Rep. Madeleine Dean

Firearms Retailer Code of Conduct Act of 2021 This bill establishes requirements for federal firearms licensees (e.g., gun dealers) and their employees regarding certain business practices, training, and certification. It also prohibits licensees from transferring firearms to certain individuals, including straw purchasers, gun traffickers, intoxicated individuals, or individuals at risk of harming themselves or others.

Reimagining Asylum Processing Act of 2021 This bill modifies the processing of asylum seekers, including by establishing humanitarian processing centers along the southern border. The Department of Homeland Security must establish at least five humanitarian processing centers to process adult asylum seekers who arrive at the southern border and did not arrive as part of a family unit with minor children. The bill imposes certain requirements on these processing centers, including by (1) requiring a rest period of at least 72 hours from the asylum seeker's arrival before an asylum officer may conduct an interview to determine whether there is a credible fear of persecution, (2) limiting an asylum seeker's detention at a processing center to no longer than 15 days, (3) requiring the processing center to provide legal counsel and interpreters, and (4) requiring that appropriate nongovernmental organizations are authorized to monitor the processing centers for human rights abuses. The bill also changes the processing of asylum seekers generally, including by (1) removing provisions requiring the mandatory detention of an asylum seeker after the credible fear interview; (2) prohibiting the use of information obtained from the interview for immigration enforcement; and (3) requiring an asylum officer conducting the interview to consider whether an asylum seeker is eligible for other forms of relief, such as special immigrant juvenile status.

Cameroon TPS Act of 2021 This bill permits nationals of Cameroon to qualify for temporary protected status, which prevents their removal from the United States and allows them to obtain employment and travel authorization. Such status shall be available to qualifying nationals of Cameroon for 18 months starting from this bill's enactment.

Gun Trafficker Detection Act This bill requires gun owners to report the theft or loss of a firearm to law enforcement. It imposes civil monetary penalties on a violator.

Lifting Immigrant Families Through Benefits Access Restoration Act of 2021 or the LIFT the BAR Act of 2021 This bill repeals certain limits on the eligibility of noncitizens who lawfully reside in the United States for federal means-tested programs, including Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), programs funded through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) grants, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and certain nutrition and housing programs.

Welcoming Evacuees Coming from Overseas to Mitigate Effects of Displacement Act of 2021 or the WELCOMED Act of 2021 This bill makes certain individuals from Afghanistan eligible for any benefit that is available to a refugee, such as resettlement assistance. Specifically, this bill shall apply to a national of Afghanistan (or an individual with no nationality who last habitually resided in Afghanistan) who is temporarily paroled into the United States for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit during the four-year period beginning on July 1, 2021.

Secure Background Checks Act of 2021 This bill extends federal restrictions on the receipt, possession, shipment, and transportation of firearms and ammunition to two new categories of persons: persons who fail to meet the minimum age requirements imposed by federal law and by the law of their resident state; and persons who are out-of-state residents and do not qualify for an exception, such as the temporary loan or rental of a firearm for lawful sporting purposes. Additionally, the bill imposes criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both—on an individual who ships, transports, or receives a firearm or ammunition while under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year.

Improving Justice Programs through Science Act of 2021 This bill reestablishes the Science Advisory Board within the Department of Justice (DOJ). Specifically, it provides statutory authority for the board. Previously, the board was created in 2010 by DOJ and terminated in 2018.

Hold Accountable and Lend Transparency on Campus Sexual Violence Act of 2021 or the HALT Campus Sexual Violence Act of 2021 This bill addresses dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking incidents on college campuses, including by expanding requirements governing the disclosure of such incidents and efforts to prevent them. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to make available an online survey tool regarding student experiences with domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, harassment, and stalking. ED must publish a biennial report that includes campus-level data for each institution of higher education (IHE). The bill permits ED to impose civil penalties on IHEs that have violated a law under the jurisdiction of its Office for Civil Rights. In addition, the bill directs ED, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Justice to create a task force on sex-based harassment and violence in education.

District Court Judgeships Act of 2021 This bill requires the appointment of additional U.S. district court judges and converts certain temporary district court judgeships into permanent judgeships. Specifically, the bill requires the appointment of 203 district court judges in specified judicial districts in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. Additionally, the bill converts certain temporary district court judgeships to permanent judgeships in specified judicial districts in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Texas.