Rep. Kweisi Mfume

American Family Act of 2021 This bill modifies the child tax credit to (1) make the credit fully refundable, (2) increase the amount of the credit and allow an additional credit for children who are under six years of age, (3) require the amount of the credit to be adjusted annually for inflation, and (4) require the Department of the Treasury to establish a program for making advance payments of the credit on a monthly basis.

Future Advancement of Academic Nursing Act or the FAAN Act This bill authorizes the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to award grants to nursing schools to increase capacity to respond to public health emergencies and pandemics and otherwise enhance nursing education programs. In awarding these grants, HRSA shall prioritize historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions, schools that are located in medically underserved communities, and schools in areas with shortages of health professionals.

This resolution removes Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House Committee on the Budget and the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act or the FAMILY Act This bill entitles every employee to a family and medical leave insurance (FMLI) monthly benefit payment of two-thirds of the employee's regular pay, limited to a maximum of $4,000, for not more than 60 days of qualified caregiving. The bill establishes the Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave within the Social Security Administration to administer the FMLI program. An FMLI benefit payment must be coordinated with any periodic benefits received under a state or local temporary disability insurance or family leave program. The bill imposes a tax on employers, employees, and self-employed individuals to fund FMLI benefits. It also establishes the Federal Family and Medical Leave Insurance Trust Fund to hold tax revenues.

Transformational Reforms and Updates to Ensure Educational Quality and Urgent Investments in Today's Youth Act of 2021 or the TRUE EQUITY Act This bill establishes various grant programs to address educational inequities in elementary and secondary schools. Specifically, the bill creates grant programs related to (1) early childhood education, (2) high-quality and diverse teachers and leaders, (3) college and career readiness pathways, and (4) additional resources for at-risk students. For each grant program, the Department of Education (ED) must award a single grant to an eligible state. To be eligible for a grant, a state must establish an independent state oversight board. The oversight board must, among other duties (1) determine whether the state and its local educational agencies (LEAs) have met state educational equity goals, and (2) hold them accountable for failing to meet those goals. ED may renew a grant if the oversight board determines the state has met its goals. In addition, for each grant program, the bill outlines the activities authorized under the program, maintenance-of-effort requirements, and matching fund requirements. Finally, the bill permits ED to enter into a local flexibility demonstration agreement, through which a state educational agency may use funds to develop and implement a school funding system based on weighted per-pupil allocations for low-income and disadvantaged students. (Currently, ED may enter into these agreements with LEAs.)

This resolution expresses support for a National Day of Mourning for the lives lost as a result of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).

USPS Fairness Act This bill repeals the requirement that the U.S. Postal Service annually prepay future retirement health benefits.

Emergency Water is a Human Right Act This bill creates a grant program, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, to provide funds to states and Indian tribes to assist low-income households that pay a high proportion of household income for drinking water and wastewater services. Further, any entity receiving financial assistance under this grant program must ensure that no home energy service or public water system service is or remains disconnected or interrupted during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency.

Environmental Justice Mapping and Data Collection Act of 2021 This bill establishes an interagency Environmental Justice Mapping Committee that must create a tool to identify environmental justice communities. Environmental justice communities are communities with significant representation of communities of color, low-income communities, or tribal and indigenous communities that experience, or are at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse human health or environmental effects, as compared to other communities. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must establish an environmental justice data repository to maintain the data collected by the committee. The EPA must make the repository available to regional, state, local, and tribal governments.

COVID-19 Prevention and Awareness Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award various grants to federally qualified health centers and other organizations to prevent, treat, and raise awareness of certain diseases or conditions, such as asthma or cancer, that increase the risk of mortality from COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).