Rep. Tom Rice

This resolution honors Officers Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood of the U.S. Capitol Police, and it commends the bravery and service demonstrated by officers of the U.S. Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, and the other law enforcement agencies and protective entities that assisted in responding to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Medicare Audiologist Access and Services Act of 2021 This bill provides for Medicare coverage of certain audiologist services. Specifically, the bill expands coverage to include diagnostic and treatment services that are furnished by audiologists and that would otherwise be covered if provided by a physician, including incidental services, regardless of whether such services are provided pursuant to a referral from, or under the supervision of, a physician or other health care practitioner.

Protecting the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Act of 2021 This bill prohibits (1) the President or the Department of Health and Human Services from declaring emergencies or disasters for the purpose of imposing gun control; and (2) a federal officer or employee, or person operating under color of federal law, from banning the manufacture, sale, or transfer of firearms or ammunition while acting in support of relief from a major disaster or emergency.

Highway Restoration Act of 2021 This bill provides for a phaseout of the Mass Transit Account by the end of FY2025. Beginning in FY2026, no funds will be transferred to the account from the Highway Trust Fund.

Hearing Protection Act This bill removes silencers from the definition of firearms for purposes of the National Firearms Act. It also treats persons acquiring or possessing a firearm silencer as meeting any registration and licensing requirements of such Act. The Department of Justice must destroy certain records relating to the registration, transfer, or making of a silencer. The bill also revises the definitions of firearm silencer and firearm muffler under the federal criminal code and includes such items in the 10% excise tax category.

ADA Compliance for Customer Entry to Stores and Services Act or the ACCESS Act This bill addresses access to public accommodations for persons with a disability. The bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to develop a program to educate state and local governments and property owners on strategies for promoting access to public accommodations for persons with a disability. The bill authorizes an aggrieved person, after taking specified actions, to commence a civil action based on the failure to remove an architectural barrier to access an existing public accommodation. Specifically, the aggrieved person must have provided the owners or operators a written notice specific enough to identify the barrier and specify the circumstances under which public accommodation access was denied. The owners or operators must have (1) failed to provide the person a written description outlining improvements that will be made to improve the barrier, or (2) failed to remove the barrier or make substantial progress after providing such a description. The Judicial Conference of the United States must develop a model program to promote alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve claims involving architectural barriers to access for public accommodations. Finally, the bill requires DOJ to complete a study of whether certain web content standards or information services for individuals with disabilities provided telephonically provide the same accommodations as would be available on a website.

Legal Workforce Act This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after and to replace the E-Verify system, which allows employers and recruiters to verify the immigration status of individuals. The bill also mandates the use of such a system, where currently only some employers, such as those with federal contracts, are required to use E-Verify. The bill specifies documents that can establish an individual's identity and employment authorization. During the period starting when a job offer is made until three business days after hiring, the individual must attest to his or her employment authorization, and the employer or recruiter must attest that it has examined the individual's required documents. Employers shall reverify certain types of employees who were not previously verified using E-verify. The Social Security Administration shall notify employees if their Social Security number has been used multiple times in an unusual manner. DHS shall establish programs for blocking and suspending misused numbers. Employers that are required to use the verification system shall not be liable for any employment-related action based on a good-faith reliance on the information from the system. The bill establishes a phased-in participation deadline for different categories of employers, including agricultural employers. The bill increases civil penalties related to hiring individuals without work authorization. It also preempts state laws relating to hiring and employment eligibility verification, but states may use their authority of business licensing to penalize employers for failing to comply with the bill's provisions.

Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act This bill establishes a federal statutory framework to regulate the carry or possession of concealed firearms across state lines. Specifically, an individual who is eligible to carry a concealed firearm in one state may carry or possess a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in another state that allows its residents to carry concealed firearms. It sets forth requirements for the lawful concealed carry across state lines. The bill preempts most state and local laws related to concealed carry and establishes a private right of action for a person adversely affected by interference with a concealed-carry right established by this bill.

Telehealth Modernization Act This bill modifies requirements relating to coverage of telehealth services under Medicare. Specifically, the bill extends certain flexibilities that were initially authorized during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Among other things, the bill allows (1) rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers to serve as the distant site (i.e., the location of the health care practitioner); (2) the home of a beneficiary to serve as the originating site (i.e., the location of the beneficiary) for all services (rather than for only certain services); and (3) all types of practitioners to furnish telehealth services, as determined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Main Street Tax Certainty Act This bill makes permanent the tax deduction for qualified business income. (Under current law, the deduction expires after December 31, 2025.) Qualified business income is defined as the net amount of qualified items of income, gain, deduction and loss with respect to any trade or business, excluding capital gains or losses, dividends, interest income, or income earned outside the U.S.