The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives unanimously voted in support of more than a dozen bills this week, with no proposal drawing any objection or debate.
Those bills include:
• The Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act would require the Department of Labor to provide employee training to assist law enforcement in detecting cases of human trafficking. DOL employees who would receive said training would be determined based on their general duties, and also whether they work in a state “with a significant increase in oppressive child labor,” according to the measure.
The training provided by the bill would include identifying possible human trafficking victims or perpetrators and a process for reporting those cases to appropriate authorities while protecting the victims’ rights. Passed the House.
•The Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, a bill establishing a series of conditions that would prevent a small business from receiving funding through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. Under the bill, any business with connections to various Chinese national organizations or other similar groups could be denied said funding. Passed the Senate.
• The Critical Mineral Consistency Act requires the Department of Energy’s list of designated “critical minerals” for energy production to match the U.S. Geological Survey’s list of designated “critical minerals” for economic or national security. Passed the House.
• The Home School Graduation Recognition Act clarifies that students who were homeschooled through high school are still considered high school graduates for the purposes of federal student aid eligibility. Passed the House.
• The America the Beautiful Motorcycle Fairness Actallows two motorcycles and their passengers to access National Parks through a single “America the Beautiful” pass. Passed the House.
• H.R. 681and H.R. 5910 both authorize all federally recognized Native American tribes to lease their lands for up to 99 years. Current federal laws allow such leases for certain tribes; these bills broaden that allowance. Passed the House.
• The America’s National Churchill Museum National Historic Landmark Act designates that museum in Missouri — where, in 1946, Winston Churchill gave his speech that coined the phrase “Iron Curtain” — as a historic landmark. Passed the House.
• H.R. 3692 extends the Young Fishermen’s Development Grant Program — a program by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that funds educational and career opportunities for fishermen — another five years until 2031. Passed the House.
• The Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act, which requires the Department of the Interior to review what barriers exist that slow the issuing of permits and easements for communications infrastructure across public and National Forest System lands. Passed the House.
• The Chugach Alaska Land Exchange Oil Spill Recovery Actauthorizes a land transfer between the federal government and the Chugach Alaska Corporation — a regional land corporation in Alaska — whereby Chugach transfers some 231,000 acres of subsurface land in exchange for about 65,000 acres of land. This would resolve a complicated land management dispute that stems from the 1989 Exxon-Valdez oil spill. Passed the House.
• The Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act establishes an emergency evacuation route from Wintergreen, Virginia. Passed the House.
• Three bills that award the Medal of Honor to three veterans: Vietnam veterans John Ripley and James Capers Jr., and Afghanistan veteran Nicholas Dockery. All three passed the Senate.
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