This bill prohibits smoking on the premises of any Veterans Health Administration facility. The bill defines smoking as the use of cigarettes, cigars, and pipes (i.e., the heating or combustion of tobacco), as well as the use of any electronic nicotine delivery system.
Critical Supply Chains Commission Act This bill establishes a National Commission on Critical Supply Chains to identify and investigate the dependencies, limitations, and risks associated with critical supply chains. The commission may hold hearings as appropriate and obtain relevant information directly from federal, state, and local governmental bodies as needed. The commission must annually report its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for actions to mitigate the risks of future American supply chain disruptions.
LGBTQ Essential Data Act This bill directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to more frequently collect information on the sexual orientation and gender identity of deceased individuals through the National Violent Death Reporting System.
Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act of 2021 This bill modifies several tax provisions that refer to married couples to make the provisions equally applicable to legally married same-sex couples.
Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2021 This bill modifies eligibility for, and other components of, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, including by (1) increasing applicable income and resource limits used to determine SSI eligibility, (2) equalizing treatment of married couples when both spouses receive SSI as compared to two unmarried individuals, and (3) eliminating the penalty on SSI applicants or recipients who transfer resources to another individual for less than fair market value.
Kenneth Meisel Public Servants' Claimant Fairness Act This bill requires the Department of Labor to revise regulations so as to allow at least 60 days (rather than at least 30 days) for a claimant to submit any additional evidence that is requested by the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs to support a federal workers' compensation claim.
Refund Equality Act of 2021 This bill permits legally married same sex couples to amend their tax returns to file as married filing jointly for returns outside of the statute of limitations.
COVID-19 Vaccine Developers Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to recognize all those whose efforts led to the development of COVID-19 vaccines that received emergency use authorizations.
Filter Bubble Transparency Act This bill establishes requirements for large online platforms that use algorithms applying artificial intelligence or machine learning to user-specific data to determine the manner in which content is displayed to users. Specifically, if an online platform applies such techniques to user-specific data that is not expressly provided by the user, the platform must (1) notify users that the platform uses such data, and (2) make a version of the platform available that uses only user-specific data that has been expressly provided by the user and which enables users to switch between the two platforms. These requirements do not apply to search engines operated by downstream providers with fewer than 1,000 employees and that have an agreement to access an index of web pages from an upstream provider. However, the bill requires such upstream providers to make their algorithm available to downstream providers as part of such an agreement.
This resolution (1) recognizes World Oceans Day and affirms the individual and collective duty, both nationally and internationally, to protect, conserve, maintain, and rebuild our oceans and its resources; and (2)expresses commitment to increasing the investment of federal funds into scientific research and monitoring to better understand the changing oceans and to accomplish the goals of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
Greater Leadership Overseas for the Benefit of Equality Act of 2021 or the GLOBE Act of 2021 This bill contains provisions related to (1) the protection of LGBTQI individuals globally; and (2) immigration protections for vulnerable individuals. The bill establishes (1) an interagency group to respond to urgent threats to LGBTQI people in foreign countries, and (2) a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI Peoples in the Department of State. The President shall impose visa-blocking sanctions on foreign persons responsible for violating the human rights of individuals based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics. The State Department shall establish the Global Equality Fund to provide assistance to nongovernmental organizations working to advance and protect human rights. The U.S. Agency for International Development shall establish the LGBTQI Global Development Partnership to work with the private sector and nongovernmental organizations to support LGBTQI rights. The bill contains several immigration-related provisions, such as those establishing that persecution based on sexual orientation or gender identity may form the basis of an asylum request, allowing certain applicants to file asylum claims more than a year after their arrival in the United States, including a permanent partnership between two partners as a marriage for immigration law purposes, providing for free counsel in certain immigration proceedings, and granting U.S. citizenship to a child born abroad through assistive reproductive technology from a U.S. citizen who is the child's nonbiological parent.
Smart Intersections Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Transportation to award grants for improving the functioning of traffic signals through active management of traffic signal operations. State, tribal, and local government entities are eligible for these grants. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must study the potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by improving the efficiency of traffic systems.
