Sen. Mike Lee

Inspector General Access Act of 2021 This bill transfers responsibility for investigating certain allegations of misconduct from the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Professional Responsibility to the DOJ Office of the Inspector General. Specifically, the bill transfers responsibility for allegations relating to a DOJ attorney's authority to investigate, litigate, or provide legal advice.

State Grazing Management Authority Act This bill requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service, upon the request of a state, to enter into cooperative agreements providing for the state to manage grazing allotments on eligible federal land in that state. Land is eligible if it is subject to a grazing permit or lease issued by the BLM or the Forest Service and has periodically or historically been used or offered for livestock grazing. At the request of a state, a cooperative agreement shall include an assignment to the state of the environmental review responsibilities of the BLM or the Forest Service under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) with respect to an allotment management plan. A cooperative agreement shall include, with respect to an allotment management plan, the assignment to a state of the responsibilities of the BLM or the Forest Service to approve or construct water infrastructure improvements to improve public grazing. A state that enters into a cooperative agreement shall establish a commission to advise the state on the substance and terms of the agreement and any matters related to carrying it out. A cooperative agreement shall provide for the development of a process by a state to resolve disputes related to a decision by the state with respect to an allotment management plan.

Parental Consent for Vaccination Act This bill stipulates that any COVID-19 vaccine mandate issued by Congress or an executive agency must require the written, informed consent of a legal guardian when a COVID-19 vaccine is administered to an individual under the age of 18.

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.

Maddy summaryS 2973 establishes an Inspector General (IG) position specifically for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The bill amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to add the NIH Director to the list of agency heads requiring an IG, replacing the National Reconnaissance Office reference. It mandates that the President appoint an IG for the NIH within 180 days of the bill's enactment, following the standard process outlined in the existing Act. This is a procedural bill creating a new oversight role within the NIH, directly affecting the agency's internal accountability structure.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 2949) creates a rebuttable presumption that specific geothermal exploration and development activities on federal lands qualify for categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), streamlining environmental reviews. It directly affects geothermal developers and federal land managers by exempting qualifying activities - such as converting oil/gas wells to geothermal wells, drilling at existing sites, or placing pipelines in approved corridors - from full NEPA reviews, provided they meet strict conditions (e.g., limited surface disturbance, prior environmental analysis). The bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to define these activities explicitly. This change applies only when developers comply with the specified thresholds and documentation requirements.

Better Enforcement of Grievous Offenses by unNaturalized Emigrants or the BE GONE Act This bill expands, for immigration purposes, the definition of aggravated felony to include sexual assault and aggravated sexual violence. (Under current law, a conviction for an aggravated felony is grounds for deportation and may bar an individual from other immigration-related benefits.)

Bicameral Congressional Trade Authority Act of 2021 This bill requires congressional approval for a presidential import adjustment due to a national security threat from an import related to military equipment, energy resources, or critical infrastructure essential to national security. Specifically, the bill requires the President to submit a proposal to Congress, which Congress may approve by a joint resolution. Under current law, the President determines whether any adjustment of an import is necessary and must submit to Congress the reasons for any action taken or not taken. The Department of Defense (currently, the Department of Commerce) must investigate the effect of these imports on national security. The bill retroactively applies to any proposed action made four years before enactment of this bill. In general, any rate of duty modification occurring in the time period beginning four years before and ending the day before enactment of this bill must revert to the previous rate unless it receives congressional approval.

Terry Technical Correction Act This bill broadens the scope of crack cocaine offenders who are eligible for a retroactive sentencing reduction under the First Step Act of 2018. The First Step Act made the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 retroactive and authorized sentencing reductions for certain crack cocaine offenders convicted and sentenced before the Fair Sentencing Act became effective. Under current law, crack cocaine offenders whose conduct triggered a mandatory minimum sentence are eligible for a retroactive sentencing reduction under the First Step Act. However, in 2021, the Supreme Court held in Terry v. United States that low-level crack cocaine offenders whose conduct did not trigger a mandatory minimum sentence are not eligible for a retroactive sentencing reduction under the First Step Act. This bill extends eligibility for a retroactive sentencing reduction under the First Step Act to all crack cocaine offenders convicted and sentenced before the Fair Sentencing Act became effective, including low-level offenders whose conduct did not trigger a mandatory minimum sentence.

Prevent Unconstitutional Vaccine Mandates for Interstate Commerce Act This bill prohibits certain departments and agencies from promulgating any rule to require a a person to provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccination in order to engage in interstate commerce or travel. The prohibition applies to The Department of Transportation, Amtrak, The Surface Transportation Board, The Transportation Security Administration, The National Transportation Safety Board, The Federal Maritime Commission, and The Department of Commerce. The bill also limits the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services to mandate vaccination against COVID-19 as a prerequisite for engaging in interstate commerce or travel.