Postal Service Reform Act of 2021 This bill addresses the finances and operations of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). The bill requires the Office of Personnel Management to establish, within the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the Postal Service Health Benefits Program for USPS employees and retirees and provides for coordinated enrollment of retirees under this program and Medicare. The bill repeals the requirement that the USPS annually prepay future retirement health benefits. Additionally, the USPS may establish a program to enter into agreements with an agency of any state government, local government, or tribal government, and with other government agencies, to provide certain nonpostal products and services that reasonably contribute to the costs of the USPS and meet other specified criteria. The USPS must develop and maintain a publicly available dashboard to track service performance and must report regularly on its operations and financial condition. The bill requires mail delivery to occur at least six days a week. The Postal Regulatory Commission must annually submit to the USPS a budget of its expenses. It must also conduct a study to identify the causes and effects of postal inefficiencies relating to flats (e.g., large envelopes). The USPS Office of Inspector General shall perform oversight of the Postal Regulatory Commission.
Freedom to Export to Cuba Act of 2021 This bill repeals both the President's statutory authority to impose an embargo on Cuba and various prohibitions against providing assistance to Cuba. It also repeals provisions related to (1) the President's authority to impose sanctions on countries that provide assistance to Cuba, (2) the prohibition against U.S. investment in domestic telecommunications networks within Cuba, (3) restrictions on vessels that have departed from a port in Cuba within 180 days of loading or unloading freight in the United States, and (4) restrictions on remittances to Cuba. The President is authorized to impose export controls with respect to Cuba and exercise certain emergency economic powers in relation to unusual and extraordinary threats to the United States.
Youth Workforce Readiness Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Labor to award grants to certain national youth-serving organizations for comprehensive workforce readiness programs provided to youth that take place before or after school, during summer vacation or holiday, or on the weekend (i.e., out-of-school-time programs). Such grants must be used to develop and implement youth workforce readiness programs, including for activities such as on-the-job and leadership opportunities, internships, and other supportive services. The bill also requires local workforce development boards to establish youth councils as subgroups of the boards.
This bill revises the emergency relief program of the Department of Transportation to require that a project for the permanent repair or construction of a repeatedly damaged facility includes feasible and economically justifiable betterments (including protective features) to increase the resiliency of such facility. The emergency relief program provides funds for emergency and permanent repairs on federal-aid highways and roads that have suffered serious damage because of a natural disaster or catastrophic failure from an external cause.
VA Equal Employment Opportunity Counselor Modernization Act This bill eliminates the cap on the number of full-time employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs who provide equal employment opportunity counseling.
Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and the 3133d Signal Service Company, known as the Ghost Army , collectively, in recognition of its service during World War II.
Rural STEM Education Research Act This bill specifies federal scientific research and development efforts towards STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including computer science) workforce development and rural STEM education. (Sec. 3) The bill amends the objectives of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program to include the provision to secondary schools of information about the job skills needed in manufacturing companies, and the promotion and expansion of certification systems offered through local high schools. The activities of a manufacturing extension center are expanded to include local high schools in the facilitation of collaborations and partnerships between manufacturing companies and schools to help those entities better understand the specific needs of manufacturers and to help manufacturers better understand the skill sets that students learn in school programs. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) must award prizes to stimulate research and development of creative technologies in order to deploy affordable and reliable broadband connectivity to underserved rural communities. NIST may award not more than a total of $5 million in prizes. (Sec. 4) The Office of Science and Technology Policy must establish a broadband research and development working group to address national research challenges and opportunities for improving broadband access and adoption across the United States. (Sec. 5) The National Science Foundation (NSF) shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences under which the National Academy of Sciences agrees to evaluate aspects of STEM education and workforce development in rural areas. (Sec. 6) The Government Accountability Office shall conduct a study on the engagement of rural populations in federal STEM programs. (Sec. 7) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) programs shall consider modifications to award structures to increase the capacity of rural communities to provide quality STEM education and STEM workforce development programming to students and teachers. (Sec. 8) The NSF must award grants to institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations for (1) research and development to advance innovative approaches to support and sustain high-quality STEM teaching in rural schools, (2) research and development of programming to identify the barriers rural students face in accessing high-quality STEM education, (3) development of innovative solutions to improve the participation and advancement of rural students in grades Pre-K through 12 in STEM studies, and (4) research on online STEM education courses for rural communities. The NSF may establish a pilot program of regional cohorts in rural areas to provide peer support, mentoring, and hands-on research experiences for rural STEM educators of students in grades Pre-K through 12 in order to build an ecosystem of cooperation among educators, researchers, academia, and local industry.
This resolution supports the goals and ideals of an International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. The resolution encourages (1) health care providers to offer culturally and clinically competent care to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ+) community; (2) schools to support the creation of gender and sexuality alliances; (3) individuals to learn about national resources for those who identify as LGBTQ+; and (4) funding organizations, aid efforts, and governments to prioritize the health and human rights of LGBTQ+ people.
This resolution expresses support for the designation of DIPG Awareness Day. DIPG is diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a terminal childhood brain cancer.
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States can achieve a more perfect union by condemning the violence and destruction perpetrated against the African American community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The resolution states that a more perfect union may be achieved through other means as well, including by promoting tolerance and unity, and it recognizes Congress's commitment to acknowledge and learn from the history of racism and racial violence in the United States in order to reverse the legacy of white supremacy and fight for racial justice.
No Land Grab Act of 2021 This 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.
30 x 30 Termination Act This bill prohibits 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 the report or program of 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 an act of Congress. No federal funds may be used by a federal agency to acquire more than 160 acres of nonfederal land unless the federal agency has received written notice from the state in which the nonfederal land is located that the state has enacted legislation approving the proposed acquisition, and the proposed acquisition has been authorized by an act of Congress.
