Rep. Troy E. Nehls

Enewetak Atoll Cleanup Radiation Study Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to seek to enter an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study and report on the level of radiation exposure experienced by members of the Armed Forces who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll between January 1, 1977, and December 31, 1980.

End Zuckerbucks Act This bill prohibits tax-exempt charitable organizations from providing direct funding to official election organizations.

Rebuilding Communities After Disasters Act This bill requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) to increase the loan limits for the disaster loan program and to communicate certain information about the program following disasters. Specifically, the bill raises from $40,000 to $75,000 the loan amount for repair or replacement of household and personal effects and from $200,000 to $400,000 the loan amount for repair or replacement of a primary residence. Further, the bill requires the SBA to communicate through radio, television, print, and web-based outlets all relevant information needed by disaster loan applicants if a disaster is declared or the SBA declares eligibility for additional disaster assistance. (Currently, the SBA is only required to endeavor to communicate such information.) The SBA must submit a report on the disaster loan program that includes information such as the number and dollar value of program loans and the average estimated dollar value of damage sustained by borrowers.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Fraud Protection Act This bill creates several requirements for states to address fraudulent claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), temporarily increases penalties for fraud related to PUA, and requires each state to establish a hotline for victims of unemployment fraud. Specifically, the bill requires states to cross reference PUA claims with federal and state prison records and E-Verify to ensure that claimants are eligible for PUA, submit to the Department of Labor plans to recover fraudulently obtained PUA, develop an anti-fraud task force to investigate and recover fraudulently obtained PUA, make restitution to Labor for the amount of any overpayment of PUA made by the state, and establish a hotline designed to encourage individuals who are victims of unemployment fraud and have received an incorrect statement of unemployment compensation to report that fraud. The bill also temporarily enhances the maximum penalty for fraud related to PUA through December 31, 2021, so that the offense is classified as fraud in relation to a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency and punishable by up to 30 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000,000, or both.

Foreign Gain-of-Function Research Prevention Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to conduct or support gain-of-function research involving potential pandemic pathogens by China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, or other foreign adversaries. Gain-of-function research is any research that is anticipated to confer an attribute on a pathogen to enhance its pathogenicity or transmissibility in mammals. If the Department of State finds that an entity has used funds for prohibited research, the entity may not receive any federal funding for a period of five years.

Toxic Exposure in the American Military Act or the TEAM Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand health care, benefits, and resources for veterans with conditions related to exposure to toxic substances. Specifically, the bill expands eligibility for VA hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to include veterans who (1) were exposed to toxic substances, radiation, or other conditions, and were awarded certain medals (e.g., the Armed Forces Service Medal); (2) are eligible for inclusion in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry; or (3) have been identified by the Department of Defense to have been possibly exposed during service to an open burn pit, toxic substance, or specified hazardous sites. (A burn pit is an area used for burning solid waste in open air without equipment.) The bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for diseases associated with exposure to certain toxic substances and that become manifest within a certain time period; the VA must specify such diseases and requirements through regulations. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded. The bill also requires the VA to take specified actions to (1) evaluate scientific evidence regarding associations between diseases and exposure to toxic substances; (2) train its health care personnel on identifying, treating, and assessing illnesses related to such exposure; and (3) provide resources to veterans exposed to toxic substances.

Strengthening and Amplifying Vaccination Efforts to Locally Immunize All Veterans and Every Spouse Act or the SAVE LIVES Act This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish a COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) vaccine to covered individuals during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Under the bill, covered individuals are veterans who are not eligible to enroll in the VA health care system; specified veterans who are eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care abroad; beneficiaries who are eligible for care due to a specified disability or death of a veteran; family caregivers of veterans who are participating in the VA's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers; caregivers of veterans participating in the VA's Program of General Caregiver Support Services; caregivers of veterans participating in the VA's Medical Foster Home Program, Bowel and Bladder Program, Home Based Primary Care Program, or Veteran Directed Care Program; and the spouses of veterans. The VA must prioritize the vaccination of (1) veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system, (2) veterans who fail to enroll but receive hospital care and medical services for specified disabilities in their first 12 months of separation from service, and (3) caregivers accompanying such prioritized veterans. Under the bill, the VA is authorized to determine the timing for offering a vaccine to the spouse of a veteran.

This resolution condemns Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts for certain comments regarding Israel. It also expresses that Representative Ocasio-Cortez, Representative Tlaib, Representative Omar, and Representative Pressley each be censured.

Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2021 This bill deems an individual receiving outpatient observation services in a hospital as an inpatient for purposes of satisfying the three-day inpatient hospital-stay requirement with respect to Medicare coverage of skilled nursing facility services.

This resolution calls on the people of the United States to observe Memorial Day to honor the men and women who died in the pursuit of freedom and peace.