Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act This bill prohibits the Department of the Treasury from requiring a financial institution to report the transfers into and out of a financial account. This prohibition does not apply to laws or regulations in effect on October 1, 2021.
Stabilizing Medicare Access to Rehabilitation and Therapy Act or the SMART Act This bill modifies the application of a certain Medicare payment methodology for outpatient physical therapy services and outpatient occupational therapy services that are furnished by a therapy assistant. Under current law, effective January 1, 2022, payment for such services is 85% of the otherwise applicable rate. The bill delays this effective date by one year and excludes services that are furnished in rural or medically underserved areas from this payment methodology. The bill also specifies that supervision requirements for outpatient physical therapy services that are furnished through private practice may not be more stringent for purposes of Medicare coverage than under state law.
Better Enforcement of Grievous Offenses by unNaturalized Emigrants or the BE GONE Act This bill expands, for immigration purposes, the definition of aggravated felony to include sexual assault and aggravated sexual violence. (Under current law, a conviction for an aggravated felony is grounds for deportation and may bar an individual from other immigration-related benefits.)
Recreational Lands Self Defense Act This bill requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to allow an individual to possess a firearm in any area open to the public (other than a federal facility) at a Corps water resources development project as long as the individual's possession of the firearm is in compliance with the law of the state in which the project is located.
This concurrent resolution supports the designation of a national day of remembrance for the Native American children who died while attending an Indian boarding school in the United States.
Defense Domestic Producers Act of 2021 This bill adds certain items (e.g., armor on tactical ground vehicles) to the list of high priority goods and services that require review and analysis by the Department of Defense (DOD) in order to develop appropriate actions related to procurement and sourcing. DOD must also consider producers in the United States when reviewing the specified items to determine and develop appropriate actions related to restricting procurement.
Department of Defense Artificial Intelligence Metrics Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to review the potential applications of artificial intelligence and digital technology to DOD platforms, processes, and operations. The bill also requires DOD to establish performance objectives and accompanying metrics for the incorporation of artificial intelligence and digital readiness into such platforms, processes, and operations.
University Cybersecurity Consortia Improvement Act of 2021 This bill provides that a consortium of universities, instead of one or more consortia, must be established by the Department of Defense (DOD) to advise DOD on specified cybersecurity matters.
Emerging Technologies Professional Military Education Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish executive education activities on emerging technologies for appropriate general and flag officers and senior executive-level civilian leaders that are designed to prepare such persons on how the technologies may be applied to military and business activities in DOD. Within five years, the executive education activities must be required training for general and flag officers and senior executive-level civilian leaders.
Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of State to take certain actions promoting the normalization of relations between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant countries and regions. Specifically, the State Department must develop a strategy on expanding and strengthening the Abraham Accords (the term used to refer collectively to agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain marking the public normalization of relations between the two Arab countries and Israel). The strategy must include a description of how the U.S. government will encourage further normalization of relations with Israel. In addition, the State Department must report on options for U.S. international efforts to promote the strengthening of ties between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant countries and regions. The State Department must also report on the status of the normalization of relations with Israel, including information on (1) laws that punish individuals for people-to-people relations with Israelis (i.e., anti-normalization laws), and (2) evidence of steps taken by Arab governments toward permitting or encouraging normalized relations between their citizens or residents and Israeli citizens.
Governing Effectively, with Transparency, Integrity, and Timeliness and Doing Our Necessary Expenditures Act or the GET IT DONE Act This bill withholds the salaries of senior government officials and restricts the use of federal funds for official travel by senior government officials if all of the regular appropriations bills for a fiscal year have not been enacted by the first day of the fiscal year. Under the bill, senior government officials include a Member of Congress; the President; the Vice President; the head of any executive department; and any employee of, or detailee to, the Executive Office of the President whose annual rate of basic pay is at least $158,000. If a chamber of Congress has not approved all of the annual appropriations bills for a fiscal year by the first day of the fiscal year, the bill prohibits the chamber from adjourning for a period of more than 12 hours until it has approved the bills. The bill also provides continuing appropriations to prevent a government shutdown if any appropriations measure for a fiscal year has not been enacted before the fiscal year begins or a joint resolution making continuing appropriations is not in effect. For an initial 30-day period, the bill provides appropriations to continue programs, projects, and activities for which funds were provided in the preceding fiscal year. The bill reduces the continuing appropriations by 2.5% after the first 30-day period and by an additional 2.5% for each subsequent 30-day period until the applicable appropriations legislation is enacted.
Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act of 2021 or the EQUAL Act of 2021 This bill eliminates the federal sentencing disparity between drug offenses involving crack cocaine and powder cocaine. Currently, different threshold quantities of crack cocaine and powder cocaine (e.g., 28 grams of crack cocaine and 500 grams of powder cocaine) trigger the same statutory criminal penalties. This bill eliminates the lower quantity thresholds for crack cocaine offenses. Under the bill, the same threshold quantities of crack cocaine and powder cocaine trigger the same statutory criminal penalties. The change applies to future cases and cases pending on the date of enactment. With respect to past cases, the bill authorizes a sentencing court to impose a reduced sentence on a defendant who was convicted or sentenced for a specified crack cocaine offense before this bill's enactment. A defendant does not have to be present at the sentence reduction hearing. Finally, the bill prohibits the reduction of a sentence that was previously reduced.
