Rep. Michael K. Simpson

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.

This resolution denounces socialism and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States.

This bill provides supplemental FY2021 appropriations to the National Guard for its response to the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The bill designates the funding as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.

Semiquincentennial Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue $25.00 gold coins, $2.50 silver coins, 25 cent clad coins, and proof silver $2.50 coins in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the United States. The designs of the coins shall be emblematic of the semiquincentennial anniversary of the establishment of the United States of America and celebrate 250 years of our nation. On each coin there shall be a designation of the value of the coin; an inscription of the years 1776-2026; and inscriptions of the words Liberty , In God We Trust , United States of America , and E Pluribus Unum . Treasury may issue coins under this bill only during the period beginning on January 1, 2026, and ending on December 31, 2026. All sales of coins issued shall include a surcharge as prescribed by this bill. All surcharges received by Treasury from the sale of such coins shall be paid to the America 250 Foundation to fund the restoration, rehabilitation, and interpretation of units of the U.S. National Park System and its related areas, as a legacy of the semiquincentennial commemoration.

Legacy Roads and Trails Act This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish the Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program. Specifically, under the program, the Forest Service, taking into account predicted changes in weather and hydrology related to global climate change, shall carry out storm damage risk reduction, including deferred maintenance, repairs, road and trail relocation, and associated activities on roads, trails, tunnels, and bridges under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service; restore waterways and natural migration of fish and other aquatic species by removing or replacing culverts or other infrastructure from such waterways; and decommission unneeded roads. In implementing the program, the Forest Service shall give priority to projects that protect or restore water quality and watershed function; a watershed that supplies a public drinking water system; the habitat of a threatened, endangered, or sensitive fish or wildlife species, or a species of conservation concern; or a watershed for which the Forest Service has completed a watershed protection and restoration action plan. The Forest Service shall identify the minimum road system needed for each unit of the National Forest System. USDA shall review, and may revise, an identification of the minimum road system in accordance with federal regulations relating to the administration of the forest transportation system.

Repairing Existing Public Land by Adding Necessary Trees Act or the REPLANT Act This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) annually for each of the 10 years after enactment of this bill to transmit to Congress an estimate of the sums necessary to be appropriated, in addition to the funds available from other sources, to replant and otherwise treat an acreage equal to the acreage to be cut over that year, plus a sufficient portion of the backlog of lands found to be in need of treatment to eliminate the backlog within the 10-year period. After such 10-year period, USDA shall transmit annually to Congress an estimate of the sums necessary to replant and otherwise treat all lands being cut over and maintain planned timber production on all other forested lands in the National Forest System to prevent the development of a backlog of needed work larger than the needed work at the beginning of the fiscal year. Each reforestation activity included in a renewable resource assessment shall be carried out in accordance with applicable Forest Service management practices and definitions, including definitions relating to silvicultural practices and forest management. The Forest Service shall, based on recommendations from regional foresters, create a priority list of reforestation projects that primarily take place on priority land, promote effective reforestation following unplanned events, and may include activities to ensure adequate and appropriate seed availability. USDA shall give priority to projects on the priority list.

Assuring Regular Consultation to Have Indigenous Voices Effectively Solicited Act This bill establishes requirements for tribal consultation prior to the sale or transfer of certain federal civilian real property. Federal civilian real property generally refers to federal real property assets, including public buildings, occupied and improved grounds, leased space, or other physical structures under the custody and control of a federal agency. Specifically, a federal agency must consult with tribal governments prior to the sale or transfer of certain federal civilian real property if the proposed sale or transfer would affect a tribe's access to federal agency services. Further, the bill prohibits the property from being sold or transferred if the sale or transfer would substantially reduce or eliminate a tribe's access to these services.

National Prescribed Fire Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior to significantly increase the number and size of prescribed fires conducted on federal lands. Before the end of FY2023, Interior and USDA shall each have carried out a minimum of one prescribed fire on each unit of the National Forest System, unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System, unit of the National Park System, and Bureau of Land Management district (1) that includes an area that has a historical low-severity fire regime, has a historical fire-return interval of not more than 35 years, and is larger than 100 acres; and (2) less than half of which was burned by a wildland fire during the previous 10-year period. Interior shall establish a collaborative prescribed fire program to provide financial assistance to eligible entities to conduct prescribed fires in priority landscapes. Interior shall establish an incentive program to encourage the implementation of large, cross-boundary prescribed fires. Interior and USDA shall hire additional employees and provide training to increase the number of skilled and qualified prescribed fire practitioners in the departments and other organizations. To address the public health and safety risk of the expanded use of prescribed fire, USDA and Interior shall conduct research to improve or develop, among other things, cost-effective, and consistent mitigation strategies for communities impacted adversely by smoke from prescribed fire.

Minor League Baseball Relief Act This bill establishes a program for the relief of certain minor league baseball clubs and independent professional baseball clubs that experienced large business losses. The bill provides funding for the Small Business Administration to make grants to such clubs that experienced decreases in gross revenue in 2020 of at least 75%, as measured against revenues in 2019 (or, if revenues were negatively affected by a natural disaster or weather disruption in 2019, by the average of revenues over the prior three-year period). The source of funding for the grants shall be funds appropriated under enacted COVID-19 relief legislation that have not been obligated and are no longer being used to carry out activities authorized under those laws. Grant amounts provided to any club may not exceed $10 million.

Resident Education Deferred Interest Act or the REDI Act This bill allows borrowers in medical or dental internships or residency programs to defer student loan payments until the completion of their programs.