NEPA Accountability and Enforcement Act This bills establishes (1) deadlines for federal agencies to complete reviews of the environmental effects of proposed major federal actions, and (2) penalties for agencies that do not comply with these deadlines.
30 x 30 Termination Act This bill limits federal acquisition of land or declaration of a national monument in certain areas and nullifies a provision of an executive order related to conservation. In a state or county where 15% or more of the land is managed by a federal agency (1) federal funds may not be used to acquire nonfederal land unless the agency proposing the acquisition disposes of an equal amount of federal land within the state or county, and (2) a declaration of a national monument shall not apply. The bill prohibits from having the force and effect of law a provision of Executive Order 14008 (86 Fed. Reg. 7619), titled Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad , that requires the Department of the Interior to recommend steps to achieve the goal of conserving at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. No federal funds may be used to implement, administer, enforce, or carry out any report or program substantially similar to such provision. No federal funds may be used to implement, administer, enforce, or carry out any action on federal land that results in a net-loss of multiple use or any principal or major use, unless such action has been authorized by federal statute.
Audit the Pentagon Act of 2021 This bill requires defense spending reductions during any fiscal year after FY2022 where the Comptroller of the Department of Defense (DOD) fails to certify that a department, agency, or other element of DOD has achieved an unqualified opinion on its full financial statements. The amount of any reductions must be deposited in the General Fund of the Department of the Treasury and must be available for deficit reduction. The bill excludes from any reductions accounts related to military personnel, reserve personnel, National Guard personnel, and the Defense Health Program. The President may waive a reduction if the President certifies that a reduction would negatively affect (1) national security or members of the Armed Forces who are deployed in combat zones, or (2) the Defense Health Program account.
End Zuckerbucks Act This bill prohibits tax-exempt charitable organizations from providing direct funding to official election organizations.
Restore the Rights of Property Owners under the Eviction Moratorium Issued by the CDC Act of 2021 This bill nullifies beginning on July 1, 2021, the emergency order (and any extensions of the order) issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on September 4, 2020, that restricted residential evictions during the COVID-19 emergency. It also prohibits the order from being reissued unless specifically authorized by law.
Open for Business Act This bill eliminates federal pandemic unemployment compensation. Under current law, this supplementary compensation is available to claimants in participating states until September 6, 2021.
Telling Everyone the Location of data Leaving the U.S. Act or the TELL Act This bill requires online sellers or distributors of mobile applications that maintain and store information in China to conspicuously disclose to users that such information is stored in China and whether the information is accessible by the Chinese Communist Party or a Chinese state-owned entity.
National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2021 This bill sets forth environmental review requirements for the mine permitting process and limits the review to 30 months. Under the bill, projects that provide minerals vital to job creation, energy infrastructure, coastal resilience and restoration, economic competitiveness, and national security must be considered to be infrastructure projects as described in Executive Order 13807, titled Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure Projects and dated August 15, 2017.This order directed agencies to ensure that the environmental review and permitting process for infrastructure is coordinated, predictable, and transparent. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)or the Forest Service must appoint a project lead for the mine permitting process to coordinate with other agencies to ensure that the agencies minimize delays, set and adhere to timelines for completion of the permitting process, set clear permitting goals, and track progress against goals. The project lead must also determine the amount of financial assurance required for reclamation of a mineral exploration or mining site. The bill considers the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969to be satisfied if the BLM or the Forest Service determines that the agency issuing the permit will address specified factors, such as environmental impacts of the permit or alternatives to issuance of the permit. Additionally, the bill exempts projects on National Forest System land from regulations that prohibit timber tree cutting and road construction in areas without roads.
Reopening to address Every COmplete Record request for Devoted Servicemembers Act of 2021 or the RECORDS Act of 2021 This bill directs the Office of the Archivist of the United States to take specified steps to address record request backlogs. Specifically, the office must take actions to ensure that (1) the number of individuals employed by the National Personnel Records Center is equal to or exceeds the number of such individuals employed on March 2, 2020, and (2) the percentage of such individuals regularly reporting to work in person is equal to or exceeds the percentage of such individuals regularly reporting to work in person on that date. The office shall submit to specified congressional committees a report that provides a comprehensive plan to address the record request backlog of the National Personnel Records Center and improve the efficiency and responsiveness of operations at the center, identifies measurable goals with respect to the comprehensive plan and metrics for tracking progress toward such goals, and describes strategies to prevent future record request backlogs.
Making Obligations Right by Enlarging Payments In Lieu of Taxes Act or the MORE PILT Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to develop a modeling tool that calculates the approximate market value of land covered by the payments in lieu of taxes (PILT) program and the approximate amount of local tax revenue the land would generate if privately owned. The PILT program compensates local governments for tax revenue lost due to tax-exempt federal lands within their boundaries. Interior must annually report on the value of land covered by the PILT program, the tax revenue the land would generate if privately owned, and how PILT payments could more accurately reflect that tax revenue.
