Rep. Randy Feenstra

Air America Act of 2021 This bill establishes the service of Air America employees as qualifying service for purposes of the Civil Service Retirement System. (Air America was a government-owned airline that provided air transport for certain covert operations in Southeast Asia, including Laos and Vietnam, between 1950 and 1976.) The bill applies to U.S. citizens who were employees of Air America or another affiliated company, as specified, between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 1976. Benefit applications must be filed within two years of the date of enactment of this bill.

Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and the 3133d Signal Service Company, known as the Ghost Army , collectively, in recognition of its service during World War II.

Rural STEM Education Research Act This bill specifies federal scientific research and development efforts towards STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including computer science) workforce development and rural STEM education. (Sec. 3) The bill amends the objectives of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program to include the provision to secondary schools of information about the job skills needed in manufacturing companies, and the promotion and expansion of certification systems offered through local high schools. The activities of a manufacturing extension center are expanded to include local high schools in the facilitation of collaborations and partnerships between manufacturing companies and schools to help those entities better understand the specific needs of manufacturers and to help manufacturers better understand the skill sets that students learn in school programs. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) must award prizes to stimulate research and development of creative technologies in order to deploy affordable and reliable broadband connectivity to underserved rural communities. NIST may award not more than a total of $5 million in prizes. (Sec. 4) The Office of Science and Technology Policy must establish a broadband research and development working group to address national research challenges and opportunities for improving broadband access and adoption across the United States. (Sec. 5) The National Science Foundation (NSF) shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences under which the National Academy of Sciences agrees to evaluate aspects of STEM education and workforce development in rural areas. (Sec. 6) The Government Accountability Office shall conduct a study on the engagement of rural populations in federal STEM programs. (Sec. 7) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) programs shall consider modifications to award structures to increase the capacity of rural communities to provide quality STEM education and STEM workforce development programming to students and teachers. (Sec. 8) The NSF must award grants to institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations for (1) research and development to advance innovative approaches to support and sustain high-quality STEM teaching in rural schools, (2) research and development of programming to identify the barriers rural students face in accessing high-quality STEM education, (3) development of innovative solutions to improve the participation and advancement of rural students in grades Pre-K through 12 in STEM studies, and (4) research on online STEM education courses for rural communities. The NSF may establish a pilot program of regional cohorts in rural areas to provide peer support, mentoring, and hands-on research experiences for rural STEM educators of students in grades Pre-K through 12 in order to build an ecosystem of cooperation among educators, researchers, academia, and local industry.

Supporting Early-Career Researchers Act This bill authorizes the National Science Foundation to establish a two-year pilot program to award grants to highly qualified early-career investigators to carry out an independent research program at the institution of higher education chosen by such investigator, to last for a period not greater than two years. The NSF shall select grantees from among citizens, nationals, and lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens of the United States. The NSF shall conduct program outreach to recruit fellowship applicants (1) from all regions of the country; (2) from historically underrepresented populations in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); and (3) who graduate from or intend to carry out research at a variety of types of institutions of higher education, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Requiring Every Alien Receive a COVID-19 Test Act or the REACT Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to administer a COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) test and receive a negative result before releasing an alien in certain instances. Specifically, DHS must receive a negative test result before an inadmissible alien may be released from custody or placed in an alternative to detention program, if that release or placement takes place within 30 days of that alien's entry into the United States.

Violence Against Women Extension Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes for FY2022 various programs and activities authorized by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and subsequent legislation and administered by the Office on Violence Against Women within the Department of Justice.

Promoting the Unbiased Role of Employees in the Executive Act or the PURE Executive Act This bill expands restrictions on post-employment lobbying for senior executive branch personnel. Specifically, the bill prohibits senior personnel (e.g., deputy secretaries) and very senior personnel (e.g., cabinet members) from lobbying agencies for five years after their employment ends. The bill also prohibits such personnel from lobbying on behalf of foreign entities, including foreign corporations, at any time after their employment ends. Currently, senior and very senior personnel may not lobby agencies for one year and two years post-employment, respectively, and may not lobby on behalf of foreign governments or political parties for one year post-employment.

Gun Owner Registration Information Protection Act This bill prohibits federal funding of, or support for, state databases that list (1) firearms lawfully owned or possessed by individuals, or (2) individuals who lawfully own or possess firearms.

Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 20 21 This bill revises provisions relating to congressional review of agency rulemaking. Specifically, the bill establishes a congressional approval process for a major rule. A major rule may only take effect if Congress approves of the rule. A major rule is a rule that results in (1) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, government agencies, or geographic regions; or (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises. In addition, the bill establishes a congressional disapproval process for a nonmajor rule. A nonmajor rule may only take effect if Congress does not disapprove of the rule.

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.