This resolution congratulates the students, families, teachers, administrators, and staff of public charter schools across the United States for (1) making ongoing contributions to public education, (2) making impressive strides in closing the academic achievement gap in U.S. schools, and (3) improving and strengthening the public school system. The resolution supports the ideals and goals of the 22nd annual National Charter Schools Week.
Medical Supplies for Pandemics Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to undertake various actions to enhance supply chain elasticity for and maintain domestic reserves of critical medical supplies for the Strategic National Stockpile. Specifically, HHS must increase emergency stocks of supplies, geographically diversify production of supplies, and enter cooperative agreements or partnerships for purposes of supporting domestic production of supplies and replenishing supplies in the stockpile. The department's authority to enter such agreements and partnerships terminates on September 30, 2024.
Iran China Accountability Act This bill prohibits the use of funds to enter into any negotiation with Iran regarding an Iran nuclear agreement until the President makes specified certifications concerning the actions of China and Iran. Specifically, the President must certify that China has ceased incarcerating Uighur individuals in the Xinjiang region. Additionally, the President must certify that, among other actions, Iran has terminated all agreements involving the receipt of funds from China and all ties and transfer of cash to Iranian proxy forces, including Hamas. Further, any Iran nuclear agreement that the United States enters into must certify the destruction of any and all Iranian nuclear and missile capabilities, weapons, infrastructure, chemical weapons, and offensive cyber activity. Such agreement shall be deemed a treaty requiring advice and consent of the Senate.
Leasing Every Available Real property Now Act of 2021 or the LEARN Act of 2021 This bill allows local educational agencies to use federal buildings in order to provide in-person education for students during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Specifically, the bill allows the General Services Administration (GSA) and executive agencies to lease federal buildings for up to six months to local educational agencies for in-person education of elementary and secondary school students during the emergency period. The GSA and executive agencies must review, identify, and publish information about all available properties. District of Columbia public schools must be given priority for available properties in the District. The bill also authorizes state and local governments to use certain COVID-19 relief funds to further in-person education, including through leases of federal buildings.
This bill prohibits federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting after FY2023.
This bill prohibits the use of federal funds for National Public Radio or radio-content acquisition.
This resolution recognizes that the national debt is a threat to national security and that deficits are unsustainable, irresponsible, and dangerous. It also commits to (1) restoring regular order to the appropriations process, and (2) addressing the fiscal crisis faced by the United States.
Reaching America's Rural Minority Businesses Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Minority Business Development Agency to establish rural business centers at historically Black colleges and universities to assist rural minority businesses with issues such as broadband adoption, advanced manufacturing, and entrepreneurship.
Global Pandemic Prevention and Biosecurity Act This bill establishes a task force and requires the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to take specified measures to respond to and prevent zoonotic (animal-to-human) disease outbreaks. Specifically, the bill establishes the Global Zoonotic Disease Task Force to ensure an integrated approach to preventing, detecting, preparing for, and responding to zoonotic spillover and zoonotic disease outbreaks that may pose a threat to global health security. The bill directs the State Department and the USAID to work with international stakeholders on measures that include (1) preventing zoonotic spillover events, (2) preventing degradation and fragmentation of forests and other ecosystems to minimize interactions between wildlife and human populations, and (3) strengthening global capacity for detection of zoonotic diseases with pandemic potential.
Foreign Agents Disclosure and Registration Enhancement Act of 2021 This bill provides the Department of Justice (DOJ) with a mechanism to demand evidence for investigating compliance with foreign-agent disclosure requirements and increases penalties relating to such requirements. DOJ may issue civil investigative demands to a person who may have information relevant to an investigation related to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA). Such demands may be for documents, written answers to questions, or oral testimony. The bill prescribes various procedures and requirements, such as minimum notice periods when seeking oral testimony. Investigative demands may be enforced or challenged in district court. Such investigative demands may not require the production of information that would be protected from disclosure under (1) the rules governing grand jury subpoenas, or (2) the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to the extent the rules are consistent with this bill. The bill increases the maximum criminal fine for certain FARA violations from $10,000 to $200,000. It shall be unlawful for an agent of a foreign principal to willfully fail to disclose being a FARA-registered agent before or during a meeting with a Member of Congress (or with staff of a Member or congressional committee). The bill provides for various civil penalties for failing to meet agent registration requirements. The foreign principal of a penalized agent may not pay the imposed fines. The Government Accountability Office shall (1) analyze the effectiveness of FARA enforcement, and (2) audit the exemption to the Lobbying Disclosure Act for FARA-registered agents.
Don't Weaponize the IRS Act This bill codifies regulations promulgated by the Trump Administration exempting certain tax-exempt organizations from specified reporting requirements. Specifically the bill increases from $5,000 to $50,000 the gross receipts threshold used to determine the eligibility of tax-exempt organizations for the exemption from certain disclosure and reporting requirements; expands the definition of organization to include tax-exempt charitable organizations and organizations with no significant activities relating to lobbying, political activity, and the operation of a trade or business; exempts from disclosure the names and addresses of contributors to an organization in its annual informational return; and extends exemptions from reporting requirements to political action committees (i.e., 527 organizations).
Saving Gig Economy Taxpayers Act This bill modifies requirements for third party settlement organizations to eliminate their reporting requirement with respect to the transactions of their participating payees unless they have earned more than $20,000 on more than 200 separate transactions in an applicable tax period. A third party settlement organization is the central organization that has the contractual obligation to make payments to participating payees (generally, a merchant or business) in a third party payment network. This reverses a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 that lowered the reporting threshold to $600 with no minimum on the number of transactions.
