Youth Financial Learning Act This bill directs the Department of Education to award competitive grants to state educational agencies and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies to integrate financial literacy education into public elementary or secondary schools.
Child Poverty Reduction Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Census Bureau to take certain actions with respect to poverty measures and data related to child poverty. It also requires the National Academy of Sciences to report annually on child poverty and study other issues, such as policies to reduce intergenerational poverty. Specifically, HHS must enter into an agreement with the Census Bureau to annually report an anchored supplemental poverty measure for individuals under the age of 18 and must otherwise collaborate with the bureau to, for example, correct income data to account for underreporting. Currently, the Census Bureau uses the official poverty measure (based on cash resources) and the supplemental poverty measure (based on both cash and certain noncash resources, such as nutrition assistance program benefits) to measure poverty. Anchoring the supplemental poverty measure fixes the poverty threshold at a given point in time and then adjusts it for inflation. HHS must publish resources on its website related to child poverty, and the Census Bureau must release certain economic and survey data at the same time it releases a specific report related to income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States.
No Social Media Accounts for Terrorists or State Sponsors of Terrorism Act of 2021 This bill bars access to certain social media platforms by individuals designated as terrorists or senior officials of a government that is a state sponsor of terrorism. Specifically, the bill requires the President to prohibit providers of social media platforms (i.e., platforms that allow users to generate and share content and that have over 100,000 active users) from making such platforms available to barred individuals or officials. The bill does, however, allow officials to use these platforms solely for legitimate emergency alert purposes. Violations of this prohibition are subject to civil and criminal penalties. In addition, the President may waive the prohibition in the interests of U.S. national security. The Department of the Treasury must report to Congress on (1) the status and impact of the prohibitions of this bill, and (2) efforts to facilitate the free flow of information and access to communications technologies by civil society and democratic activists in Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, and other countries controlled by authoritarian regimes.
Addressing Climate Financial Risk Act of 2021 This bill establishes the Climate Risk Advisory Committee that must consult with the Financial Stability Oversight Council of the Department of the Treasury regarding a report on the impact of climate risk on U.S. financial stability. Additionally, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration must include climate risk in the guidance provided to a supervised financial institution.
Prevent Outages With Energy Resilient Options Nationwide Act or the POWER ON Act This bill revises requirements governing the designation of a national interest electric transmission corridor. Currently, the Department of Energy (DOE) may designate any geographic area experiencing electric energy transmission capacity constraints or congestion that adversely affects consumers. The bill expands the list of considerations DOE may use to select and designate a corridor. Specifically, DOE may consider whether the designation would (1) enhance the ability of facilities that generate or transmit renewable energy, low-emission energy, or emission-free energy to connect to the electric grid; (2) promote electrification of other sectors, including the transportation sector; or (3) facilitate other public policies to decarbonize the grid. DOE may also consider whether the designation maximizes existing rights-of-way, avoids sensitive environmental areas and cultural heritage sites, and would lower the cost of electricity for consumers. The bill also revises the authority (i.e., backstop authority) of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue a permit for interstate transmission projects in such corridors when states and local governments fail to do so, including by specifying the timing for when FERC may issue such permits. In addition, the bill requires permit holders to make good faith efforts to engage landowners and other stakeholders early before exercising the right of eminent domain to purchase property needed to complete permit projects. Finally, the bill requires DOE to provide technical assistance to regional transmission siting agencies.
Research Investment to Spark the Economy Act of 2021 or the RISE Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, the Interior, Health and Human Services, and Transportation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Science Foundation, and Environmental Protection Agency to provide support for research regarding COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) or research disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Support may be used to provide supplemental funding to extend the duration of a grant to a research institution, national laboratory, or individual that was awarded prior to the enactment of this bill, or to expand the purposes of such a grant as specified; issue awards to research the effects of the current pandemic and potential future pandemics; and provide flexibility on awards to account for facility closures or other limitations during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Agencies must provide the support as rapidly as possible. Provided funds shall remain available through FY2021.
Protecting American Energy Jobs Act This bill limits the President's authority to prohibit or withdraw federal land or waters from energy production activities. Specifically, the bill requires the President and federal agencies to obtain the approval of Congress before prohibiting or substantially delaying certain new energy or mineral leases or permits on federal lands, including oil and gas leases, coal leases, hard rock leases, or critical minerals leases. In addition, the President and agencies must obtain the approval of Congress before withdrawing certain federal lands from mineral and geothermal leasing activities. Further, the bill repeals the President's authority to withdraw unleased lands on the outer Continental Shelf from oil and gas leasing. The bill nullifies Executive Order 13990 titled Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate Crisis; Executive Order 14008 titled Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad; and the Department of the Interior's Secretarial Order 3395 concerning a temporary suspension of delegated authority to all of Interior's Bureaus and Offices, including the authority to approve leases.
This resolution calls on the United States to recommit itself to the promotion of disability rights and to the values enshrined in the Prologue Room at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the dedication of the Prologue Room. The resolution recognizes the important work of the disability community, and the historic campaign championed by that community, that led to the expansion of the memorial to include a statue that clearly and visibly depicts President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a wheelchair. Finally, the resolution calls on the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation to continue to increase access to the memorial for individuals with disabilities and to support the development of accessible educational materials to ensure awareness is raised about the history of the memorial and disability rights.
This resolution expresses support for the goals of the International Decade for People of African Descent and calls on the United States, in cooperation with African descent communities and organizations, to develop strategies to combat racism domestically and globally.
Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act of 2021 This bill establishes new federal firearms restrictions for individuals who are convicted of misdemeanor stalking offenses. The bill 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 convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking. The term misdemeanor crime of stalking means a misdemeanor stalking offense under federal, state, tribal, or municipal law and a course of harassment, intimidation, or surveillance of another person that (1) places such person in reasonable fear of harm to themselves, an immediate family member, a household member, or a spouse or intimate partner (including a current or former dating partner); or (2) causes emotional distress to such person. The bill also specifically prohibits dating partners who are convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence or who are subject to certain restraining orders from receiving, possessing, shipping, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. Currently, such restrictions generally only apply to spouses, co-parents, and cohabitants.
Shareholder Protection Act of 2021 This bill requires shareholder authorization of certain political expenditures by a publicly traded company. A violation of this requirement is considered a breach of fiduciary duty, and the officers and directors who authorized the expenditure are subject to joint and several liability. A publicly traded company must require a board vote with respect to political expenditures in excess of $50,000 and, within 48 hours, make publicly available the individual votes of each board member.
Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 This bill modifies the funding rules and provides financial assistance for certain pension plans that are underfunded or insolvent. First, the bill expands the authority of, and provides funding for, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to provide special partition assistance to a multiemployer pension plan that is insolvent or at risk of insolvency. The bill expands eligibility for partition assistance, provides funding for a plan to reach a projected funded ratio of 80% over a 30-year period, and does not require a plan to repay such assistance. The bill further permits a multiemployer pension plan to elect to retain its funding zone status from the previous year for either (1) the first plan year beginning during the period from March 1, 2020, through February 28, 2021; or (2) the next succeeding plan year, as designated by the plan sponsor. A plan may also extend by five years the funding improvement or rehabilitation period if the plan is designated as in endangered or critical status for a plan year beginning in 2020 or 2021. A plan in critical and declining status may not suspend payment of plan benefits. Additionally, the bill adjusts the minimum funding standards for a multiemployer pension plan to account for investment losses and other losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic and modifies the PBGC guarantee formula to increase the maximum potential benefits under a multiemployer pension plan.
