Rep. Bill Huizenga

Conscience Protection Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for certain protections for health care providers that refuse to participate in abortions based on religious beliefs or other convictions. Health care providers include individual professionals, medical facilities, health insurance organizations, and social services providers that refer clients to health care services. The federal government and entities that receive federal funding for health-related activities, including state and local governments, may not discriminate against a health care provider that refuses to be involved in, or provide coverage for, abortions. Currently, similar requirements apply to various related activities, including certain employment or personnel decisions (the Church Amendments), abortion services training (the Coats-Snowe Amendment), qualified health plans offered through health insurance exchanges, and annual appropriations bills for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other federal agencies (the Weldon Amendment). The HHS Office for Civil Rights must investigate complaints of this kind of discrimination. Furthermore, HHS may terminate or reduce HHS funding for health-related activities if a person or entity fails to comply with nondiscrimination requirements. Additionally, the Department of Justice or any entity adversely affected by such discrimination may bring a civil action to obtain appropriate relief. A plaintiff does not need to seek or exhaust administrative remedies before bringing the action. A plaintiff may also bring an action, including one for money damages, against a governmental entity. In many cases, principles of sovereign immunity shield states and some localities from these kinds of actions.

Parents Bill of Rights Act This bill outlines various rights of parents and guardians regarding the elementary or secondary school education of their children. Among other requirements, the bill (1) directs local educational agencies to publicly post the curriculum for each elementary and secondary school grade level; and (2) requires schools to notify parents and guardians of their rights, including the right to review the school's curriculum and budget.

Parental Rights Protection Act This bill restricts government entities from requiring that individuals age 18 or younger receive certain COVID-19 vaccines that were authorized through emergency use and related procedures. Specifically, a federal, state, tribal, territorial, or local government entity (including a local educational agency) that receives funding from either the Department of Education or the Department of Health and Human Services may not require such COVID-19 vaccinations for individuals age 18 or younger. In particular, a local educational agency that mandates COVID-19 vaccinations for students loses its eligibility for federal education funding. The bill also requires the prior, informed, written consent of a parent or guardian before administration of such COVID-19 vaccines to an individual age 18 or younger.

This resolution modifies requirements for written statements required of nongovernmental witnesses who appear before standing committees of the House of Representatives. Specifically, the resolution eliminates a requirement that a witness disclose whether they are a fiduciary of an organization or entity that has an interest in the subject matter of the hearing, in favor of a requirement that they disclose whether they are a fiduciary of an entity that has received payments from a specified foreign entity. The resolution also requires nongovernmental witnesses to disclose in their written statement certain contracts with specified foreign persons or entities. If the committee determines that a witness knowingly and willfully failed to truthfully comply with such disclosure requirements, the witness is prohibited from testifying before the committee for three years.

Housing Promotes Livelihood and Ultimate Success Act of 2021 or the Housing PLUS Act of 2021 This bill modifies the requirements under which the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) must award grants under the Continuum of Care Program, which provides funding for nonprofit providers and state and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families. Specifically, the bill bars HUD from prohibiting, limiting, or restricting Continuum of Care grants to recipients that (1) require program participants to receive supportive services, (2) require program participants to be sober or drug-free, or (3) are faith-based organizations. The bill also requires that 30% of Continuum of Care grant funds be set aside for eligible grant recipients that provide or offer access to wraparound services.

Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection-Inspector General Reform Act of 2021 or the CFPB-IG Act of 2021 This bill establishes a separate Office of Inspector General for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Currently, such oversight of the CFPB is combined with the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

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 concurrent resolution declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over the air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.

Stop Vaccine Mandates Act This bill rescinds the executive order titled Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors and the executive order titled Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees , both published on September 9, 2021. The bill provides that these executive orders shall have no force or effect.

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.