Teacher Diversity and Retention Act This bill revises certain grant programs related to teacher recruitment and training. First, the bill reauthorizes through FY2027 and otherwise revises the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence program, which provides grants to establish teacher preparation programs at minority-serving institutions. It allows grants to be used for school leader preparation programs. In addition, the bill consolidates certain grant programs for teacher preparation into a single grant program. In particular, the Department of Education must award grants to eligible partnerships (e.g., high-need local educational agencies and certain programs at institutions of higher education) to expand teacher preparation programs that embed dual certification in special education and training on social and emotional learning competencies and behavior management practices.
Iran Nuclear Verification Act This bill prohibits the United States from becoming a party to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or any other agreement with Iran that relates to Iran's nuclear program until the President makes certain certifications. The JCPOA is an agreement, signed by Iran and several other world powers (including the United States), that places restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for certain sanctions relief. The United States withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018. The United States may not become a party to any such agreement until the President certifies to Congress that United Nations nuclear inspectors are allowed full access to all of Iran's nuclear facilities, and that they have completed their comprehensive report relating to those facilities.
Securing Helium for Science Act This bill revises requirements governing the sale of the Federal Helium Reserve. Under current law, the federal government must sell or dispose of all assets of the Federal Helium Reserve by Sept 30, 2021. The bill requires any purchaser of the assets to agree to provide helium to holders of federal research grants at a discounted rate for the next eight years as specified by the bill.
Marine Access and State Transparency or the MAST Act This bill requires the President, before a national monument may be designated on public land, to obtain congressional approval and certify compliance with environmental review requirements. The bill bars the President from declaring any area of the exclusive economic zone to be a national monument unless such a declaration is specifically authorized by statute, the President has submitted a proposal to make the declaration to the governor of each state or territory located within 200 nautical miles of that area, each governor submits to the President a notice that the legislature of that state or territory has approved the proposal, and the declaration is substantially the same as the proposal. The bill prohibits the Department of the Interior or the Department of Commerce, with respect to any area of the exclusive economic zone that is designated as a national monument, from implementing any restrictions on the public use of such a national monument until the expiration of an appropriate review period providing for public input and congressional approval.
Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to issue a permit for the importation of a polar bear part (other than an internal organ) from a bear taken in a sport hunt in Canada to any permit applicant who has submitted proof that the polar bear was (1) legally harvested by the applicant before the May 15, 2008, listing of the polar bear as threatened, and (2) harvested from an approved polar bear population. Interior must issue these permits without regard to limits on importing marine mammals with depleted populations.
Restoration of the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Conservation Fund Act This bill allows the importation of polar bear parts taken legally in sport hunts in Canada.
Defend our Coast Act This bill prohibits the Department of the Interior from issuing a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil or gas in the Mid-Atlantic planning area of the Outer Continental Shelf.
South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act of 2021 This bill addresses harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in the South Florida ecosystem. An algal bloom is a rapid growth of algae that may create toxic or hypoxic (severely low-oxygen) conditions that are harmful to humans, animals, aquatic ecosystems, and the economy. The Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia must assess potential approaches to reduce harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in the ecosystem. The task force must also submit a plan, based on the assessment, for reducing, mitigating, and controlling harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in the region.
This resolution authorizes the Senate Committee on Finance to make specified expenditures and employ personnel for the 117th Congress.
This resolution expresses support for the designation of Spondyloarthritis Awareness Month. Spondyloarthritis is an umbrella term for a group of inflammatory diseases that primarily affect the spine and other joints.
Stopping Chinese Communist Involvement in the Power Grid Act This bill provides statutory authority for Executive Order 13920, which set forth requirements related to securing the U.S. bulk-power system.
Consumer Access to Broadband for Local Economies and Competition Act or the CABLE Competition Act This bill revises the valuation of a cable system upon its sale or transfer, and it modifies the process for transferring a cable franchise to a person to whom such franchise was not initially granted. Specifically, the bill requires that after the denial of a franchise renewal or the revocation of a franchise for cause, any subsequent acquisition or transfer must be at fair market value. Further, the bill prohibits a cable franchising authority from (1) precluding the transfer of a cable franchise from a cable operator to a person to whom such franchise was not initially granted, or (2) requiring a cable operator that was initially granted a franchise to receive approval from the franchising authority for such a transfer. However, a franchising authority is authorized to require a cable operator to notify the authority of such a transfer.
