Rep. Kathleen M. Rice

Maddy summaryHRES 816 is a non-binding resolution supporting the designation of the week beginning November 15, 2021, as "National Apprenticeship Week." It does not create new laws or funding but aims to raise public awareness about registered apprenticeships, which provide paid on-the-job training and career pathways. The resolution highlights how these programs help workers gain industry-recognized credentials in high-demand fields like healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and green energy. It emphasizes apprenticeships' role in building a skilled workforce and increasing economic mobility without imposing legal obligations.

This resolution urges all U.S. government officials to decline invitations to the XXIV Olympic Winter Games and XIII Paralympic Winter Games as part of an official diplomatic delegation unless the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee move the XXIV Olympic Winter Games and XIII Paralympic Winter Games to a city under the jurisdiction of a government that is not committing mass atrocities, or the Department of State has certified that the Chinese Communist Party has stopped committing acts of genocide and that the perpetrators have accounted for their crimes. The resolution also encourages the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee to develop a framework for reprimanding or disqualifying host cities and the countries in which they are located if their governments are actively committing mass atrocities.

Access to Birth Control Act This bill requires pharmacies to comply with certain rules related to ensuring access to contraceptives. Specifically, pharmacies must provide without delay a customer with any contraceptive or related medication that is in stock. If the contraceptive is not in stock, the pharmacy must immediately inform the customer and either order the contraceptive or refer the customer to a pharmacy that has it in stock. Laws in some states provide pharmacists with the right to refuse to dispense contraceptive-related drugs on religious or conscience grounds. Pharmacies may refuse to provide a contraceptive to a customer (1) if the customer lacks a valid prescription for a prescription contraceptive or is unable to pay for the contraceptive, or (2) based on a pharmacy employee's professional clinical judgment. The bill also establishes a private cause of action and civil monetary penalties for violations of the bill.

Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the use of exotic or wild animals in performances of a traveling animal act, such as a circus, carnival, or parade. The prohibition does not apply to zoos, aquariums, research facilities, wildlife sanctuaries, and other entities. The prohibition also does not apply to domestic animals or farm animals.

IDEA Full Funding Act This bill provides permanent, mandatory funding for the grant program that assists states and outlying areas in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.

Forage Fish Conservation Act of 2021 This bill addresses the management and conservation of forage fish. The Department of Commerce must issue a definition for the term forage fish . It must consider certain factors in defining such term, including whether a species covered by the definition (1) is at a low trophic level; (2) is generally small to intermediate-sized; (3) occurs in schools or other dense aggregations; (4) contributes significantly to the diets of other fish, marine mammals, or birds; and (5) serves as a conduit for energy transfer to species at a higher trophic level. Commerce must also establish guidelines to assist regional fishery management councils in (1) developing a list of unmanaged forage fish areas and prohibiting the development of any new forage fish fisheries until the potential impacts of such fisheries have been assessed; and (2)setting annual catch limits for forage fish fisheries that assess, specify, and reduce such limits by the diet needs of other fish species and marine wildlife. The bill adds shad (American shad and hickory shad)and river herring (blueback herring and alewife)to the list of managed stocks for the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

National Security Council Membership Act of 2021 This bill adds the Secretary of Homeland Security as a member of the National Security Council, which advises the President on national and international security matters.

Greyhound Protection Act of 2021 This bill modifies the federal criminal statute commonly known as the Wire Act. Currently, the Wire Act contains four prohibitions on the use of a wire transmission facility (e.g., the telephone or internet) for certain gambling activities. All four prohibitions apply to sports gambling. However, there have been conflicting interpretations of the applicability of the prohibitions to nonsports gambling (e.g., state lotteries). This bill amends the Wire Act to expressly state that the statute does not authorize the use of wire communications to gamble on commercial greyhound racing or permit the transport of animals for commercial dog racing or related activities.

Mary Jo Lawyer Spano Mesothelioma Patient Registry Act of 2021 This bill requires the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, to establish a mesothelioma patient registry. (Mesothelioma is a cancer of the tissue lining the lung, chest, and abdomen areas and is generally associated with asbestos exposure.) The registry must include information relating to the incidence and prevalence of mesothelioma in the United States, including treatment outcomes and demographics.

Fiscal State of the Nation Resolution This concurrent resolution requires the congressional budget committees to conduct an annual joint hearing to receive a presentation from the Comptroller General regarding (1) the Government Accountability Office's audit of the financial statement of the executive branch, and (2) the financial position and condition of the federal government.