Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto

American Dream Employment Act of 2021 This bill permits the compensation of congressional employees who hold a current employment authorization document that was issued pursuant to a grant of (1) deferred action, including under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program; (2) deferred enforced departure; or (3) temporary protected status. (Generally, these programs and statuses allow eligible aliens to remain and work in the United States.)

Girls' Leadership, Engagement, Agency, and Development Act of 2021 or the Girls LEAD Act This bill directs the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to jointly report to Congress a strategy to strengthen the participation of adolescents, particularly girls, in democracy, human rights, and governance. The State Department and the USAID shall (1) implement activities to achieve this goal, including activities to increase adolescent girls' civic and political knowledge and skills and address barriers to political participation; and (2) prioritize foreign assistance funding for democracy, human rights, and governance programs toward achieving the goals in this bill.

Universal Giving Pandemic Response and Recovery Act This bill allows individual taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize their tax deductions a deduction in taxable years beginning in 2021 or 2022 for charitable contributions. The deduction is limited to one-third of the standard deduction allowed to such taxpayers.

More Opportunities for Rural Economies from DOT Grants Act or the MORE DOT Grants Act This bill revises the process for awarding grants under certain programs of the Department of Transportation (DOT) to high-density public land counties and any units of tribal and local governments within such counties. A high-density public land county is a county that has a population of not more than 100,000 people and in which more than 50% of the land is owned or managed by the federal government. Any requirement for local matching funds under a qualifying grant program must be reduced by 50% with respect to such jurisdictions. On request, DOT must provide additional technical assistance to such jurisdictions during the annual application period for each qualifying grant program. DOT must also prioritize grant applications from such jurisdictions that have not received support under the qualifying grant program during the 10-year period preceding the date of the application.

Moving and Fostering Innovation to Revolutionize Smarter Transportation Act or the Moving FIRST Act This bill authorizes through FY2026 the Department of Transportation to award Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation grants to communities of varying sizes to promote technological innovation (e.g., autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, and roadway electrification) in transportation systems.

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.

VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021 This bill adds a new source of revenue for the Crime Victims Fund and makes changes to formula grants supported by the fund. Specifically, the bill directs revenues collected from deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements to be deposited into the Crime Victims Fund. Currently, such revenues are deposited into the general fund of the Treasury. Additionally, the bill increases the percentage—from 60% to 75%—of state compensation payments to crime victims in the prior fiscal year used to calculate formula grants for state victim compensation programs. Finally, the bill directs states to waive the matching requirement for recipients of state victim assistance formula grants during and for one year after a pandemic-related national emergency. It also allows states to waive the matching requirement pursuant to a policy established by the state.

This joint resolution eliminates the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on sex. The amendment was proposed to the states in House Joint Resolution 208 of the 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972. The amendment shall be part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states.

This resolution designates February 1-February 5, 2021, as National School Counseling Week.

This resolution supports the designation of February 2021 as Career and Technical Education Month to celebrate career and technical education across the United States.