Iran Sanctions Relief Review Act of 2021 This bill restricts the President's authority to unilaterally undertake certain actions with respect to Iran and increases congressional oversight of those actions. Specifically, the President must report to Congress before terminating or waiving sanctions related to Iran or taking a licensing action that significantly alters U.S. foreign policy with respect to Iran. Each report must (1) describe the proposed action and its rationale, and (2) indicate whether or not the action is intended to significantly alter foreign policy concerning Iran. If the intention is to alter that policy, the report must provide additional information about the policy objectives and anticipated effects of the action. After the President submits a report, the bill provides Congress with a 30-day period to review it; this period is extended to 60 days for reports submitted between July 10 and September 7. During this period, Congress may enact a joint resolution approving or disapproving the action. During the review period, the President may not take the action unless Congress passes a joint resolution of approval; if Congress enacts a joint resolution of disapproval, the bill prohibits the President from taking the action. The bill also outlines procedures for the introduction and consideration of these types of joint resolutions.
Rep. Michael Guest
Sponsored bills
Foreign Influence Transparency Act This bill addresses foreign influence in higher education and in certain other academic, religious, and artistic pursuits. Current law exempts from foreign agent registration requirements a person engaging in activities in furtherance of religious, scholastic, academic, or scientific pursuits or of the fine arts. The bill specifies that this exemption applies only to those activities that do not promote the political agenda of a foreign government. Under current law, an institution of higher education (IHE) must disclose to the Department of Education (ED) a gift or contract that is from a foreign source and is valued at $250,000 or more, considered alone or in combination with all other gifts from or contracts with the foreign source. The bill instead requires an IHE to disclose such a gift or contract that is valued at $50,000 or more, considered alone or in combination with all other gifts or contracts. An IHE must include in its disclosure report the contents of any such contract and make the contents available for public disclosure. Additionally, an IHE that enters into an agreement with a Confucius Institute (i.e., a cultural institute directly or indirectly funded by the Chinese government) must immediately make available the full text of the agreement to the public, ED, and Congress. Finally, the bill prohibits an IHE that does not comply with these disclosure requirements from enrolling foreign students under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
This bill prohibits any executive agency from contravening Executive Order 13950 (Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping), except as such order relates to contractors and grant recipients.
This bill waives certain eligibility requirements for hospitals participating in the 340B drug discount program (i.e., a program that allows entities to receive covered outpatient drugs at reduced prices from manufacturers) during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency. Specifically, the bill waives the required minimum proportion of low-income patients served for hospitals that began participating in the program during or prior to the COVID-19 emergency.
Operation Stonegarden Authorization Act This bill provides statutory authorization for the Operation Stonegarden grant program within the Department of Homeland Security. Through the program, the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall provide grants for enhancing border security to law enforcement agencies that are (1) in a state with an international land or maritime border, and (2) involved in an active U.S. Customs and Border Protection operation coordinated through the Border Patrol.
Combatting Racist Training in the Military Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the Armed Forces and academic institutions of the Department of Defense from promoting specified anti-American and racist theories (e.g., that any race is inherently superior or inferior to any other race). Specifically, the bill prohibits including anti-American and racist theories or materials in curricula, reading lists, seminars, workshops, trainings, or other educational or professional settings in a manner that could appear as sponsorship, approval, or endorsement; contracting with, hiring, or otherwise engaging speakers, consultants, diversity trainers, and other persons for the purpose of advocating anti-American and racist theories; compelling members of the Armed Forces to affirm or profess belief in anti-American and racist theories; and segregating members of the Armed Forces by race in any setting, including educational and training sessions.
One Federal Decision Act of 202 1 This bill provides statutory authority for the policy that requires federal agencies to coordinate environmental reviews and authorization decisions for major infrastructure projects. It also sets a goal for completing environmental reviews within two years. The Department of Transportation (DOT) must review existing practices, procedures, programmatic agreements, and applicable laws to identify potential changes that would facilitate an efficient environmental review process for projects. All authorization decisions for construction of a major project must be completed within 90 days of the issuance of a record of decision for the project, although the lead agency could extend the deadline in some cases. The lead agency must develop an environmental review schedule with the project sponsor that is consistent with an agency average of not more than two years for the completion of the environmental review process for major projects. DOT must also (1) establish a performance accountability system to track each major project, and (2) provide other relevant federal agencies with a list of categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act that are applicable to highway projects and that would accelerate project delivery. The bill also eliminates the two-year limitation on filing claims seeking judicial review of permits, licenses, or approvals issued by a federal agency for railroad projects.
Primary Regulators of Insurance Vote Act of 2021 This bill establishes a state insurance commissioner as a voting member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council. The member is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Under current law, this member is nonvoting and selected by state insurance commissioners.
Get Americans Back To Work Act This bill makes an individual ineligible for federal pandemic unemployment compensation (FPUC) after June 30, 2021. It also reduces the amount of FPUC to $150.00 for weeks of unemployment ending after May 31, 2021, and ending on or before June 30, 2021. Under current law, an individual is eligible for FPUC for weeks of employment ending on or before September 6, 2021 in the amount of $300.
Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of 2021 This bill makes the tax credit for adoption expenses refundable.