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.
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.
This concurrent resolution censures President Donald J. Trump for actions described in this resolution, including attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election and inciting insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The resolution calls upon President Trump to acknowledge that President-elect Joseph R. Biden was the victor of the election and that President-elect Biden will be the lawful President on January 20, 2021; call on his supporters not to engage in violence; disavow the actions of the insurrectionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol; and denounce any further acts of violence, including any planned to occur surrounding the 58th Presidential Inauguration. Finally, it finds that, in engaging in the above cited actions, President Trump "as an officer of the United States ... engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the [United States], or [gave] aid or comfort to the enemies thereof," as described in Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, making him ineligible for future office, unless Congress, in the future, removes such disability by a two-thirds vote of each chamber.
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment requiring the President and Vice President to be elected directly by the people of the states and the District of Columbia.
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment limiting Representatives to three terms and Senators to two terms. Terms beginning before the ratification of this amendment do not count towards these term limits.
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment authorizing Congress and the states to set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections. The amendment grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by legislation. They are allowed to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections.
This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the Constitution to require that the Supreme Court consist of nine Justices.
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment limiting the pardon power of the President. The amendment prohibits the President from granting a pardon or reprieve to himself or herself, to family members or members of the administration, to paid campaign employees, to a person or entity for an offense motivated by an interest of any of those people, or to a person or entity for an offense directed by or coordinated with the President. The amendment also invalidates pardons issued for a corrupt purpose.
This resolution supports measures and funding to address the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic on women and girls globally. The resolution urges the executive branch to (1) uphold the rights of crisis-affected and forcibly displaced populations further affected by COVID-19, (2) reaffirm U.S. leadership on gender-based violence in foreign assistance, and (3) address barriers to equitable COVID-19 treatment and vaccination for women, girls, and marginalized communities. Further, the resolution expresses the Senate's commitment to assess and eliminate impediments to the delivery of and access to humanitarian assistance.
