DHS Industrial Control Systems Capabilities Enhancement Act of 2021 This bill requires the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to maintain certain capabilities to identify and address threats to industrial control systems. Specifically, the bill requires CISA's National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center to ensure that its activities address the security of both information and operational technology, including industrial control systems. Additionally, CISA must maintain capabilities to identify and address threats and vulnerabilities to products and technologies intended for use in the automated control of critical infrastructure processes by (1) leading efforts to identify and mitigate cybersecurity threats to industrial control systems; (2) maintaining threat hunting and incident response capabilities to respond to cybersecurity risks and incidents; (3) providing cybersecurity technical assistance to stakeholders; and (4) collecting, coordinating, and providing vulnerability information to the industrial control systems community. CISA shall provide to the homeland security committees a briefing on its industrial control systems capabilities at specified intervals. The Government Accountability Office must review and report on implementation of the bill's requirements.
Emergency Reporting Act This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to report on certain activations of the Disaster Information Reporting System (the system through which communications providers report their operational status during times of crisis) and to adopt specified rules related to network outage reporting. If the system was activated for at least seven days, the FCC must issue a preliminary a report that includes (1) the number and duration of any service outages, (2) the approximate number of users or the amount of infrastructure potentially affected by a service outage, and (3) the number and duration of any outages at public safety answering points (PSAPs) that prevent the PSAPs from receiving and routing emergency calls to emergency service personnel. The FCC must also hold at least one public field hearing in the area affected by the event, and it must issue a final report that includes recommendations on how to improve the resiliency of affected communications or networks recovery efforts. The FCC must also determine the circumstances under which it shall require certain service providers to notify a PSAP of a communications service disruption that prevents the origination of 9–1–1 calls or the delivery of information that allows the PSAP to identify the number of or locate a 9–1–1 caller. Further, the FCC must require this notification to be made and specify the appropriate timing of the notification.
Refugee Sanitation Facility Safety Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of State, when providing overseas assistance for refugees, to ensure the provision of safe and secure access to sanitation facilities, with a special emphasis on women, girls, and vulnerable populations.
Preserving Home and Office Numbers in Emergencies Act of 2021 or the PHONE Act of 2021 This bill restricts the reassignment of a telephone number assigned to a subscriber for the provision of fixed wireline voice service. Specifically, for up to one year after a major disaster has been declared, a number may not be reassigned except at the request of the subscriber. At the request of a subscriber, this prohibition must be extended for an additional year. Further, a subscriber may cancel service without a cancellation fee and resubscribe with the same number and no fee if the subscriber is located in a disaster area and the residence where the number is located is inaccessible or uninhabitable.
This resolution reaffirms the House of Representatives' commitment to media diversity and expresses its pledge to eliminate barriers to such diversity.
Enhancing Grid Security through Public-Private Partnerships Act This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to implement a program to facilitate and encourage public-private partnerships in order to address and mitigate the physical security and cybersecurity risks of electric utilities. In carrying out the program, DOE must take into consideration different sizes of electric utilities and the regions that such utilities serve, prioritize electric utilities with fewer available resources due to size or region, and utilize and leverage existing DOE programs.
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act This bill imposes importation limits on goods produced using forced labor in China, especially the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and imposes sanctions related to such forced labor. The Department of Homeland Security shall report to Congress a strategy for preventing the importation of goods produced in China using forced labor. The strategy must contain certain information, including a list of entities working with the government in Xinjiang to move forced labor or Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of Xinjiang. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall generally presume that goods produced by these entities and certain other entities, generally those sourcing material from Xinjiang or involved with Chinese government forced labor programs, are barred from importation into the United States. The bill also expands existing asset- and visa-blocking sanctions related to Xinjiang to cover foreign individuals and entities responsible for serious human rights abuses in connection with forced labor. The Department of State shall report to Congress a strategy to enhance international awareness of forced labor in Xinjiang and to address such forced labor.
This resolution commends the bravery and selfless service demonstrated by the first responders deployed in the aftermath of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside, Florida, on June 24, 2021, and commemorates the lives lost.
This resolution designates June 2021 as National Post-Traumatic Stress Awareness Month and June 27, 2021, as National Post-Traumatic Stress Awareness Day. The resolution supports (1) the education of members of the Armed Forces, veterans, their families, and the public about post-traumatic stress; and (2) efforts by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense to foster cultural change around the issue of post-traumatic stress. The resolution also encourages the leadership of the Armed Forces to support treatment of members of the Armed Forces who suffer from post-traumatic stress.
This resolution recognizes and honors the sacrifices and accomplishments of the Greatest Generation during World War II.
Department of Energy Science for the Future Act This bill supports specified research and development activities of the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. The bill establishes various programs, including a basic energy sciences research and development program; a program of research and development for the application of advanced computing practices to foundational and emerging research problems in chemistry and materials science; a web-based platform to develop and provide access to a database of computed information on known and predicted materials properties and computational tools to accelerate breakthroughs in materials discovery and design; a biological systems science and climate and environmental science research and development program; research and development activities in biomolecular characterization and imaging science; earth and environmental systems science research; a coastal zone research initiative; an initiative focused on the development of engineered ecosystems; a program to implement a strategy for achieving computing systems with capabilities beyond exascale computing systems; a program of fundamental research and development of energy efficient computing and data center technologies relevant to advanced computing applications; a Quantum User Expansion for Science and Technology program or QUEST program; a collaborative research and development program of fusion energy technologies; a research program in elementary particle physics and advanced technology research and development to improve the understanding of the fundamental properties of the universe, including constituents of matter and energy and the nature of space and time; research activities on the nature of the primary contents of the universe, including the nature of dark energy and dark matter; a research program to discover and understand various forms of nuclear matter; a program across the DOE for the production of isotopes, including the development of techniques to produce isotopes, that the DOE determines are needed for research, medical, industrial, or related purposes; a midscale instrumentation program to enable the development and acquisition of novel, state-of-the-art instruments ranging in cost from $1 million to $20 million each that would significantly accelerate scientific breakthroughs at user facilities; and a high intensity laser research initiative. The DOE Office of Science shall continue to leverage U.S. participation in the Large Hadron Collider and prioritize expanding international partnerships and investments in the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility and Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. DOE shall support construction of a Facility for Rare Isotope Beams to advance the understanding of rare nuclear isotopes and the evolution of the cosmos. DOE shall expand opportunities to increase the number, diversity, equity, and inclusion of highly skilled science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals working in DOE mission-relevant disciplines and broaden the recruitment pool to increase diversity, including expanded partnerships with Historically Black Colleges, Tribal Colleges, Minority Serving Institutions, emerging research institutions, and scientific societies. DOE shall establish within the DOE Office of Science, a cross-cutting research initiative to leverage the federal government's innovative analytical resources and tools, user facilities, and advanced computational and networking capabilities in order to prevent, prepare for, and respond to emerging infectious diseases, including COVID-19. DOE may not carry out gain-of-function research of concern.
This bill repeals the joint resolution of March 9, 1957, that provided for the use of certain funds to promote peace and stability in the Middle East.
