Rep. Robert J. Wittman

Just In Case Act This bill allows the Department of Defense (DOD) to reimburse contractors for paid leave provided to employees or subcontractors who are prevented from working due to an emergency or disaster. The bill also allows DOD to reimburse small business contractors for other costs related to the emergency or disaster if necessary to ensure the continuation of contractor performance.

Border Security for America Act of 2021 This bill addresses border security and related issues. For example, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume all activities to construct a border barrier system along the U.S.-Mexico border that were underway or planned prior to January 20, 2021; requires DHS to deploy, in addition to physical barriers, tactical infrastructure and technology to achieve situational awareness and operational control of the southwest border; authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to carry out a program to acquire innovative commercial items through a competitive selection of proposals; imposes certain requirements for DHS border security technology acquisition programs that have a total expenditure of at least $300 million; requires CBP to implement certain technologies, including a program to establish a biometric exit data system at ports of entry; requires CBP to increase or maintain certain staffing levels for agents, officers, processing coordinators, and other positions; requires CBP to implement a workload staffing model for the U.S. Border Patrol and for CBP's Air and Marine Operations; and provides statutory authority through FY2026 for Operation Stonegarden, a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that provides grants to states and territories involved in certain active CBP border security operations.

Refuge System Protection Act This bill authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ), at the request of the Department of the Interior, to bring in a district court a civil action against any individual or entity that destroys, causes the loss of, causes Interior to make risk mitigation efforts with respect to, or injures any resource that is within the boundaries any land or water that is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The bill also authorizes DOJ, at the request of Interior, to bring in a district court an in rem action against any instrumentality (e.g., a vessel, vehicle, or aircraft) that destroys, causes the loss of, causes Interior to make risk mitigation efforts with respect to, or injures any such system resource. Among others, it shall be an affirmative defense in either type of action that the destruction of, loss of, risk mitigation regarding, or injury to a system resource was caused by an otherwise legal act or omission that occurred outside the boundaries of the resource. In either type of action, the court may award response costs and damages.

Resilient Federal Forests Act This bill modifies and sets forth provisions regarding forest management activities on National Forest System, public, and tribal lands. The bill provides for, among other things the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Interior to conduct fireshed management projects in fireshed management areas, certain categorical exclusions for various purposes, the balancing of the short- and long-term effects of forest management activities while considering injunctive relief, USDA and Interior to establish their own discretionary arbitration pilot programs as an alternative dispute resolution process for forest management activities, increasing the maximum term for a stewardship end result contract to 20 years, demonstration projects to support the development and commercialization of biochar on Indian forest lands or rangelands and in nearby communities by providing reliable supplies of feedstock from federal lands, the decommissioning of certain Forest Service Roads within designated high fire-prone areas, repealing of the Eastside Screens requirements on National Forest System lands, making the Northwest Forest Plan Survey and Manage Mitigation Measure Standards and Guidelines inapplicable to any National Forest System lands or public lands, development of a protection plan for giant sequoia trees on National Forest System lands and public lands, and permanent rights of access to the Oregon and California Railroad grant lands and the Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands for private landowners issued reciprocal road rights-of-way.

Global Force Management Oversight Act This bill requires the Department of Defense to annually report on the Global Force Management Allocation Plan and brief Congress on the contents of the reports.

This resolution condemns the Chinese Communist Party and its violation of the human rights of the people of China.

Surface Warfare Officer Leadership Enhancement Act or the SWOLE Act This bill addresses Naval operations, including the duties of surface warfare officers. Specifically, the bill requires that any person originally commissioned as a surface warfare officer in the Navy on or after January 1, 2023, be assigned to the ship engineering systems career path or the ship operations and combat systems path. The Department of Defense (DOD) must seek to enter into an agreement with a nonprofit entity or federally funded research and development center independent of DOD to research and analyze the gender gap in retention of surface warfare officers in the Navy. The Navy must not expend more than 75% of the funds authorized to be appropriated in FY2022 for Ship Operations, Operations and Maintenance, Navy, until the Navy certifies to Congress that it has established certain standards and procedures by which a member of the Navy can receive a merchant mariner credential with a national officer endorsement, a national rating endorsement, or a Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping endorsement.

VA Emergency Transportation Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reimburse a veteran for the reasonable value of emergency transportation by a non-VA provider (1) to a facility for emergency treatment, or (2) from a non-VA facility where the veteran was treated to a VA or other federal facility for additional care.

Alexander Lofgren Veterans in Parks (VIP) Act This bill makes the America the Beautiful-National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available, without charge, to members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and Gold Star Families. The pass covers the entrance fee and standard amenity recreation fee for all federal recreational lands and waters.

Counting Overlooked Base Impact Aid Act or the COBIA Act This bill requires the commanders of each military installation to annually submit written certification to their respective military departments verifying whether they have confirmed the information contained in all Impact Aid source check forms received from local educational agencies (LEAs) as of the date of such certification. Such forms are submitted by LEAs to confirm the number and identity of children eligible to be counted for purposes of the federal Impact Aid program.