This bill expands the permissible uses of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Customer Protection Fund to include administrative expenses.
This joint resolution nullifies the Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources Review rule published by the Environmental Protection Agency on September 14, 2020. The rule finalized amendments to new source performance standards under the Clean Air Act for the oil and natural gas sector, such as an amendment that removed limitations on methane emissions from such sector.
This joint resolution nullifies the final rule issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency titled National Banks and Federal Savings Associations as Lenders and published on October 30, 2020. The rule requires that to be considered a lender, a national bank or federal saving association must, as of the date of origination of the loan (1) be named as the lender in the loan agreement, or (2) fund the loan.
This resolution expresses congressional disapproval of the rule submitted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that revises the EEOC settlement process to provide employers with the factual and legal basis that the EEOC relied on to make a reasonable cause finding of a discriminatory practice.
Sgt. Ketchum Rural Veterans Mental Health Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), during FY2022, to establish and maintain three new centers of the Rural Access Network for Growth Enhancement (RANGE) Program in areas with interest from personnel and a need for additional mental health care for rural veterans. The RANGE Program serves veterans in rural areas who are experiencing mental illness. The bill requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study and report on whether the VA has sufficient resources to serve rural veterans who need mental health care that is more intensive than traditional outpatient therapy.
This bill redesignates the Pulse Memorial located at 1912 South Orange Avenue in Orlando, Florida, as the National Pulse Memorial.
This joint resolution appoints Barbara M. Barrett as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
West Los Angeles VA Campus Improvement Act of 2021 This bill requires that land use revenues received by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in connection with the use of certain leases or third-party land use at the VA's West Los Angeles Campus in Los Angeles, California, be used exclusively for specified purposes on campus. The bill prescribes that such revenues be used exclusively for the renovation and maintenance of the land and facilities at the campus; supporting construction, maintenance, and services at the campus relating to temporary or permanent supportive housing for homeless or at-risk veterans and their families; implementing minor construction projects at the campus; or implementing community operations at the campus that support the development of emergency shelter or supportive housing for homeless or at-risk veterans and their families. The bill also increases the maximum time period for enhanced-use leases at the campus from 75 to 99 years. Additionally, the bill requires the VA to include in its annual report evaluating leases and land-sharing agreements on campus an assessment of (1) the manner in which revenue generated by the leases is expended, and (2) the direct benefits the expenditures provide to veterans.
Juneteenth National Independence Day Act This bill establishes Juneteenth National Independence Day, June 19, as a legal public holiday.
Strengthening and Amplifying Vaccination Efforts to Locally Immunize All Veterans and Every Spouse Act or the SAVE LIVES Act This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish a COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) vaccine to covered individuals during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Under the bill, covered individuals are veterans who are not eligible to enroll in the VA health care system; specified veterans who are eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care abroad; beneficiaries who are eligible for care due to a specified disability or death of a veteran; family caregivers of veterans who are participating in the VA's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers; caregivers of veterans participating in the VA's Program of General Caregiver Support Services; caregivers of veterans participating in the VA's Medical Foster Home Program, Bowel and Bladder Program, Home Based Primary Care Program, or Veteran Directed Care Program; and the spouses of veterans. The VA must prioritize the vaccination of (1) veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system, (2) veterans who fail to enroll but receive hospital care and medical services for specified disabilities in their first 12 months of separation from service, and (3) caregivers accompanying such prioritized veterans. Under the bill, the VA is authorized to determine the timing for offering a vaccine to the spouse of a veteran.
Training in High-demand Roles to Improve Veteran Employment Act or the THRIVE Act This bill makes updates to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) training and education policies and programs, including by amending the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020. (Sec. 2) In implementing the VA's rapid retraining assistance program, the list of high-demand occupations must be prepared in conjunction with the Department of Labor. The VA may add and remove occupations as appropriate. The bill excludes programs pursued solely through distance learning on a half-time basis or less from the housing stipend available to those participating in the retraining program. The VA must contact program participants to notify them about employment placement services after they begin the program and upon either completion of the program or termination of participation in the program. The VA must seek to enter a memorandum of understanding with one or more qualified nonprofit organizations for the purpose of facilitating the employment of veterans who participate in the program. The Government Accountability Office must report on the outcomes and effectiveness of the retraining program. (Sec. 3) The VA must provide veterans and members of the Armed Forces with information about whether (1) a postsecondary education institution is listed on the College Navigator website as being affiliated with a certain religion, (2) an institution is minority serving, and (3) an institution is gender-specific. The VA must provide information about postsecondary education and training opportunities in a searchable format. (Sec. 5) The bill includes for-profit educational institutions that are converted to public educational institutions in the annual risk-based survey the state approving agency must conduct. (Sec. 6) The VA must take certain disciplinary action when any person with whom an educational institution has an agreement for marketing, advertising, educational programs, recruiting, or admissions services engages in specified behaviors, such as providing a type of incentive payment to persons engaged in student recruiting. Under the bill, such disciplinary actions may include suspending the approval of courses and programs offered by the institution or revoking the approval of courses and programs.
Timely ReAuthorization of Necessary Stem-cell Programs Lends Access to Needed Therapies Act of 2021 or the TRANSPLANT Act of 2021 This bill modifies and reauthorizes through FY2026 the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program, which provides support to patients who need a potentially life-saving bone marrow transplant or umbilical cord blood transplant. The bill also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a periodic review of the science of using adult stem cells and birthing tissues in therapeutic treatments. In addition, the Government Accountability Office must report on the regenerative medicine workforce.
