Agricultural Intelligence Measures Act or the AIM Act This bill establishes the Office of Intelligence in the Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the National Intelligence Program. The office must leverage the capabilities of the intelligence community and the intelligence-related research of the National Laboratories to ensure that USDA is fully informed of threats by foreign actors to U.S. agriculture; focus on understanding foreign efforts to steal U.S. agriculture knowledge and technology, and develop or implement biological warfare attacks, cyber or clandestine operations, or other means of sabotaging and disrupting U.S. agriculture; prepare, conduct, and facilitate intelligence briefings for USDA; operate as the liaison between USDA and the intelligence community, with the authority to request intelligence collection and analysis on matters related to U.S. agriculture; collaborate with the intelligence community to downgrade intelligence assessments for broader dissemination within USDA; and facilitate the sharing of information on foreign activities related to agriculture with the intelligence community.
Postal Vehicle Modernization Act This bill establishes requirements for U.S. Postal Service (USPS) vehicle purchases and charging stations. The bill's provisions only apply if specified funding is appropriated. Specifically, the bill requires the USPS to ensure that at least 75% of the total number of next generation delivery vehicles purchased using such funds are electric or zero-emission vehicles. The bill provides for a phase-out of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles that are not electric or zero-emission vehicles. The USPS must provide by January 1, 2026, at each postal facility accessible to the public, at least one electric vehicle charging station for use by the public or USPS officers and employees.
Ending Debt Collection Harassment Act of 2021 This bill prohibits a debt collector from sending electronic communications to a consumer without the consumer's consent. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) may not issue rules that allow a debt collector to send unlimited electronic communications. Additionally, the CFPB must report on consumer complaints about electronic communications and enforcement actions taken against debt collectors.
PFC Garfield M. Langhorn Memorial Semipostal Stamp to Benefit our Veterans Act of 2021 This bill directs the U.S. Postal Service to issue a PFC Garfield M. Langhorn Memorial Semipostal Stamp to Benefit our Veterans, with all proceeds benefitting the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program.
Retired Pay Restoration Act This bill allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability. Under current law, only individuals with service-connected disabilities rated at 50% or more receive both without offset. Individuals who were retired or separated after at least 20 years of military service due to a service-connected disability shall be eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay.
This resolution thanks and honors the journalists and news staff who risked themselves to chronicle the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and it condemns the harassment and violent attacks on the media during the insurrection.
Northern Mariana Islands Legal Residents Relief Act of 2021 This bill expands eligibility for obtaining Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Resident status, provides a path for holders of such status to obtain U.S. permanent resident status, and makes CNMI-only transitional workers eligible to receive government relief or assistance in connection with a declared emergency. CNMI Resident status was available to qualifying individuals who applied for such status between February 19, 2020, and August 17, 2020. Among other requirements, a qualifying individual must have (1) been lawfully present in the CNMI on certain dates, and (2) continually and lawfully resided in the CNMI from November 28, 2009, through June 25, 2019. The bill reopens the period for applying for such status for 180 days and authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to waive this deadline in certain instances. The bill allows additional classes of individuals to qualify for CNMI Resident status, including an individual who (1) was admitted as a transitional worker during FY2015 and each subsequent fiscal year through FY2018, (2) is a qualified investor, or (3) resided in the CNMI as a guest worker for certain periods and is currently a transitional worker. The bill also waives the continual residence requirement for certain individuals and allows an individual lawfully present on December 31, 2020, to qualify. A qualifying alien with CNMI Resident status may obtain U.S. permanent resident status after holding CNMI Resident status for five years or after this bill has been enacted for five years, whichever is later.
Dismemberment Abortion Ban Act of 2021 This bill restricts the performance of dismemberment abortions. It defines the term dismemberment abortion . Specifically, the bill prohibits a physician from knowingly performing a dismemberment abortion. It provides an exception for a dismemberment abortion that is necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or condition. The bill establishes criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to two years, or both—for a physician who performs a prohibited dismemberment abortion. It also authorizes civil remedies for a woman or parent of a minor who undergoes a dismemberment abortion. A woman who undergoes a dismemberment abortion may not be prosecuted or held civilly liable.
New Way Forward Act This bill makes changes to immigration enforcement, including ending mandatory detention in certain cases. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall not enter into or extend any contract with any public or private for-profit entity to own or operate a facility to detain aliens in DHS custody. The bill provides for various protections related to detaining aliens, such as (1) requiring DHS to make an initial custody determination and establish probable cause within 48 hours of taking an alien into custody, (2) establishing in hearings related to such determinations a presumption that the alien be released, and (3) requiring immigration judges to impose the least restrictive detention conditions necessary. A DHS officer may not interrogate a person as to immigration status based on factors such as the person's race, religion, sexual orientation, or spoken language. The bill removes mandatory detention requirements for certain aliens, such as asylum seekers with a credible fear of persecution. Removal proceedings against certain aliens previously admitted into the United States must commence within five years of the alien becoming deportable or inadmissible. The bill also removes certain crime-related grounds of inadmissibility and deportability. The bill gives immigration judges discretion to provide relief from removal if the removal is not based on certain crime-related grounds. State or local officers are prohibited from performing certain immigration enforcement functions, such as apprehending aliens. The National Crime Information Center database shall not contain an alien's immigration information. The bill repeals provisions providing criminal penalties for improper entry or reentry into the United States.
Reunite Every Unaccompanied Newborn Infant, Toddler and other children Expeditiously Act or the REUNITE Act This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reunite children and their parents or legal guardians who were apprehended for illegal entry into the United States. DHS and HHS shall develop procedures and programs, including procedures to (1) identify separated family members, (2) allow apprehended parents or legal guardians to have frequent no-cost contact with their separated children, and (3) coordinate with foreign consulates to locate apprehended individuals. DHS and HHS shall ensure immediate reunification of apprehended children with a parent or legal guardian, but may make exceptions for the child's safety. DHS and HHS may use DNA testing to determine family relationships, but shall first use other methods, such as official documents. DHS and HHS shall develop procedures for instances where the aliens refuse to consent to DNA testing. Collected DNA information may not be used for any purpose other than family reunification, including criminal or immigration enforcement. The bill restores the Family Case Management Program, an alternative to detention program that uses case managers to promote compliance with immigration law obligations. DHS, HHS, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) shall establish the Office for Locating and Reuniting Children with Parents. Aliens shall have access to counsel inside immigration detention facilities, and DOJ may provide counsel for immigration proceedings. DOJ shall provide counsel if necessary for children and vulnerable individuals, and children's cases shall be heard individually.
Protecting Sensitive Locations Act This bill prohibits immigration enforcement actions within 1,000 feet of a sensitive location unless there are exigent circumstances and written prior approval has been obtained from certain officials. Sensitive locations include health care facilities; schools and school bus stops; places that provide assistance for people such as children, pregnant women, and abuse victims; places that provide disaster or emergency services; places of worship; courthouses and lawyers' offices; and public assistance offices. The prohibition shall apply to Department of Homeland Security officers and agents, as well as state employees pursuing immigration enforcement actions. If an enforcement action is carried out in violation of this prohibition (1) no information resulting from the action may be entered into the record in a resulting removal proceeding, and (2) the affected alien may move to immediately terminate such a proceeding. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall annually report to Congress about enforcement actions taken at sensitive locations in the preceding year.
Jakelin Caal Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2021 This bill requires an investigation and reports for each death of an alien in Department of Homeland Security or Department of Health and Human Services custody. Within 24 hours of such a death, the relevant department shall provide to Congress a publicly available report containing (1) the name, gender, race, ethnicity, and age of the deceased; (2) the date, time, and location of the death; and (3) the circumstances surrounding the death. The relevant department shall conduct an investigation within 30 days of the death of an alien in its custody, including an analysis of (1) the root cause of the death, and (2) any policy or systemic changes that could reduce the possibility of such a death in the future. The results of such an investigation shall be reported to Congress and made publicly available on the internet.
