Sen. John Thune

Prioritizing Help to Businesses Act This bill authorizes additional H-2B visas for temporary nonagricultural workers in states with relatively low unemployment. Currently, such visas are capped nationally at 66,000 a year. For positions in states that had a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.5% or lower in at least three of the six most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly reports issued in the previous fiscal half year, a certain number of H-2B visas may be issued that do not count against the 66,000 per year cap. For such exempted H-2B visas, a state may receive each year no more than 125% of the number of visas for aliens working in the state in the last completed fiscal year or 2,500, whichever is less.

Railroad Rehabilitation and Financing Innovation Act This bill revises and reauthorizes through FY2026 the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing loan program of the Department of Transportation (DOT). For example, the bill revises the program to direct DOT to provide direct loans and loan guarantees to private entities with controlling ownership in one or more freight railroads other than Class 1 carriers. Additionally, the bill provides DOT with flexibility in evaluating the types of collateral an applicant or infrastructure partner may propose under the program. The bill also establishes an expedited application review process under the program for loans meeting certain financial and operational criteria. DOT must also provide applicants with regular updates on the status of their applications.

Iran Sanctions Relief Review Act of 2021 This bill restricts the President's authority to unilaterally undertake certain actions with respect to Iran and increases congressional oversight of those actions. Specifically, the President must report to Congress before terminating or waiving sanctions related to Iran or taking a licensing action that significantly alters U.S. foreign policy with respect to Iran. Each report must (1) describe the proposed action and its rationale, and (2) indicate whether or not the action is intended to significantly alter foreign policy concerning Iran. If the intention is to alter that policy, the report must provide additional information about the policy objectives and anticipated effects of the action. After the President submits a report, the bill provides Congress with a 30-day period to review it; this period is extended to 60 days for reports submitted between July 10 and September 7. During this period, Congress may enact a joint resolution approving or disapproving the action. During the review period, the President may not take the action unless Congress passes a joint resolution of approval; if Congress enacts a joint resolution of disapproval, the bill prohibits the President from taking the action. The bill also outlines procedures for the introduction and consideration of these types of joint resolutions.

This resolution opposes lifting specified sanctions on Iran and resolves that these sanctions may be terminated only after Iran has ceased providing support for acts of international terrorism and has dismantled its nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons and related technologies.

Conscience Protection Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for certain protections for health care providers that refuse to participate in abortions based on religious beliefs or other convictions. Health care providers include individual professionals, medical facilities, health insurance organizations, and social services providers that refer clients to health care services. The federal government and entities that receive federal funding for health-related activities, including state and local governments, may not discriminate against a health care provider that refuses to be involved in, or provide coverage for, abortions. Currently, similar requirements apply to various related activities, including certain employment or personnel decisions (the Church Amendments), abortion services training (the Coats-Snowe Amendment), qualified health plans offered through health insurance exchanges, and annual appropriations bills for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other federal agencies (the Weldon Amendment). The HHS Office for Civil Rights must investigate complaints of this kind of discrimination. Furthermore, HHS may terminate or reduce HHS funding for health-related activities if a person or entity fails to comply with nondiscrimination requirements. Additionally, the Department of Justice or any entity adversely affected by such discrimination may bring a civil action to obtain appropriate relief. A plaintiff does not need to seek or exhaust administrative remedies before bringing the action. A plaintiff may also bring an action, including one for money damages, against a governmental entity. In many cases, principles of sovereign immunity shield states and some localities from these kinds of actions.

Network Security Trade Act of 2021 This bill expands the overall trade negotiating objectives of the United States to require that negotiators seek to ensure the security and autonomy of global communications infrastructure.

Fair and Open Competition Act or the FOCA Act This bill prohibits federal construction contracts or controlling documents for federally supported construction projects from requiring or prohibiting project labor agreements. Such documents also may not discriminate against or give preference to a bidder or contractor who signs or refuses to sign a project labor agreement. An agency may exempt a project from this prohibition to avert an imminent threat to public health or safety or to serve the national security.

Strengthening Local Processing Act of 2021 This bill revises provisions related to meat and poultry processing establishments, including smaller establishments (i.e., those with between 10 and 500 employees) and very small establishments (i.e., those with fewer than 10 employees or annual sales of less than $2.5 million). For example, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) must establish a searchable database of peer-reviewed validation studies for use in developing Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points plans for smaller and very small establishments. The bill increases the maximum federal cost share from 50% to 65% that USDA may provide to assist states in creating meat and poultry inspection programs. Additionally, USDA must conduct outreach with states that have meat and poultry inspection programs, but that do not have Cooperative Interstate Shipment programs. The Cooperative Interstate Shipment program allows state-inspected facilities to operate as federally-inspected facilities and ship their products in interstate commerce and internationally. USDA must also award competitive grants for activities to adapt production, processing, distribution, and sales systems to respond to and recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including activities that support (1) the health and safety of meat and poultry plant employees, suppliers, and customers; (2) increased processing capacity; and (3) the resilience of the small meat and poultry processing sector. Further, the bill establishes grant programs to (1) establish or expand career training programs at community colleges, vocational schools, and universities related to meat and poultry processing; and (2) support smaller and very small establishments by offsetting the cost of training new meat and poultry processors.

Tribal Transportation Equity and Transparency Improvement Act of 2021 This bill revises certain programs related to tribal transportation. First, the bill revises the Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) by directing the Department of the Interior to (1) request proposals from Indian tribes to include additional transportation facilities in the National Tribal Transportation Facility Inventory, and (2) ensure that all nonconfidential information from the inventory is made available on its website. Next, the bill specifies that funding allocations (i.e., tribal shares) under the TTP must be determined using the facility inventory for the most recent fiscal year for which data is available instead of using FY2012 data. It also requires each Indian tribe that intends to include a proposed road in the inventory to complete and submit certain documentation for the road. It also requires independent audits by the inspectors general of Interior and the Department of Transportation, as well as the Government Accountability Office, to review the administration of the TTP. Additionally, the bill permits Indian tribes to use funds for carrying out highway safety programs in cooperation with states, counties, and other local subdivisions. It also increases the federal share for Indian tribes under the Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program and allows Indian tribes to use planning and design funds for grant applications under the program. Finally, the bill establishes the Tribal Transportation Advisory Committee, which must provide advice to Interior and study issues related to tribal transportation.

Protect Act This bill duplicates certain requirements for private health insurance plans with respect to preexisting conditions, enrollment eligibility, genetic testing, and discrimination based on health-related factors.