This resolution authorizes the Senate Committee on Armed Services to make specified expenditures and employ personnel during the 117th Congress.
Expanding SNAP Options Act of 2021 This bill revises the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) to make the online redemption of benefits, including the acceptance of Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards, more widely available by requiring the implementation of online SNAP purchasing in every state and providing funding for an online redemption portal and a technical assistance center. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must award on a competitive basis one or more contracts to develop an EBT Online Redemption Portal to (1) allow program participants to use online or mobile electronic benefits transactions to purchase program foods from, and make online payments to, authorized program retailers under SNAP; and (2) facilitate food purchase delivery for program participants using such electronic benefits transactions. The Food and Nutrition Service of USDA must award competitive grants or enter into cooperative agreements with nonprofit entities to establish a SNAP Online Purchasing Technical Assistance Center to provide state agencies, authorized program retailers, and program participants information on and technical assistance with accepting SNAP benefits through online transactions and use of the portal. In providing technical assistance, the center must give priority to entities that are small and limited-resource retailers. The bill provides funding for both the online redemption portal and the technical assistance center. USDA must maintain on its website a publicly available listing, organized and searchable by region, locality, and state, of all approved retail food stores accepting benefits from recipients of SNAP, including through online transactions.
This resolution recognizes Black History Month as an opportunity to reflect on U.S. history and to commemorate the contributions of African Americans. It calls for the United States to (1) honor the contribution of pioneers who helped to ensure its legacy; and (2) move forward as a nation "indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Library Stabilization Fund Act This bill provides funds for library services and technology. These funds may be used for maintaining and enhancing library operations and services, offering greater access to technology (e.g., purchasing and lending hotspots and other technology), and ensuring training and technical support for libraries. The amounts provided by the bill are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO) and the Senate PAYGO rule.
Extreme Risk Protection Order and Violence Prevention Act of 2021 This bill establishes a new grant program to help states and Indian tribes implement extreme risk protection order laws. Extreme risk protection order laws, or red flag laws, generally allow certain individuals (e.g., law enforcement officers or family members) to petition a court for a temporary order that prohibits an at-risk individual from purchasing and possessing firearms. The bill also expands the categories of persons who are prohibited from receiving, possessing, shipping, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. Specifically, it adds a new category of prohibited persons: persons who are subject to an extreme risk protection order.
Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and Emergency Act or the SECURE Act This bill allows qualified nationals of a country that has or had a temporary protected status designation to obtain permanent resident status. Such an alien qualifies for permanent residence if the alien had temporary protected status, qualified for such status on certain dates, or was present in the United States due to having been granted deferred enforced departure status that extended past a certain date; has been continuously present in the United States for three years before applying for adjustment or before being removed after a certain date; is not inadmissible or deportable for certain reasons; and passes applicable background checks. The continuous presence requirement may be waived in certain instances. A spouse, domestic partner, child, or unmarried child of a qualifying alien may also obtain permanent resident status under the bill upon meeting certain requirements. An alien with a pending application shall receive work authorization and be eligible for travel authorization. An alien may not be removed if the alien (1) has a pending application, or (2) is prima facie eligible for permanent resident status under this bill and intends to apply. Information from applications may not be used or shared for immigration enforcement, with limited exceptions such as for identifying fraudulent claims. The Department of Homeland Security must report to Congress when terminating a country's temporary protected status designation with an explanation justifying the termination.
Timely ReAuthorization of Necessary Stem-cell Programs Lends Access to Needed Therapies Act of 2021 or the TRANSPLANT Act of 2021 This bill modifies and reauthorizes through FY2026 the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program, which provides support to patients who need a potentially life-saving bone marrow transplant or umbilical cord blood transplant. The bill also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a periodic review of the science of using adult stem cells and birthing tissues in therapeutic treatments. In addition, the Government Accountability Office must report on the regenerative medicine workforce.
Gun Violence Prevention Research Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct or support research on firearms safety or gun violence prevention.
Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act of 2021 This bill modifies the tax credit for employment-related expenses incurred for the care of a taxpayer's dependent to (1) increase to $400,000, the adjusted gross income threshold level above which the credit is incrementally reduced; (2) increase the dollar limits on the allowable amount of the credit; (3) specify rules for married couples filing separate returns; (4) allow an inflation adjustment to the adjusted gross income threshold and the maximum credit amounts, beginning after 2022; and (5) make the credit refundable.
Layoff Prevention Act of 2021 This bill extends temporary funding to reimburse states for making short-time compensation (STC) payments under existing or new STC programs for weeks of unemployment ending on or before five years and six months after enactment of this bill. (STC, also known as work sharing, is a program that provides prorated unemployment compensation to workers whose hours have been reduced in lieu of a layoff.) Under current law, this reimbursement is available for weeks of unemployment ending on or before September 6, 2021. The bill also extends funding to support STC payments by states that do not have STC programs under state law through 2 years and 13 weeks after enactment of this bill. Under current law, this assistance applies to weeks of unemployment ending on or before September 6, 2021. Finally, the bill increases funding to the Department of Labor for awarding grants to states to (1) implement, or improve administration of, STC programs; or (2) promote, and enroll employers in, STC programs. In addition, the bill modifies the formula used to allocate such grants. Labor may not award a grant with respect to an application submitted after December 31, 2026. Such changes are retroactive to March 27, 2020.
