This resolution condemns all manifestations of expressions of racism and anti-Asian and Pacific Islander or ethnic intolerance and calls for specified actions by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and federal law enforcement. The resolution (1) calls on the Senate Judiciary Committee to consider holding a hearing related to the surge in violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and (2) applauds DOJ's commitment to conducting a 30-day review of violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The resolution calls on federal law enforcement officials, working with state and local officials, to expeditiously and vigorously investigate all reports of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States, work to improve the reporting of such hate crimes, and hold the perpetrators of those crimes accountable and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Sponsored bills
Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act of 2021 This bill modifies the process and policy related to the disposition of charges and convening of courts-martial for certain sexual assault cases and other specified offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Among other elements, the bill provides that the determinations on the preferral, disposition, and referral of charges for specified offenses under the UCMJ must be made by a commissioned officer of the Armed Forces who is designated as a court-martial convening authority (in grade O-6 or higher) and who is available for detail as trial counsel, has significant trial experience, and is outside the chain of command of the member subject to the charges.
Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2021 or the CONNECT for Health Act of 2021 This bill expands coverage of telehealth services under Medicare. Among other provisions, the bill allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to waive certain restrictions, such as restrictions on the types of technology that may be used; permanently removes geographic restrictions on originating sites (i.e., the location of the beneficiary) and allows the home of the beneficiary to serve as the originating site for all services; permanently allows federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics to serve as the distant site (i.e., the location of the health care practitioner); and allows the CMS to generally waive coverage restrictions during any public health emergency. Additionally, the CMS must report on the effects of expanded telehealth services during the COVID-19 public health emergency, including with respect to the utilization, quality, and outcomes of services. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation may also test alternative payment models relating to expanded telehealth services.
Military Hunger Prevention Act This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to pay a basic needs allowance to certain low-income members of the Armed Forces. Specifically, those eligible for the basic needs allowance are members who (1) have completed initial entry training, (2) have a gross household income that did not exceed an amount equal to 130% of the federal poverty guidelines of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and (3) do not elect to decline the allowance. In situations where a household contains two or more eligible members, the bill specifies that only one allowance may be paid per year to one member they jointly elect. The amount of the allowance must be the aggregate amount equal to 130% of the HHS federal poverty guidelines minus the gross household income of the covered member during the preceding year divided by 12. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) of DOD must notify, in writing, individuals determined to be eligible for the allowance. The notice must include information regarding financial management and assistance programs administered by DOD for which the individuals are also eligible. Individuals who seek to receive the allowance must submit specified information to DFAS.
Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2021 This bill allows a qualified individual to carry a concealed handgun into or possess a concealed handgun in another state that allows its residents to carry concealed firearms. A qualified individual must (1) be eligible to possess, transport, or receive a firearm under federal law; (2) carry a valid photo identification document; and (3) carry a valid state-issued concealed carry permit, or be eligible to carry a concealed firearm in his or her state of residence.
Recognizing Military Service in PSLF Act This bill requires the Department of Education to count each month for which a borrower's federal student loan payment was in deferment or forbearance during a period of active duty, including certain National Guard duty, as a qualifying payment for the purpose of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Under current law, a borrower who is a service member is eligible to receive student loan forgiveness under the PSLF program; however, if the borrower places their loan into deferment or forbearance while they are on active duty, that period of time does not count as a qualifying payment for the PSLF program.
Supplying Help to Infrastructure in Ports, Yards, and America's Repair Docks Act of 2021 or the SHIPYARD Act This bill provides supplemental appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for improving naval shipyard infrastructure. The bill designates the funding as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits. DOD must make this funding directly available to the Department of the Navy. Funds must be used for specified purposes, including for public and private shipyard facilities, docks, dry docks, capital equipment improvements, and dredging efforts needed by shipyards.
This bill provides for the award of Congressional Gold Medals posthumously to Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, J. Christopher Stevens, and Sean Smith (four Americans who were killed in the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya) in recognition of their contributions to the nation.
Veterans Burn Pits Exposure Recognition Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to concede, for the purposes of health care benefits and wartime disability compensation, that a veteran was exposed to certain toxic substances, chemicals, and hazards from burn pits if such veteran served on active duty in a covered location during a specified time frame (unless there is affirmative evidence to establish that the veteran was not exposed during such service). A burn pit is an area used for burning solid waste in open air without equipment. Specifically, the bill covers the following locations and corresponding time periods: Iraq between August 2, 1990, and February 28, 1991, as well as from March 19, 2003, until burn pits are no longer used in this location; Southwest Asia (including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar) from August 2, 1990, until burn pits are no longer used in these locations; and Afghanistan, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, and Djibouti from September 11, 2001, until burn pits are no longer used in these locations. Under the bill, if an exposed veteran submits insufficient evidence to establish a service-connection for purposes of disability compensation, the VA shall provide a medical examination and request a medical opinion regarding a causal link between the disability and a toxin, chemical, or hazard.
Second Amendment Mandates Equality Act or the SAME Act This bill reduces the minimum age—from 21 years to 18 years—at which an individual may obtain a handgun from a federally licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, importer, or collector.