Sen. Christopher Murphy

This resolution expresses the Senate's condolences to the people of Afghanistan and the Hazara, an ethnic minority community in Afghanistan. The resolution also condemns all forms of violence against women and girls in Afghanistan and supports U.S. and international efforts to ensure that girls in Afghanistan can safely attend school. (On May 8, 2021, a bomb attack at the Sayed Ul-Shuhada High School in Kabul killed more than 85 people.)

Doctors of Community Act or the DOC Act This bill reauthorizes and provides mandatory funding for graduate medical education programs operated by teaching health centers. The bill sets out funding levels through FY2033. Funding for FY2034 and beyond equals the preceding fiscal year's amount adjusted for medical inflation.

Parity Implementation Assistance Act This bill provides grants to assist states with the implementation of the federal mental health parity requirements. States receiving the grants must request and review from private health insurance plans their required comparative analysis of nonquantitative treatment limitations (NQTLs) with respect to mental health or substance use disorder benefits. (NQTLs are limitations on the scope or duration of benefits for treatment, such as preauthorization requirements.)

This resolution offers the condolences of the Senate regarding the death of Senator John William Warner and expresses deep appreciation for his outstanding and important service to his country.

Social Security Caregiver Credit Act of 2021 This bill credits certain individuals who provide at least 80 hours of care per month to dependent relatives without monetary compensation with up to five years of deemed wages (determined by a specified formula) for purposes of determining their Social Security benefit amounts. However, if an individual is otherwise entitled to a larger benefit amount, this provision shall not apply.

National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act or the NO BAN Act This bill imposes limitations on the President's authority to suspend or restrict aliens from entering the United States. It also prohibits religious discrimination in various immigration-related decisions, such as whether to issue an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa, unless there is a statutory basis for such discrimination. The President may temporarily restrict the entry of any aliens or class of aliens after the Department of State determines that the restriction would address specific and credible facts that threaten U.S. interests such as security or public safety. The bill also imposes limitations on such restrictions, such as requiring the President, State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to (1) only issue a restriction when required to address a compelling government interest, and (2) narrowly tailor the suspension to use the least restrictive means to achieve such an interest. Before imposing a restriction, the State Department and DHS shall consult with Congress. The State Department and DHS shall report to Congress about the restriction within 48 hours of the restriction's imposition. If such a report is not made, the restriction shall immediately terminate. Individuals or entities present in the United States and unlawfully harmed by such a restriction may sue in federal court. DHS may suspend the entry of aliens traveling to the United States on a commercial airline that failed to comply with regulations related to detecting fraudulent travel documents.

Trust in Public Service Act This bill incorporates customer experience as a central measure of performance for federal agencies. Specifically, the bill requires each agency to develop a high-quality customer experience by allocating sufficient resources to and prioritizing customer experience capabilities and initiatives, adapting government-wide and global good practices, streamlining the process for soliciting voluntary customer feedback and requiring limited internal review if the collection is within the scope of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance, and using human-centered design practices. Each agency shall develop and use tools to experiment with different approaches to improve customer experience, ensure the privacy of federal customers, use the data collected to continually improve customer experience and agency performance, and share the data collected with research entities to permit external analysis. The bill sets forth agency communication responsibilities. In addition, the OMB must issue guidance for agencies in collaboration with specified entities. It may establish programs that annually recognize individuals and teams across the federal workforce meeting customer service-related goals. The bill (1) integrates customer experience provisions into the U.S. code and the Federal Citizen Services Fund, (2) directs the OMB to establish an Office of Customer Experience, and (3) integrates customer experience into the responsibilities of key agency officials. The OMB, in coordination with the Office of Customer Experience, must establish the Participatory Government and Civic Dialogue Advisory Council. The Government Accountability Office shall report to Congress, assessing agency efforts and examining best practices.

Multi-State Worker Tax Fairness Act of 2021 This bill limits the authority of a state to impose its income tax on the compensation of a nonresident individual to the period in which the nonresident individual is physically present in the state.

College Athlete Right To Organize Act This bill establishes collective bargaining rights for college athletes. Specifically, the bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to (1) define college athlete employee as an employee of an institution of higher education if the individual receives direct compensation from the institution and such compensation requires participation in intercollegiate sports, and (2) include public institutions as employers within the context of intercollegiate sports. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) must consider the colleges within an athletic conference as part of a bargaining unit with which college athletes can negotiate. The NLRB shall have jurisdiction over all institutions of higher education within the context of intercollegiate athletics regarding collective bargaining and representation matters and labor disputes. The bill prohibits any agreements, such as scholarship agreements, that waive the right of athletes to collectively bargain.

Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act or the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act This bill expands workplace protections for employees with a need to express breast milk. Specifically, it expands the requirement that employers provide certain accommodations for such an employee to cover salaried employees and other types of workers not covered under existing law. Further, time spent to express breast milk must be considered hours worked if the employee is also working.