This resolution expresses the sense of the Senate that (1) clean water is a national priority, and (2) the 2020 final rule titled The Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of "Waters of the United States" should not be withdrawn or vacated.
This resolution condemns the Chinese government's decision to hide the emergence and spread of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) within China. It also calls for an investigation by public health officials from the United States and other affected countries into how China's actions contributed to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
West Coast Ocean Protection Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the Department of the Interior from issuing a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas in any area of the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of California, Oregon, or Washington.
Advancing Connectivity during the Coronavirus to Ensure Support for Seniors Act or the ACCESS Act This bill provides funding to increase access to telehealth services and virtual visits in skilled and other nursing facilities during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency. The bill designates the funding as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits. Specifically, the bill provides additional funding for FY2021, to remain available through FY2022, to the Telehealth Resource Center Program to address barriers to telehealth faced by skilled and other nursing facilities. The Office for the Advancement of Telehealth within the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy in the Health Resources and Services Administration manages this program. In addition, the bill provides funding for FY2021, to remain available through one month after the emergency period ends, to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for grants to nursing facilities to support virtual visits for residents during the COVID-19 emergency. HHS must develop relevant guidance for these grants within 15 days. HHS must also coordinate with the Federal Communications Commission on these grants.
Duck Boat Safety Enhancement Act of 2021 This bill sets forth requirements related to the safety of amphibious passenger vessels. The U.S. Coast Guard must implement regulations related to the safety of amphibious passenger vessels, including during severe weather emergencies. The Coast Guard may require operators of amphibious passenger vessels to provide reserve buoyancy for such vessels through passive means, including watertight compartmentalization, built-in flotation, or other means, to ensure that such vessels remain afloat and upright in the event of flooding, including when carrying a full complement of passengers and crew. Additionally, the Coast Guard must implement interim safety policies or other measures to require operators of amphibious passenger vessels operating in U.S. waters comply with certain requirements, including to remove the canopies of such vessels for waterborne operations, or to install in such vessels canopies that do not restrict either horizontal or vertical escape by passengers in the event of flooding or sinking. The bill also sets forth requirements for vessels that are not in compliance with the regulations and interim safety policies.
Support for Global Financial Institution Pandemic Response Act of 2021 This bill requires each U.S. Executive Director at an international financial institution to take certain actions in support of the global response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Specifically, each U.S. Executive Director at an international financial institution (e.g., the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or the International Finance Corporation) must seek the suspension of debt service payments to the institution and the relaxation of fiscal targets for certain programs, oppose programs or loan agreements that would reduce countries' health care spending or other spending related to their responses to COVID-19, and require approval of all Special Drawing Rights (a currency support tool) allocation transfers from wealthier member countries to countries that are emerging or developing to ensure the allocations are used for the public good and in response to the global pandemic. Further, the U.S. Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund must support the issuance of Special Drawing Rights so that governments may access additional resources to finance their responses to COVID-19.
Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 20 21 This bill revises provisions relating to congressional review of agency rulemaking. Specifically, the bill establishes a congressional approval process for a major rule. A major rule may only take effect if Congress approves of the rule. A major rule is a rule that results in (1) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, government agencies, or geographic regions; or (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises. In addition, the bill establishes a congressional disapproval process for a nonmajor rule. A nonmajor rule may only take effect if Congress does not disapprove of the rule.
Conservation Funding Protection Act This bill requires the Department of the Interior to hold at least two region-wide oil and gas lease sales per year in the Gulf of Mexico. Each lease sale must include areas in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area and the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. In addition, the bill establishes deadlines for completing environmental reviews of the lease sales.
Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act of 2021 This bill provides a private right of action against state and local jurisdictions with certain policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts, and contains additional provisions related to such jurisdictions. Currently, such cooperation is generally not required. An individual (or certain relatives of such an individual) who is the victim of any felony for which an alien has been arrested, convicted, or sentenced to a prison term of at least one year may sue a state or local jurisdiction if the jurisdiction failed to comply with (1) certain Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requests related to arresting and detaining aliens, and (2) a DHS request to detain the alien in question or provide a notification about the release of the alien. A jurisdiction that accepts certain federal grants may not assert immunity in such a civil action. A jurisdiction (or employee of a jurisdiction) that complies with certain DHS detainer requests shall be deemed to be acting as an agent of DHS. A complying jurisdiction or employee of the jurisdiction shall not be liable in any lawsuit relating to compliance with such requests. In a lawsuit against an employee of the jurisdiction, the United States shall be substituted in as the defendant, and remedies shall be limited to provisions for bringing tort claims against the federal government.
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act This bill establishes a new criminal offense for performing or attempting to perform an abortion if the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus is 20 weeks or more. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both. The bill provides exceptions for an abortion (1) that is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, or (2) when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. A physician who performs or attempts to perform an abortion under an exception must comply with specified requirements. A woman who undergoes a prohibited abortion may not be prosecuted for violating or conspiring to violate the provisions of this bill.
Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act This bill expands the E-Verify program by requiring all employers to use it and permanently reauthorizes the program. Currently, E-Verify use is voluntary for most employers, although some states mandate its use. All employers shall use E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all recruited, referred, or hired individuals, including current employees who were never verified under the program. Failure to use E-Verify shall create a rebuttable presumption that the employer is violating immigration law. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall generate weekly reports about individuals who have received a final nonconfirmation of employment eligibility. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall use the report to enforce immigration laws. DHS shall establish a program to help certain small businesses verify employee eligibility. DHS shall also update E-Verify's design to help prevent and detect fraud and identity theft. The bill increases civil and criminal penalties for hiring unauthorized aliens. DHS shall debar repeat offenders and those criminally convicted from holding federal contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements. The Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, and DHS shall jointly establish a program to share information to help identify unauthorized aliens. The bill establishes the Employer Compliance Inspection Center within Homeland Security Investigations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The center's duties include processing I-9 employment eligibility verification forms and ensuring compliance with employment eligibility laws. DHS shall report to Congress on ways to simplify procedures relating to I-9 forms and on whether the I-9 process should be eliminated.
Alzheimer's Caregiver Support Act This bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to public and nonprofit private health care providers to expand training and support services for families and caregivers of individuals living with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia.
