Rep. Van Taylor

This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Labor emergency temporary standard for preventing the transmission of COVID-19 in employment settings. Under the standard issued on November 5, 2021, employers with 100 or more employees must require their onsite employees to either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.

Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act This bill authorizes specified individuals to update the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry with the cause of death of a registered individual. The Department of Veterans Affairs established the burn pit registry to allow certain veterans and service members to document their exposures and report health concerns. The registry is for individuals who may have been exposed to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes caused by open burn pits (areas used for burning solid waste in open air without equipment) while deployed in certain locations (e.g., Afghanistan or Iraq). Specifically, the bill authorizes a designee of a registered individual or an immediate family member to update the registry with the cause of death of the individual.

Dual Credit Innovation Act This bill directs the Department of Education to annually recognize with a Dual Credit Innovation Award eligible partnerships between an institution of higher education (IHE) that provides a dual credit program and a local educational agency or high school. The bill defines dual credit program as a program offered by such a partnership through which a secondary school student who has not graduated from high school with a regular high school diploma is able to enroll in one or more postsecondary courses and earn postsecondary credit that (1) is transferable to the IHE in the partnership, and (2) applies toward completion of a degree or recognized educational credential.

Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1304 4th Avenue in Canyon, Texas, as the "Gary James Fletcher Post Office Building."

This concurrent resolution declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over the air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.

Truth in Taxation Act of 2021 This bill requires any bill, resolution, or amendment that would increase or decrease federal taxes, fees, or similar amounts to include a description of this effect in its long title or heading. A measure's failure to comply results in a point of order that may be raised during the measure's consideration in the House of Representatives or the Senate, in accordance with specified procedures.

Honoring Our Promises through Expedition for Afghan SIVs Act of 2021 or the HOPE for Afghan SIVs Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to postpone the medical exam requirement for qualifying citizens or nationals of Afghanistan seeking entry into the United States as special immigrants. Specifically, this bill applies to an existing program that provides special immigrant status to an individual (or the spouse or child of such an individual) who (1) faithfully performed sensitive and trusted duties for the U.S. government or the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan on or after October 7, 2001, and (2) has experienced or is experiencing an ongoing serious threat due to the performance of those duties. Under this bill, the State Department and DHS may jointly issue a blanket waiver of any requirement for such individuals to undergo a medical exam before admission into the United States. DHS shall ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, that individuals admitted under such a waiver undergo medical exams no later than 30 days after admission into the United States. Such an individual shall be admitted as a conditional permanent resident. DHS shall remove the conditions once the individual receives and passes a medical examination.

Lawless Cities Accountability Act of 2021 This bill prohibits federal funding for a jurisdiction that is a lawless jurisdiction. The term lawless jurisdiction means a state or political subdivision of a state that does one of the following: forbids law enforcement from intervening to restore order during widespread violence or destruction, withdraws law enforcement protection from an area or structure that law enforcement officers are lawfully entitled to access, disempowers or defunds law enforcement agencies, or refuses to accept law enforcement assistance from the federal government amid widespread violence or destruction.

Protect and Serve Act of 2021 This bill establishes a new criminal offense for knowingly assaulting a law enforcement officer and causing serious bodily injury (or attempting to do so) in circumstances that affect interstate commerce. It imposes criminal penalties—a prison term, a fine, or both—on a violator.

Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2021 This bill phases in a new funding formula for determining benefit amounts under the windfall elimination provision (WEP). The WEP reduces Social Security retirement and disability benefits for those who receive pensions for certain non-covered employment. The new formula adjusts an individual's total lifetime earnings based on the proportion of those earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes. It applies to individuals who (1) become eligible for Social Security benefits after 2061, and (2) have earnings from non-covered service performed in a year after 1977. Beneficiaries who become eligible for benefits between 2023 and 2061 receive the higher of their benefit calculated under the existing WEP or the new formula. In addition, certain beneficiaries currently impacted by the WEP receive an additional payment. The Social Security Administration must include non-covered earnings in Social Security account statements and must study the feasibility of partnering with certain pension systems to address data sharing issues related to non-covered pensions.