Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act of 2021 This bill exempts from worldwide or numerical limitations certain family-sponsored immigrant visas for the sons and daughters of Filipino World War II veterans who were naturalized under certain laws providing for naturalization for service during World War II.
Temporary Family Visitation Act This bill establishes a new nonimmigrant visa classification for an alien temporarily entering the United States to visit a relative who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. The maximum period of stay for a family visitor visa shall be 90 days. An alien seeking such a visa must have health insurance for the duration of the stay. An alien who holds such a visa may not change to another nonimmigrant visa classification except in certain limited instances. If an alien has been approved for a family-based immigrant visa and is waiting for one to become available, the alien may obtain a family visitor visa if the alien meets the eligibility requirements.
Untraceable Firearms Act of 2021 This bill establishes a federal statutory framework to regulate the manufacture, sale, offer to sell, transfer, purchase, and receipt of ghost guns (i.e., guns without serial numbers). Additionally, the bill revises the federal statutory framework regulating the manufacture, possession, sale, import, shipment, delivery, receipt, and transfer of undetectable firearms. Among the revisions, the bill defines undetectable firearm as a firearm without a major component wholly made of detectable material.
Inspire to Serve Act of 2021 This bill establishes new and expands existing military and national service programs, and revises federal personnel provisions. The bill establishes programs relating to civic education and service learning, including by providing grants supporting these programs for grades K-12 and at institutions of higher education. The bill also establishes the Council on Military, National, and Public Service which must coordinate executive branch policies to promote and expand opportunities for military service, national service, and public service. The Office of Management and Budget must create an online recruitment portal for service organizations. Additionally, the bill expands military service programs, including by expanding the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, establishing pre-service tuition grants in exchange for enlisted service commitments, and creating a pilot program for military departments to partner with community colleges and vocational schools to provide service members with access to technical education programs. Service programs are expanded by increasing the number of specified national service positions, increasing certain living allowances and stipends, and creating new fellowship programs. Federal personnel provisions are revised to, among other things, provide certain national service alumni with noncompetitive eligibility for federal employment.
Fiscal State of the Nation Resolution This concurrent resolution requires the congressional budget committees to conduct an annual joint hearing to receive a presentation from the Comptroller General regarding (1) the Government Accountability Office's audit of the financial statement of the executive branch, and (2) the financial position and condition of the federal government.
This resolution recognizes November 2021 as National Native American Heritage Month and the Friday after Thanksgiving as Native American Heritage Day.
Protection of Social Security Benefits Restoration Act This bill prohibits the application of, and repeals authority for, administrative offsets to Social Security, railroad retirement, and black lung benefits. (An administrative offset is the withholding of funds payable by or held by the United States to satisfy a debt.)
Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act This bill places requirements on entities that process or transfer a consumer's data. Specifically, the bill requires such entities to make their privacy policy publicly available and provide an individual with access to their personal data; delete or correct, upon request, information in an individual's data; export, upon request, an individual's data in a human-readable and machine-readable format; establish data security practices to protect the confidentiality and accessibility of consumer data; and designate a privacy officer and a data security officer to implement and conduct privacy and data security programs and risk assessments. Further, the bill prohibits such entities from engaging in deceptive or harmful data practices; transferring an individual's data to a third party if the individual objects; processing or transferring an individual's sensitive data without affirmative express consent; processing or transferring data beyond what is reasonably necessary or for which they have obtained affirmative express consent; processing or transferring data on the basis of specified protected characteristics (e.g., race, religion, or gender); conditioning the provision of a service or product on an individual's agreement to waive their privacy rights; and retaliating against an employee who provides information about a potential violation of the bill's provisions, or who testifies or assists in an investigation or judicial proceeding concerning such a violation. The Federal Trade Commission must establish a new bureau to assist with enforcement of these provisions.
Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Enforcement Ac t This bill establishes statutory prohibitions, investigatory mechanisms, and enforcement provisions regarding the receipt from a foreign or domestic government of profits, gains, advantages, or payments (i.e., emoluments) by U.S. officeholders. Specifically, the bill prohibits any U.S. officeholder from accepting, directly or indirectly, emoluments from a foreign government without consent of Congress. The prohibition is enforceable through a civil action filed by the House of Representatives or Senate. Additionally, the bill prohibits the President from accepting emoluments from a domestic government other than compensation for his or her services as President. Both foreign and domestic emolument prohibitions are enforceable through administrative fines and civil actions by the Office of Government Ethics. The Office of Special Counsel must investigate violations of the bill.
Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2021 This bill extends increased dependency and indemnity compensation to the surviving spouse of a veteran who dies from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) regardless of how long the veteran had such disease prior to death. Under current law, such compensation is paid for a service-connected disability that was rated totally disabling for a continuous period of at least eight years immediately preceding death. For purposes of this bill, a surviving spouse is a person who was married to the veteran for a continuous period of eight years or longer prior to the veteran's death.
Col. James Floyd Turner IV U.S.M.C. GI Bill Transfer Act of 2021 This bill provides procedures for the transfer of a Post-GI Bill educational assistance entitlement in situations where an eligible individual dies after the approval of the transfer but before the entire entitlement is transferred. Specifically, the remaining entitlement must be transferred evenly between the designated transferees.
This bill establishes the Advisory Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Veterans to consult with the Department of Veterans Affairs regarding the administration of benefits for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) veterans, reports and studies pertaining to LGBTQ veterans, and the needs of such veterans with respect to compensation, health care, rehabilitation, outreach, and other benefits and programs.
