Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Maddy summarySRES 451 is a commemorative Senate resolution honoring the late Senator Max Cleland (D-GA), who died November 9, 2021. The resolution recognizes his service as a Vietnam War veteran (losing both legs and an arm in combat), his 50+ years of public service including roles as Georgia State Senator, Secretary of State, U.S. Senator, and Administrator of the Veterans Administration, and his advocacy for veterans. It formally expresses the Senate’s "profound sorrow" and "deep regret" over his death, commemorates his legacy of service to Georgia and veterans, and requests the Secretary of the Senate transmit the resolution to his family. This is a ceremonial resolution with no policy changes or legal effect.

IDEA Full Funding Act This bill provides permanent, mandatory funding for the grant program that assists states and outlying areas in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.

Pathways to Health Careers Act This bill extends, revises, and funds through FY2026 certain demonstration grant programs for projects to train low-income individuals for jobs considered part of the health care career pathway.

Platform Competition and Opportunity Act of 2021 This bill generally prohibits operators of covered platforms from acquiring the stock or other share capital or the assets of another person engaged in commerce or in any activity affecting commerce. Covered platforms are online platforms that (1) have at least 50 million U.S.-based monthly active users or at least 100,000 U.S.-based monthly active business users, (2) are owned or controlled by a person with net annual sales or a market capitalization greater than $600 billion, and (3) are critical trading partners for the sale or provision of any product or service offered on or directly related to the platform. The Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Justice must designate whether an entity is a covered platform, and both must carry out enforcement activities. The bill provides for any person (other than a foreign state and any instrumentality thereof) who is injured by an activity forbidden under the bill to recover triple damages. (A foreign state may only recover actual damages.) Further, the bill specifies the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit as the judicial venue for a covered platform's appeals related to (1) the designation as a covered platform, (2) other administrative and enforcement proceedings, or (3) a final order issued in any district court.

Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2021 This bill allows certain individuals to sue and recover damages for harm from exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987. This action is available only to individuals who were exposed to contaminated water for at least 30 days. The bill prohibits the U.S. government from asserting specified immunity from litigation in response to such a lawsuit. The bill also prohibits an individual who brings such an action from bringing a separate tort action against the United States based on the same harm.

National Commission on the COVID-19 Pandemic Act This bill temporarily establishes the National Commission on the COVID-19 Pandemic in the legislative branch to investigate the facts and circumstances regarding the emergence of, spread of, and response to COVID-19. The commission terminates 90 days after it submits a final report of its findings and recommendations.

Private Prison Information Act of 2021 This bill specifies that a record related to a nonfederal prison, correctional, or detention facility must be considered a federal agency record for purposes of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A nonfederal prison, correctional, or detention facility must disclose information under FOIA unless the information is exempt from disclosure or the disclosure is prohibited by law. The term nonfederal prison, correctional, or detention facility means (1) a private prison, correctional, or detention facility; or (2) a state or local prison, jail, or other correctional or detention facility.

Vet Center Support Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report on its provision of mental health care to veterans in covered states. A covered state is each state (including Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and any territory or possession of the United States) that has a ratio of one or fewer Vet Centers per 100,000 or more veterans residing in the state or territory. Vet Centers are community-based counseling centers that provide social and psychological services to eligible veterans, active duty service members, and their families. The VA must also report on the marketing and outreach funding of Vet Centers in covered states.

Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act This bill places requirements on entities that process or transfer a consumer's data. Specifically, the bill requires such entities to make their privacy policy publicly available and provide an individual with access to their personal data; delete or correct, upon request, information in an individual's data; export, upon request, an individual's data in a human-readable and machine-readable format; establish data security practices to protect the confidentiality and accessibility of consumer data; and designate a privacy officer and a data security officer to implement and conduct privacy and data security programs and risk assessments. Further, the bill prohibits such entities from engaging in deceptive or harmful data practices; transferring an individual's data to a third party if the individual objects; processing or transferring an individual's sensitive data without affirmative express consent; processing or transferring data beyond what is reasonably necessary or for which they have obtained affirmative express consent; processing or transferring data on the basis of specified protected characteristics (e.g., race, religion, or gender); conditioning the provision of a service or product on an individual's agreement to waive their privacy rights; and retaliating against an employee who provides information about a potential violation of the bill's provisions, or who testifies or assists in an investigation or judicial proceeding concerning such a violation. The Federal Trade Commission must establish a new bureau to assist with enforcement of these provisions.

Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Enforcement Ac t This bill establishes statutory prohibitions, investigatory mechanisms, and enforcement provisions regarding the receipt from a foreign or domestic government of profits, gains, advantages, or payments (i.e., emoluments) by U.S. officeholders. Specifically, the bill prohibits any U.S. officeholder from accepting, directly or indirectly, emoluments from a foreign government without consent of Congress. The prohibition is enforceable through a civil action filed by the House of Representatives or Senate. Additionally, the bill prohibits the President from accepting emoluments from a domestic government other than compensation for his or her services as President. Both foreign and domestic emolument prohibitions are enforceable through administrative fines and civil actions by the Office of Government Ethics. The Office of Special Counsel must investigate violations of the bill.