop a proactive visitor education strategy to address visitor expectations of water availability and explain the rationale for the program and its implementation.
Making Advances in Mammography and Medical Options for Veterans Act This bill addresses the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provision of mammograms and breast cancer treatment. Among other requirements, the VA must submit a strategic plan for improving breast imaging services for veterans, implement a three-year pilot program to provide telemammography services for veterans who live in locations where access to breast imaging services at a VA facility is difficult or unfeasible, upgrade all mammography services at its facilities to use three-dimensional breast imaging, update guidelines to increase the use of testing for the breast cancer gene and genetic counseling for veterans diagnosed with breast cancer, and update its policies and directives to ensure that it confirms the accessibility of a breast imaging site when referring a veteran with a spinal cord injury or disorder to a non-VA provider. In addition, the VA must enter into a partnership with at least one cancer center of the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health in each Veterans Integrated Service Network to expand access to high-quality cancer care for women veterans. In implementing such partnerships, the VA must ensure that veterans with breast cancer who reside in rural areas or states without a partner cancer center are able to receive care through telehealth. Finally, the VA must collaborate with the Department of Defense and report on all current research and health care collaborations between the departments on treating veterans and members of the Armed Forces with breast cancer.
Reconciliation in Place Names Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to establish the Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names to advise the Board on Geographic Names with regard to renaming geographic features with offensive place names. The board shall rename a geographic feature with an offensive name in accordance with a recommendation of the committee unless the board determines that (1) there is a compelling reason and substantial public interest in rejecting the recommendation, or (2) approving the recommendation would violate federal law. The board shall accept or reject a recommendation within three years of receiving the recommendation.
Urban Waters Federal Partnership Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for the Urban Waters Federal Partnership Program. Under the program, the Environmental Protection Agency and other specified agencies must reconnect urban communities, particularly urban communities that are overburdened or economically distressed, with their waterways by improving coordination among federal agencies.
Accountability in Foreign Animal Research Act This bill prohibits the National Institutes of Health from conducting or supporting research that involves testing on vertebrate animals in China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, or other countries determined to be a foreign adversary.
This resolution recognizes (1) the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month; and (2) the integral role of Latinos and their manifold heritage in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.
Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks Act of 2021 or the HAVANA Act of 2021 This bill specifically authorizes the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State, and other agencies to provide payments to agency personnel who incur brain injuries from hostilities while on assignment. Specifically, the bill allows agency personnel and their families to receive payments for brain injuries that are incurred (1) during a period of assignment to a foreign or domestic duty station; (2) in connection with war, insurgency, hostile acts, terrorist activity, or other agency-designated incidents; and (3) not as the result of willful misconduct. The bill's authority applies to injuries incurred before, on, or after the date of the bill's enactment. Agencies must submit classified reports on the bill's implementation, including the number of payments made and the amount of each payment. Since 2016, some intelligence, diplomatic, and other governmental personnel have reported experiencing unusual cognitive and neurological impairments while on assignment (particularly abroad), the source of which is currently under investigation. Symptoms were first reported by personnel stationed in Cuba and have since been collectively referred to as Havana Syndrome .
SRES 372 is a symbolic Senate resolution designating the week beginning September 13, 2021, as "National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week." It recognizes Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) - colleges and universities with at least 25% Hispanic undergraduate enrollment - as vital providers of higher education to underserved students, particularly Hispanic learners. The resolution calls on the public and organizations to observe the week with events supporting these institutions, which serve 2.3 million Hispanic students nationwide. This is a non-binding commemorative measure with no policy changes or funding impacts.
FDA Modernization Act of 2021 This bill allows an applicant for market approval for a new drug to use methods other than animal testing to establish the drug's safety and effectiveness. Under this bill, these alternative methods may include cell-based assays, organ chips and microphysiological systems, computer modeling, and other human biology-based test methods.
Competitive Onshore Mineral Policy via Eliminating Taxpayer-Enabled Speculation Act or the COMPETES Act This bill revises the process of leasing public land for oil and gas development. For example, it requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to issue all onshore oil and gas leasing through a competitive bidding process. Further, the BLM must ensure the receipt by the United States of fair market value for any land or resources leased and any rights covered by the United States.
