Strengthening Financial Security Through Short-Term Savings Accounts Act of 2021 This bill allows employers to enroll employees in short-term savings accounts that are funded using automatic contributions deducted from participating employees' wages. For each pay period, the employer must transfer to the account an amount equal to the percentage of the employee's compensation or a fixed amount, as determined by the employer. Employees may elect to adjust, stop, or pause their contributions. The balance in an account may not exceed $10,000 (adjusted annually for inflation) and must be made readily available to the employee at any time.
Commission on Retirement Security Act of 20 21 This bill establishes within the executive branch the Commission on Retirement Security to (1) conduct a comprehensive study of the state of retirement security, and (2) submit to Congress recommendations on how to improve or replace existing private retirement programs.
Food Labeling Modernization Act of 2021 This bill imposes additional labeling requirements for food and addresses related issues. A food intended for human consumption must include on its principal display panel a summary of nutritional information using a system that (1) clearly distinguishes between products of greater or lesser nutritional value; and (2) uses standardized symbols to provide warning about products that are high in certain substances, such as trans fats. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must promulgate regulations establishing the requirements for such a system. Labels that use certain terms, such as whole wheat , fruit , or vegetable , must include additional information, such as the amount or quantity of that item in the food. The FDA must promulgate certain regulations relating to the use of the terms natural or healthy on food labels. The bill also imposes labeling requirements for certain foods that contain added coloring, added flavoring, phosphorus, caffeine, gluten, allulose, polydextrose, sugar alcohols, or isolated fibers. The FDA may, by regulation, deem a food ingredient to be a major food allergen. The FDA must also impose certain restrictions on the types of beverages that may be identified as infant formula or formula. The FDA must require food manufacturers to submit all information on the label of a food offered for sale in package form and update such submissions as necessary. The information must be made available in a public database on the FDA's website.
UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act This bill makes changes to U.S. foreign policy in matters concerning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). For purposes of this policy, the bill defines Palestinian refugee as a person who (1) resided from June 1946 to May 1948 in Mandatory Palestine (a region controlled by Britain until 1948), (2) was personally displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, and (3) has not accepted citizenship or other permanent adjustment in status in another country. The bill withholds U.S. funding for the UNRWA unless the Department of State makes certifications concerning the UNRWA's staff, partners, and funding. Specifically, the State Department must certify that neither UNRWA staff and partners nor its funding and facilities are affiliated with terrorism or engaged in the dissemination of anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic ideologies. Additionally, the State Department must certify that the UNRWA is subject to comprehensive financial audits by an independent auditing firm and is unaffiliated with any financial institutions that the United States considers to be complicit in money laundering or terror financing. The bill also requires the State Department to implement a plan to encourage other countries to align their activities and efforts regarding the UNRWA with U.S. policy objectives, including the phase out of the UNRWA by resettling Palestinian refugees in countries other than Israel and in territories not controlled by Israel. The State Department must report to Congress on this plan.
Passport Backlog Elimination Act This bill requires the Department of State to submit and implement a plan containing specified actionable strategies to eliminate the backlog of passport applications that is due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
American Grown Act This bill prohibits the official display of a cut flower or green in any public area of a building of the Executive Office of the President, the Department of State, or the Department of Defense unless it is produced in the United States. The prohibition does not apply to any cut flower or green used by a federal officer or employee for personal display.
Central American Women and Children Protection Act of 2021 This bill temporarily authorizes the Department of State to enter into bilateral compacts with the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to strengthen criminal justice systems, social supports, and other means to protect women and children from domestic and gender-based violence. At least 15 days before entering a compact, the State Department must submit to Congress a copy of the proposed agreement and related materials. Authority to enter a compact terminates on September 30, 2023, and a compact may last no more than six years. To support the objectives outlined in a compact, the State Department may provide assistance to international organizations, civil society, or other private entities for programs and activities to prevent and respond to domestic and gender-based violence in a compact country. The bill bars the provision of assistance to the government of a compact country as direct budgetary support. The State Department may suspend or terminate the assistance if a compact country or entity receiving the assistance engaged in conduct contrary to U.S. national security interests or inconsistent with the objectives of the compact. The State Department must notify Congress at least 15 days before suspending or terminating assistance. The bill also requires the State Department to annually report on progress made under each compact, including its effect on reported violence against women and children and other domestic and gender-based violence indicators.
This concurrent resolution recognizes the disparity in wages paid to Black women and its impact on women, families, and the nation, and reaffirms Congress' support for ensuring equal pay and closing the gender wage gap.
This concurrent resolution recognizes the disparity in wages paid to Black women and its impact on women, families, and the nation, and reaffirms Congress' support for ensuring equal pay and closing the gender wage gap.
This resolution expresses support for the designation of the first Monday in March as COVID-19 Victims and Survivors Memorial Day.
This resolution recognizes and expresses support for efforts to promote democracy and human rights in Cuba.
Securing America's Medicine Cabinet Act of 2021 This bill directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to designate qualified institutions of higher education (or consortia of such institutions) as National Centers of Excellence in Advanced and Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and to provide grants to the centers. Each designated center must conduct research on advanced and continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and must share information from such research with the FDA. (Currently, most drug production involves batch manufacturing, which typically takes longer than continuous manufacturing processes.)
