Rep. Darren Soto

Allied Health Workforce Diversity Act of 2021 This bill allows the Department of Health and Human Services to provide grants to accredited education programs to increase diversity in the physical therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, audiology, and speech-language pathology professions. Grants may be used to provide scholarships or to support recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented groups.

Employee Retention Tax Credit Reinstatement Act This bill provides for a reinstatement of the employee retention tax credit through 2021. The credit was established to compensate employers whose businesses were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic for wages paid to their employees.

CNL Update Act This bill makes changes to the procedures for competitive need limitations (CNL) and de minimis waivers under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. CNLs are quantitative ceilings on GSP benefits for each product and beneficiary developing country; a beneficiary developing country loses its GSP eligibility with respect to a product if the CNLs are exceeded and no waiver is granted. Currently, the President must terminate the duty-free treatment for a product from a beneficiary developing country if (1) imports of a product from a single country reach a specified threshold value, which increases by $5 million each calendar year; or (2) 50% or more of total U.S. imports of a product entering under the GSP come from a single country. This bill revises the annual adjustment amount from $5 million to an amount equal to 6.5%. Further, the bill sets the annual increase in the de minimis level to 6.5%. Currently, the de minimis level is adjusted each year in increments of $500,000.

Maddy summaryHRES 834 is a ceremonial resolution honoring the late Congresswoman Carrie Pittman Meek (1926-2021) for her congressional service and legacy. It commends her dedication to public service, her role as a trailblazer for Black women in politics, and her advocacy for communities in Florida. The resolution specifically recognizes her work securing hurricane relief funding after Hurricane Andrew and her service in the Florida State Senate and U.S. Congress. As a commemorative resolution, it contains no policy changes or funding provisions.

Future Uses of Technology Upholding Reliable and Enhanced Networks Act or the FUTURE Networks Act This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to establish the 6G Task Force to report on sixth-generation wireless technology, including the status of setting standards for and possible uses of such technology. The task force shall be composed of representatives of (1) trusted companies in the communications industry; (2) trusted public interest organizations or academic institutions; and (3) federal, state, local, and tribal governments.

Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act This bill requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to examine and report on the cybersecurity of mobile service networks and the vulnerability of these networks and mobile devices to cyberattacks and surveillance conducted by adversaries. The report shall include (1) an assessment of the degree to which providers of mobile service have addressed certain cybersecurity vulnerabilities; (2) a discussion of the degree to which these providers have implemented cybersecurity best practices and risk assessment frameworks; and (3) an estimate of the prevalence and efficacy of encryption and authentication algorithms and techniques used in mobile service and communications equipment, mobile devices, and mobile operating systems and software.

This resolution acknowledges the collapse of the radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and encourages federal agencies to study means of replacing the observatory's lost scientific capabilities.

Promoting Resources to Expand Vaccination, Education, and New Treatments for HPV Cancers Act of 2021 or the PREVENT HPV Cancers Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes through FY2026 and expands Department of Health and Human Services activities to educate health care providers and the public about human papillomavirus (HPV), its association with certain cancers, and the importance of HPV vaccines. Specifically, the bill (1) requires relevant educational materials to include information about both cervical cancer and other HPV-associated cancers and about the importance of HPV vaccines, including for males; (2) expands the scope of a national education campaign about gynecologic cancers to address HPV-associated cancers more broadly and target specified, at-risk populations; and (3) authorizes demonstration projects to increase knowledge and awareness of gynecologic cancers.

Maternal Vaccination Act This bill includes a focus on pregnant and postpartum individuals in existing public health activities to increase vaccination rates. First, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must incorporate a focus on pregnant and postpartum individuals, including by disseminating information to obstetric health care providers, into its existing public awareness campaign about the importance of vaccinations. Second, the bill expressly allows certain project grants for preventive health services to be used for activities to increase vaccination rates of pregnant and postpartum individuals (and their children).

Strength in Diversity Act of 2021 This bill establishes a program through which the Department of Education may award planning and implementation grants to specified educational agencies (e.g., local educational agencies) to improve diversity and reduce or eliminate racial or socioeconomic isolation in publicly funded early childhood education programs, public elementary schools, or public secondary schools.