Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act This bill prohibits the imposition of a death penalty sentence for a violation of federal law. A person sentenced to death before enactment of this bill must be resentenced.
This bill requires the Office of the Inspector General in the Department of Justice to report to Congress on the number of (1) firearm transfer denials issued by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System that are referred to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for investigation; (2) prosecutions resulting from such investigations; and (3) firearms recovered by the ATF in cases in which a denial was issued by the system after a firearm was transferred.
Protect Patriot Spouses Act This bill makes certain alien military spouses eligible for adjustment to permanent residence status. An eligible alien shall be an individual who is or was a spouse of a U.S. citizen who serves or served in the Armed Forces, either on active duty or in a reserve component. If the U.S. citizen has been discharged from the Armed Forces, such discharge must be under honorable conditions. Certain factors that would otherwise make an alien inadmissible, such as having entered the United States without being admitted, shall not make such an alien spouse inadmissible or ineligible for permanent residence status under the bill. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may also waive certain factors that would otherwise make an alien inadmissible, such as having misrepresented a material fact to secure a visa, if the alien does not pose a threat to the public and has not committed any crimes that are unrelated to immigration status. The bill also requires DHS and the Department of State to allow a qualifying alien spouse to (1) apply for an immigrant visa to enter the United States under this bill; and (2) enter and stay in the United States to reunite with their U.S. citizen spouse while the application is pending, if the alien spouse does not pose a threat to the public or national security.
Venezuela TPS Act of 2021 This bill permits nationals of Venezuela to qualify for temporary protected status, which prevents their removal from the United States and allows them to obtain employment and travel authorization. Such status shall be available to qualifying nationals of Venezuela for 18 months starting from this bill's enactment.
Preventing Future Pandemics Act of 2021 This bill establishes measures to address global public health risks posed by wildlife markets, which are commercial markets that sell or slaughter wildlife for human consumption as food or medicine in communities where alternative nutritional or protein sources are available. Specifically, the bill prohibits importing, exporting, purchasing, or selling live wild animals in the United States for human consumption as food or medicine. The Department of the Interior must hire, train, and deploy at least 50 new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement attachés around the world, and the U.S. Agency for International Development must increase specified activities to address the threats and causes of zoonotic (animal-to-human transmission) disease outbreaks. Additionally, the United States must work with other United Nations member states to urge a global ban on commercial wildlife markets and enforcement of laws to end wildlife trafficking. Further, the President may impose sanctions against a foreign country or foreign nationals that the Department of State has determined are taking certain actions that enable or facilitate commercial wildlife markets. Among other reports required by the bill, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine must conduct a study and submit a report that includes an evaluation of (1) the impact that consumption of terrestrial wildlife as food or medicine has on the transmission of novel viral and other pathogens, (2) the role of consuming terrestrial wildlife as food or medicine in the transmission of microbes from animals to humans, and (3) the conditions at live wildlife markets that lead to this transmission.
This concurrent resolution calls for the removal of retired Lieutenant General Russel Honoré, U.S. Army, from his interim role investigating the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Further, it urges the Speaker of the House of Representatives to appoint a nonpartisan, bicameral panel of former Members of Congress, law enforcement officials, and military servicemen to investigate those events.
This resolution requests that the President transmit to the Senate documents related to the amount of funding that was provided in specified laws regarding COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) and is currently unspent. The specified laws include the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020; the Families First Coronavirus Response Act; the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act); the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act; and Division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.
This resolution supports the designation of February 2021 as Career and Technical Education Month to celebrate career and technical education across the United States.
Entity List Verification Act This bill prohibits the Department of Commerce from removing an entity from the entity list until Commerce makes certain certifications. The entity list provides the names of foreign entities who are subject to specific license requirements for the export, reexport, or transfer of specified items. Commerce may not remove an entity from the entity list until Commerce certifies that (1) the entity is no longer involved in activities that are contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests, and (2) removing the entity from the list does not pose a threat to U.S. allies.
American Financial Markets Integrity and Security Act This bill generally prohibits investments in certain Chinese military companies and entities reasonably believed to be involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. These entities may not sell securities to U.S. markets. Investment companies, insurance companies, and retirement plans are prohibited from investing in these entities. The bill also prohibits the use of federal funds to enter into or renew a contract with these entities. Furthermore, the Department of Commerce and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence—in addition to the Department of Defense as under current law—are allowed to add entities to the list of Chinese military companies.
Ensuring Timely Access to Generics Act of 2021 This bill imposes requirements related to third-party petitions concerning an application for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to market a generic drug or biosimilar. (The current statute refers to these petitions as citizen petitions , which typically involve requests that the FDA take certain actions, such as requiring additional warnings on a drug.) Under the bill, the FDA may deny a citizen petition that (1) was submitted primarily to delay the approval of the relevant application, or (2) does not on its face raise valid scientific or regulatory issues. Currently, the FDA may deny a petition as an attempt at delay only if the petition meets both of these requirements. The bill also requires the FDA to establish procedures for referring such a delaying petition to the Federal Trade Commission. The bill also expressly requires a third party, before filing a lawsuit to force the FDA to set aside or prevent market approval of a generic drug or biosimilar, to first file a citizen petition with the information and arguments that form the basis of the lawsuit. A citizen petition must be filed within 60 days of when the filer knew or reasonably should have known the information that forms the basis of the petition.
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.
