American Values Act This bill expands and makes permanent certain restrictions that prohibit the use of U.S. foreign assistance to pay for the performance or promotion of abortion services overseas. Current law generally prohibits the use of foreign assistance for abortions through language included in appropriations bills. This bill specifically prohibits the use of any funds under the Foreign Assistance Act for (1) abortions or involuntary sterilization as methods of family planning, or (2) biomedical research that relates to these practices as methods of family planning. In addition, the bill makes permanent prohibitions on the use of such funds to (1) lobby for or against abortion, or (2) fund any organization or program that supports or participates in coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization. The bill also makes permanent a prohibition on the use of funds made available to the Peace Corps to pay for abortions.
Sponsored bills
This resolution makes it out of order in the Senate to consider a measure or matter until one session day has passed since introduction for every 20 pages included in the measure or matter, plus one session day for any remaining pages less than 20. Any Senator may raise a point of order that the consideration of a measure or matter is not in order if not enough days have passed since introduction. The point of order may be waived or suspended only by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Senators.
Read the Bills Act This bill establishes requirements relating to the introduction and consideration of any bill or resolution in either chamber of Congress. Specifically, the bill requires any measure introduced in either chamber to contain a provision citing the specific powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to enact the proposed measure, including all of its provisions. Further, the text must also set forth the current law such measure is amending and the proposed modifications to the law. Additionally, a vote on final passage of a measure (except private bills) may not occur in either chamber unless (1) the full text of the measure is published on an official website of each chamber at least seven days before the vote, (2) public notice of the specific calendar week during which the vote is scheduled to take place is posted on the respective website at least six days before the Monday of such week, and (3) there is a reading of its full text verbatim by the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate to the respective chamber.
Government Shutdown Prevention Act of 2021 This bill provides continuing appropriations to prevent a government shutdown if any appropriations measure for a fiscal year has not been enacted before the fiscal year begins or a joint resolution making continuing appropriations is not in effect. For an initial 90-day period, the bill provides continuing appropriations at 99% of the rate for the preceding year to continue programs, projects, and activities for which funds were provided in the preceding fiscal year. The bill reduces the continuing appropriations by 1% after the first 90-day period and by an additional 1% for each subsequent 90-day period until the applicable appropriations legislation is enacted.
Write the Laws Act This bill prohibits an act of Congress from containing any delegation of legislative powers, whether to any component within the legislative branch, the President or any other member of the executive branch, the judicial branch, any agency or quasi-public agency, any state or state instrumentality, or any other organization or individual. The Government Accountability Office must identify to Congress all statutes enacted before 90 days after this bill's enactment that contain any delegation of legislative power. Any act of Congress, presidential directive, adjudicative decision, rule, or regulation that is enacted 90 days or more after this bill's enactment and is noncompliant with this bill shall have no force or effect.
One Subject at a Time Act This bill requires each bill or joint resolution to include no more than one subject and the subject to be clearly and descriptively expressed in the measure's title. An appropriations bill may not contain any general legislation or change to existing law that is not germane to the subject of such bill. The bill voids measures or provisions noncompliant with these requirements, including appropriation provisions outside the relevant subcommittee's jurisdiction.
Default Prevention Act This bill requires the following obligations to be granted priority over all other U.S. obligations if the public debt reaches the statutory limit: principal and interest on debt held by the public; compensation, allowances, and benefits for members of the Armed Forces on active duty; Social Security benefits; Medicare benefits; and obligations under any program administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. If Congress is notified, the Department of the Treasury may issue additional debt in excess of the debt limit for the priority obligations. Treasury may issue the additional debt during the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the United States is unable to use revenues or extraordinary measures to fully pay the priority obligations at the time they are due. (The term extraordinary measures refers to a series of actions that Treasury may implement to allow the United States to borrow additional funds without exceeding the debt limit. The measures generally include suspensions or delays of debt sales and suspensions or redemptions of investments in certain government funds.)
Life at Conception Act of 2021 This bill declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual comes into being. Nothing in this bill shall be construed to require the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child, a prohibition on in vitro fertilization, or a prohibition on use of birth control or another means of preventing fertilization.
Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act This bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from awarding family planning grants to entities that perform abortions or provide funding to other entities that perform abortions. To receive a grant, an entity must certify it will refrain from those activities during the grant period. The bill provides exceptions for abortions (1) in cases of rape or incest; or (2) when the life of the woman is in danger due to a physical disorder, injury, or illness. It also exempts hospitals unless they provide funds to non-hospital entities that provide abortions. HHS must report annually on this prohibition.
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act This bill establishes requirements for the degree of care a health care practitioner must provide in the case of a child born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion. Specifically, a health care practitioner who is present must (1) exercise the same degree of care as would reasonably be provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age, and (2) ensure the child is immediately admitted to a hospital. Additionally, a health care practitioner or other employee who has knowledge of a failure to comply with the degree-of-care requirements must immediately report such failure to law enforcement. A health care practitioner who fails to provide the required degree of care, or a health care practitioner or other employee who fails to report such failure, is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. An individual who intentionally kills or attempts to kill a child born alive is subject to prosecution for murder. The bill bars the criminal prosecution of a mother of a child born alive under this bill and allows her to bring a civil action against a health care practitioner or other employee for violations.