Sen. John Cornyn

This resolution recognizes (1) the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 - October 15, 2021; and (2) the integral role of Latinos and their manifold heritage in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.

Consider Teachers Act of 2021 This bill revises the service obligation verification process for the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grant program. The TEACH program awards grants to postsecondary students who commit to teaching for four years in high-need subjects in low-income schools. In addition, the bill establishes certain program flexibilities with respect to the service obligations of teachers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the bill provides a process for the Department of Education (ED) to reconsider and reverse the conversion of a TEACH grant to a loan. Under current program terms, TEACH grants are converted into loan obligations if service requirements are not met. In addition, the bill directs ED to notify TEACH grant recipients of the requirements for submitting employment certifications. ED must also provide an alternative to certification. ED must maintain and annually update a list of qualifying schools and high-need fields. The bill also provides certain program flexibilities with respect to the service obligations of teachers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the bill (1) extends the service obligation window for TEACH grants, and (2) requires ED to consider teaching service that is interrupted as a result of a qualifying emergency as full-time service for purposes of Federal Perkins Loans.

Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks Act of 2021 or the HAVANA Act of 2021 This bill specifically authorizes the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State, and other agencies to provide payments to agency personnel who incur brain injuries from hostilities while on assignment. Specifically, the bill allows agency personnel and their families to receive payments for brain injuries that are incurred (1) during a period of assignment to a foreign or domestic duty station; (2) in connection with war, insurgency, hostile acts, terrorist activity, or other agency-designated incidents; and (3) not as the result of willful misconduct. The bill's authority applies to injuries incurred before, on, or after the date of the bill's enactment. Agencies must submit classified reports on the bill's implementation, including the number of payments made and the amount of each payment. Since 2016, some intelligence, diplomatic, and other governmental personnel have reported experiencing unusual cognitive and neurological impairments while on assignment (particularly abroad), the source of which is currently under investigation. Symptoms were first reported by personnel stationed in Cuba and have since been collectively referred to as Havana Syndrome .

Maddy summarySRES 413 designates the week of October 3-9, 2021, as "National Community Policing Week" in the U.S. Senate. The resolution encourages all Americans, law enforcement agencies, and elected officials to support community policing efforts that build trust and improve public safety through collaboration. It does not create new laws, funding, or obligations but symbolically recognizes community policing as a tool for strengthening relationships between police and communities. The resolution was introduced by Senators Shaheen, Cornyn, Hassan, Van Hollen, and Peters and passed unanimously.

Maddy summarySRES 372 is a symbolic Senate resolution designating the week beginning September 13, 2021, as "National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week." It recognizes Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) - colleges and universities with at least 25% Hispanic undergraduate enrollment - as vital providers of higher education to underserved students, particularly Hispanic learners. The resolution calls on the public and organizations to observe the week with events supporting these institutions, which serve 2.3 million Hispanic students nationwide. This is a non-binding commemorative measure with no policy changes or funding impacts.

Better Enforcement of Grievous Offenses by unNaturalized Emigrants or the BE GONE Act This bill expands, for immigration purposes, the definition of aggravated felony to include sexual assault and aggravated sexual violence. (Under current law, a conviction for an aggravated felony is grounds for deportation and may bar an individual from other immigration-related benefits.)

Bicameral Congressional Trade Authority Act of 2021 This bill requires congressional approval for a presidential import adjustment due to a national security threat from an import related to military equipment, energy resources, or critical infrastructure essential to national security. Specifically, the bill requires the President to submit a proposal to Congress, which Congress may approve by a joint resolution. Under current law, the President determines whether any adjustment of an import is necessary and must submit to Congress the reasons for any action taken or not taken. The Department of Defense (currently, the Department of Commerce) must investigate the effect of these imports on national security. The bill retroactively applies to any proposed action made four years before enactment of this bill. In general, any rate of duty modification occurring in the time period beginning four years before and ending the day before enactment of this bill must revert to the previous rate unless it receives congressional approval.

American Broadband Buildout to Eliminate America's Digital Divide Act of 2021 This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to establish a program to provide funding to states for expanding access to broadband service in unserved areas. States must distribute these funds to certain broadband service providers for projects that offer a low-cost broadband service option for low-income subscribers. The bill also provides funding to carry out this program.

Save our Stages Extension Act This bill extends to March 11, 2023, the time frame during which Shuttered Venue Operators Grant recipients may use grant funds to cover their expenses. These grants provide funds to certain types of entities in the arts and entertainment industry affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, a recipient may use such funds to cover expenses incurred between March 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021.

Restoring the America Invents Act This bill modifies various provisions related to administrative patent validity review proceedings conducted before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), a body within the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). For example, the bill expands the scope of inter partes reviews (IPRs), one type of such review proceedings, by allowing challenges to a patent's validity based on statutory or obviousness-type double patenting grounds; authorizes the PTO director to review, modify, or set aside final PTAB decisions; authorizes governmental entities to file IPRs and post-grant reviews (PGRs), a related type of patent review proceeding; requires the PTO to institute an IPR (i.e., a decision to proceed with the full IPR proceeding) if there's a reasonable likelihood that the petitioner will prevail, subject to limited exceptions; establishes in statute factors for a court to consider when deciding a request to stay a patent infringement lawsuit involving a patent subject to a pending IPR or PGR; modifies provisions related to the joinder of parties and handling of multiple proceedings involving the same patent before the PTO; and modifies provisions relating to the time limitation for filing an IPR, including by establishing that a lawsuit dismissed without prejudice does not trigger the time limitation (generally, a petitioner wishing to file an IPR must do so within one year of being served a lawsuit alleging infringement of the patent).