Public Water Supply Invasive Species Compliance Act of 2021 This bill addresses transfers between Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana of water that contains invasive species. The bill exempts certain water transfers between public water supplies in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana from prohibitions on illegal trade of plants and wildlife. Specifically, the prohibitions do not apply to covered water transfers containing prohibited species if the species are present in both public water supplies before the transfer, the water is subject to mitigation measures, and the water is transferred directly between the supplies; or the water is transferred in a closed conveyance system, such as a pipe system, and sent directly to treatment facilities where the species will be destroyed. The costs of the mitigation measures must be borne by the entity that sells the water for financial gain. Finally, the bill establishes notification requirements for water transfers.
Kangaroo Protection Act of 2021 This bill establishes new federal crimes related to commercial activities involving kangaroos and kangaroo products. Specifically, the bill prohibits the import for commercial purposes, possession with intent to sell, or sale of a kangaroo; and the introduction into interstate commerce; manufacture for introduction into interstate commerce; sale, trade, or advertisement in interstate commerce; or offer to sell, or transport or distribute in interstate commerce, any kangaroo product. A violator is subject to civil and criminal penalties. Additionally, a kangaroo or kangaroo product used in a violation is subject to forfeiture.
Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021 This bill directs multi-agency efforts to improve maternal health, particularly among racial and ethnic minority groups, veterans, and other vulnerable populations. It also addresses maternal health issues related to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other specified departments must address the social determinants of maternal health, which include child care, housing, food security, transportation, and environmental conditions. The bill also extends to 24 months postpartum eligibility for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants, and Children. Additionally, HHS and other agencies must take actions to grow and diversify the maternal health workforce. To increase access to maternity care, HHS and other agencies must (1) award specified grants; (2) test an alternative payment model for perinatal care under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); and (3) support training, technology, and telehealth initiatives. The bill also increases research and data collection on maternal morbidity and mortality, particularly among tribal populations and minority groups. The Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Justice must establish programs to improve maternity care for incarcerated populations. The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission must also report on the impact of Medicaid ineligibility for pregnant and postpartum prisoners. Additionally, as a condition for certain grants, states and territories must have laws limiting the use of restraints on pregnant individuals in prisons. The bill also directs activities to mitigate adverse maternal health outcomes associated with climate change and to improve maternal vaccination rates.
Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act of 2021 This bill removes short-barreled rifles (barrels of less than 16 inches in length) from the definition of firearms for purposes of the National Firearms Act. It also eliminates the prohibition on the transportation of such rifles in interstate commerce and treats persons who acquire or possess a short-barreled rifle as meeting the registration or licensing requirements for such rifle where such requirements are determined by reference to the National Firearms Act. The bill preempts state or local laws that impose a tax or recordkeeping requirements on short-barreled rifles. The Department of Justice must destroy records relating to the registration of certain rifles within one year after the enactment of this bill.
Arrest Statistics Reporting Act of 2021 This bill directs U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to annually issue a public report regarding the immigration status of certain arrested persons. Specifically, the report shall include each arrested person (1) who has been the subject of an information request from a law enforcement agency to the Law Enforcement Support Center within ICE, or (2) whose information has been forwarded under the information sharing program between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. For each person, the report shall include (1) the person's immigration status, (2) the person's nationality, and (3) the crime for which the person was arrested. The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall (1) revise the Uniform Crime Reports to include such information in each arrest report, and (2) publish tables summarizing such information.
American Jobs First Act of 2021 This bill imposes additional requirements related to the H-1B (specialty profession) nonimmigrant visas and repeals various immigration-related programs. The bill repeals the diversity visa program, which makes immigrant visas available to aliens from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. The bill also eliminates a program that provides temporary employment authorization to an F-1 student visa holder during or after the completion of the student's studies, unless Congress expressly authorizes such a program. The bill's provisions relating to the H-1B program include requiring an H-1B employee to receive a wage that is at least the wage of the U.S. citizen or permanent resident who had the same job in the two years before the H-1B application was filed, where currently an H-1B worker may be paid the prevailing wage for the occupational classification in the area of employment; prohibiting an employer from hiring an H-1B employee if the employer has involuntarily separated without cause an employee in a substantially similar occupation in the two years before filing the H-1B application or will do so in the two years after the filing; prohibiting an employer from hiring an H-1B employee if there had been a strike or lockout related to salary or benefits in the two years before filing the H-1B application; increasing the maximum penalties for violating certain H-1B requirements; and prohibiting in some instances the use of nondisclosure agreements to prevent an employee from disclosing an employer's possible misuse of the H-1B program.
One Subject at a Time Act This bill requires each bill or joint resolution to include no more than one subject and the subject to be clearly and descriptively expressed in the measure's title. An appropriations bill may not contain any general legislation or change to existing law that is not germane to the subject of such bill. The bill voids measures or provisions noncompliant with these requirements, including appropriation provisions outside the relevant subcommittee's jurisdiction.
Sanctity of Human Life Act This bill defines the beginning of human life for purposes of legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood. Specifically, it declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human and is a person's most fundamental right; each human life begins with fertilization, cloning, or its equivalent; and Congress, each state, the District of Columbia, and each U.S. territory have the authority to protect all human lives.
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2021 This bill modifies provisions relating to federal funding for, and health insurance coverage of, abortions. Specifically, the bill prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions or for health coverage that includes abortions. Such restrictions extend to the use of funds in the budget of the District of Columbia. Additionally, abortions may not be provided in a federal health care facility or by a federal employee. Historically, language has been included in annual appropriations bills for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions—such language is commonly referred to as the Hyde Amendment. Similar language is also frequently included in appropriations bills for other federal agencies and the District of Columbia. The bill makes these restrictions permanent and extends the restrictions to all federal funds (rather than specific agencies). The bill's restrictions regarding the use of federal funds do not apply in cases of rape, incest, or where a physical disorder, injury, or illness endangers a woman's life unless an abortion is performed. The Hyde Amendment provides the same exceptions. The bill also prohibits qualified health plans from including coverage for abortions. Currently, qualified health plans may cover abortion, but the portion of the premium attributable to abortion coverage is not eligible for subsidies.
Security First Act This bill provides statutory authorization for the Operation Stonegarden program from FY2022 through FY2025 and contains other provisions related to border security. (Operation Stonegarden provides grants to enhance the border security capabilities of state, local, and tribal governments.) From FY2022 through FY2025, the money from unreported monetary instruments seized from individuals crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and transferred into the Department of the Treasury general fund shall be made available without further appropriation to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to fund Operation Stonegarden. DHS shall report to Congress on (1) DHS hiring practices from 2017 to 2020, and (2) whether certain Mexican drug cartels meet the criteria to be designated as foreign terrorist organizations. DHS shall also periodically report to Congress about the technology needed to secure the U.S.-Mexico land border.
Stop China's IP Theft Act This bill directs the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to deny entry into the United States to senior Chinese Communist Party officials, the spouses and children of such officials, members of the cabinet of the Chinese government, and active duty members of China's armed forces. This prohibition shall not apply in any year in which the Office of the Director of National Intelligence certifies to Congress that China's government has stopped sponsoring, funding, facilitating, and actively working to support efforts to infringe the intellectual property rights of U.S. citizens and companies.
Invest in Child Safety Act This bill modifies the federal framework governing the prevention of online sexual exploitation of children. The bill establishes within the Executive Office of the President a new office—the Office to Enforce and Protect Against Child Sexual Exploitation—to coordinate federal efforts to prevent, investigate, prosecute, and treat victims of child exploitation. Additionally, it establishes the Child Sexual Exploitation Treatment, Support, and Prevention Fund to make grants and fund federal efforts to treat and support victims of child sexual exploitation and evidence-based programs and services to prevent child sexual exploitation. Finally, the bill makes changes to the reporting requirements for electronic communication service providers and remote computing service providers (providers) who report apparent instances of crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children. Among the changes, the bill requires providers to report facts and circumstances sufficient to identify and locate each involved individual and increases the amount of time that providers must preserve the contents of a report.
