Protecting Working Families from Federal Overreach Act This bill permits states and tribal entities to use unexpended COVID-19 relief funds to pay, on behalf of employers, fines for violations of the emergency temporary standard issued by the Department of Labor on November 5, 2021, titled COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing; Emergency Temporary Standard.
Build More Housing Near Transit Act of 2021 This bill revises requirements for the fixed guideway capital investment grant program. Specifically, the bill revises how the Department of Transportation evaluates and rates fixed guideway capital projects under the program to include affordable housing incentives.
Confidentiality Opportunities for Peer Support Counseling Act or the COPS Counseling Act This bill sets forth requirements related to peer support counseling programs. A peer support counseling program is a program provided by a law enforcement agency that provides counseling services from a peer support specialist to a law enforcement officer of the agency. Among other things, the bill does the following: generally prohibits the disclosure of the contents of a peer support communication, and requires the Department of Justice to develop best practices and professional standards for peer support counseling programs.
Afghanistan War Commission Act of 2021 This bill establishes the independent Afghanistan War Commission within the legislative branch. The commission must conduct a study of various matters related to U.S. operations and activities in Afghanistan, including (1) U.S. military, diplomatic, development and intelligence objectives from September 1, 1996, to August 30, 2021; (2) the efficacy of U.S. efforts to meet such objectives; (3) the factors that led to the collapse of the Afghan National Defense Security Forces in 2021; and (4) the efficacy of efforts to fight corruption. The commission must annually report to Congress on the progress of its study. Within three years (with an extension of up to one year available) of the commission's first meeting, it must submit to Congress a final report with a detailed statement of findings, recommendations, and lessons learned.
Fairness for Federal Contractors Act of 2021 This bill prohibits executive agencies from requiring contractors to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to study the degree to which Executive Order 14042 (Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors) caused disruptions to federal contracts, supply chains, and transportation systems.
Access to Birth Control Act This bill requires pharmacies to comply with certain rules related to ensuring access to contraceptives. Specifically, pharmacies must provide without delay a customer with any contraceptive or related medication that is in stock. If the contraceptive is not in stock, the pharmacy must immediately inform the customer and either order the contraceptive or refer the customer to a pharmacy that has it in stock. Laws in some states provide pharmacists with the right to refuse to dispense contraceptive-related drugs on religious or conscience grounds. Pharmacies may refuse to provide a contraceptive to a customer (1) if the customer lacks a valid prescription for a prescription contraceptive or is unable to pay for the contraceptive, or (2) based on a pharmacy employee's professional clinical judgment. The bill also establishes a private cause of action and civil monetary penalties for violations of the bill.
Pregnancy Loss Mental Health Research Act of 2021 This bill expands research and related activities that address mental health complications following a pregnancy loss (i.e., miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion). Specifically, the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) must expand and intensify research on mental health complications following pregnancy loss. In particular, NIMH must conduct a longitudinal study to determine the prevalence and other information about such mental health complications. Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services must award grants to health providers, state or local governments, or other appropriate nonprofits to deliver services to individuals with mental health conditions following a pregnancy loss. Funding made available under this bill may not be provided to an entity (or an entity's affiliate, subsidiary, successor, or clinic) that performs abortions other than in the case of a pregnancy (1) that is the result of rape or incest; or (2) when the life of the woman is in danger due to a physical disorder, injury, or illness.
Original Slavery Remembrance Day Resolution This joint resolution designates a Slavery Remembrance Day annually and condemns slavery and its progenies.
This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Labor emergency temporary standard for preventing the transmission of COVID-19 in employment settings. Under the standard issued on November 5, 2021, employers with 100 or more employees must require their onsite employees to either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.
This resolution (1) censures Representative Paul Gosar for posting a certain video on his social media accounts that depicts violence against Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Joseph R. Biden , and (2) removes him from the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Oversight and Reform.
IRS Improper Payments Act This bill directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Justice (DOJ), executive agencies, and inspectors general to take specified steps to reduce improper payments and eliminate waste in federal programs. Specifically, the OMB must (1) establish annual targets for reducing improper payments, (2) issue government-wide guidance on this bill's implementation, and (3) establish various working groups. The OMB must also develop policy recommendations, including potential legislative proposals, designed to reduce improper payments. The Department of the Treasury, in coordination with DOJ and the OMB, must (1) publish information about improper payments under programs identified as having the highest dollar value or majority of improper payments (i.e., high priority programs); and (2) establish a central internet-based method to collect from the public information relating to suspected incidents of waste, fraud, and abuse. Each agency that administers a high priority program shall designate a Senate-confirmed official to be accountable for meeting agency program reduction targets. The bill requires an agency that fails to meet high priority program reduction targets of the agency, or fails to implement the plans for not less than two consecutive years, to submit a report that describes the likely causes of the failure and proposes a remedial plan. The Chief Financial Officers Council must take specified actions. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council must recommend to the President actions designed to enhance contractor accountability for improper payments.
Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to take various actions to address transparency in pricing and contract terms in the cattle industry. Among these requirements, USDA must (1) establish regional minimum percentages of cattle that meat packers must procure through negotiated purchases or negotiated grid purchases (i.e., transactions where the price is known and negotiated at the time of the transaction), and (2) maintain a publicly available catalog of contracts offered by meat packers to livestock producers for the purchase of fed cattle.
