Hearing Protection Act This bill removes silencers from the definition of firearms for purposes of the National Firearms Act. It also treats persons acquiring or possessing a firearm silencer as meeting any registration and licensing requirements of such Act. The Department of Justice must destroy certain records relating to the registration, transfer, or making of a silencer. The bill also revises the definitions of firearm silencer and firearm muffler under the federal criminal code and includes such items in the 10% excise tax category.
Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Act This bill imposes penalties on certain state and local governments that do not assist federal immigration enforcement actions. Specifically, a state or local government shall be ineligible for federal financial assistance for at least one year if it restricts or prohibits an agency or official from (1) communicating with the responsible federal immigration agency regarding an individual's citizenship or immigration status, or (2) maintaining or exchanging information about an individual's status. Such governmental entities are sometimes referred to as sanctuary cities or jurisdictions. The bill restores assistance eligibility upon a Department of Justice (DOJ) determination that the jurisdiction no longer takes such actions. DOJ shall determine each year which state or local jurisdictions are not in compliance with immigration requirements and report such determination to Congress.
ADA Compliance for Customer Entry to Stores and Services Act or the ACCESS Act This bill addresses access to public accommodations for persons with a disability. The bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to develop a program to educate state and local governments and property owners on strategies for promoting access to public accommodations for persons with a disability. The bill authorizes an aggrieved person, after taking specified actions, to commence a civil action based on the failure to remove an architectural barrier to access an existing public accommodation. Specifically, the aggrieved person must have provided the owners or operators a written notice specific enough to identify the barrier and specify the circumstances under which public accommodation access was denied. The owners or operators must have (1) failed to provide the person a written description outlining improvements that will be made to improve the barrier, or (2) failed to remove the barrier or make substantial progress after providing such a description. The Judicial Conference of the United States must develop a model program to promote alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve claims involving architectural barriers to access for public accommodations. Finally, the bill requires DOJ to complete a study of whether certain web content standards or information services for individuals with disabilities provided telephonically provide the same accommodations as would be available on a website.
Legal Workforce Act This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after and to replace the E-Verify system, which allows employers and recruiters to verify the immigration status of individuals. The bill also mandates the use of such a system, where currently only some employers, such as those with federal contracts, are required to use E-Verify. The bill specifies documents that can establish an individual's identity and employment authorization. During the period starting when a job offer is made until three business days after hiring, the individual must attest to his or her employment authorization, and the employer or recruiter must attest that it has examined the individual's required documents. Employers shall reverify certain types of employees who were not previously verified using E-verify. The Social Security Administration shall notify employees if their Social Security number has been used multiple times in an unusual manner. DHS shall establish programs for blocking and suspending misused numbers. Employers that are required to use the verification system shall not be liable for any employment-related action based on a good-faith reliance on the information from the system. The bill establishes a phased-in participation deadline for different categories of employers, including agricultural employers. The bill increases civil penalties related to hiring individuals without work authorization. It also preempts state laws relating to hiring and employment eligibility verification, but states may use their authority of business licensing to penalize employers for failing to comply with the bill's provisions.
Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act This bill establishes a federal statutory framework to regulate the carry or possession of concealed firearms across state lines. Specifically, an individual who is eligible to carry a concealed firearm in one state may carry or possess a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in another state that allows its residents to carry concealed firearms. It sets forth requirements for the lawful concealed carry across state lines. The bill preempts most state and local laws related to concealed carry and establishes a private right of action for a person adversely affected by interference with a concealed-carry right established by this bill.
Reassuring that the United States Has Wide And Scrupulous Rhetorical Insight to Garnish Honest Thought Act of 2021 or the RUSH WAS RIGHT Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the Federal Communications Commission from reinstating in any manner the requirement that broadcasters present opposing viewpoints on controversial issues of public importance.
This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that school administrators should safely reopen schools for in-person instruction as soon as possible.
This resolution calls on the President to abandon the One China policy in favor of one that recognizes Taiwan as an independent country that is not a part of China. The resolution also urges the President to bolster diplomatic and economic relations between the United States and Taiwan through specified means.
PPP Flexibility for Farmers and Ranchers Act This bill expands eligibility for agricultural producers under the Paycheck Protection Program, established to support small businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), to include certain agricultural producers organized as partnerships. Currently, only certain agricultural producers that are sole proprietorships, independent contractors, or self-employed individuals may receive support under the program.
Safety and Opportunity for Girls Act of 2021 This bill addresses protections related to sex and sex-segregated spaces. Sex is defined as sex determined solely by a person's reproductive biology and genetics at birth. The bill prohibits construing the provisions of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 in a manner that would require forgoing the maintenance of sex-segregated spaces (such as bathrooms) and of sex-segregated athletic or academic programs by educational institutions.
Enhancing Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century Act This bill requires the Department of Commerce to conduct an assessment and analysis of the reasons underlying the decreasing rate of formation of new businesses (i.e., startups) in the United States.
Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2021 This bill repeals provisions under the Stark law (i.e., the Physician Self-Referral Law) that limit, for purposes of Medicare participation, self-referrals by newly constructed or expanded physician-owned hospitals.
