This bill posthumously provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of the 13 service members who died on August 26, 2021, while stationed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.
Reducing Obesity in Youth Act of 2021 This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in coordination with the Administration for Children and Families, to award grants to nonprofits, institutions of higher education, or consortia of these entities to promote healthy eating and physical activity and address food insecurity among children in early care and education settings.
Expediting Assistance to Renters and Landlords Act of 2021 This bill modifies the Department of the Treasury's Emergency Rental Assistance program by extending time limits on payments, allowing landlords to seek rents and arrears from the program without renter consent, and allowing renters to prove eligibility through attestation. The program provides grants to state and local governments to assist eligible households in paying rent and utility costs and other expenses related to housing incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill extends the availability of program assistance from 18 to 24 months for eligible households. The bill also relaxes requirements for proof of eligibility by requiring only that households attest that they meet eligibility requirements instead of requiring proof of eligibility. It also allows for direct payment of funds to eligible households where the landlord refuses direct payment. Additionally, the bill allows a landlord to apply for program funds without the consent of a renter if the landlord agrees to certain terms, including a 120-day bar on evicting the renter for nonpayment. This bill also expands the stable housing services available under the program to additional low-income households. Further, the bill requires Treasury and state and local governments to increase outreach to renters and landlords and allows for coordination with public entities to provide application assistance services.
This resolution recognizes the courage and resolve shown by the Ukrainian people in their pursuit of sovereignty and democracy. It also condemns the illegal military invasion and occupation of Crimea by Russia and the violence fomented by proxies of Russia in eastern Ukraine.
This resolution states that the Senate stands with the Afghan people now living under the Afghan Taliban regime. It calls on the Department of State to designate the Afghan Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization. It also states that the Afghan Taliban regime must be denied access to funds held by the U.S. government.
This resolution (1) calls upon the Members of Congress and all people of the United States to observe September 11, 2021, as a National Day of Service and Remembrance in honor of those who lost their lives or were injured in the September 11, 2001, attacks, and in tribute to those who came to the aid of those in need and to the defense of the United States; and (2) recognizes the heroic actions of first responders and other citizens in New York, the District of Columbia, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Preventing the Recognition of Terrorist States Act of 2021 This bill imposes sanctions related to the Taliban and addresses other related issues. The President must impose sanctions on foreign individuals and entities that knowingly provide significant support to the Taliban or senior Taliban members. The bill also repeals an exception to existing sanctions against certain entities related to energy, shipping, and shipbuilding in Iran. Specifically, the bill repeals a provision authorizing the President to exempt certain entities involved in the reconstruction of Afghanistan from such sanctions. No federal department or agency may take any action that states or implies recognition of the Taliban's claim of sovereignty over Afghanistan. The bill also bars the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Department of Defense from using federal funds to prepare or implement any policy that extends diplomatic recognition to the Taliban-controlled government in Afghanistan. The State Department must designate (1) the government of Afghanistan as a state sponsor of terrorism, and (2) the Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization. Furthermore, USAID must take appropriate steps to ensure that certain foreign assistance provided in or for certain countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, is not going to or through any individual or entity involved in terrorist activity. The bill also prohibits using certain federal funds to provide direct assistance to any country where the duly elected head of government has been deposed in a coup or decree in which the military played a decisive role.
Restoring Trust in Public Health Act This bill requires the Senate to confirm the appointment of the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
U.S. Virtual Currency Market and Regulatory Competitiveness Act of 2021 This bill directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to report on virtual currency markets and U.S. competitiveness.
Virtual Currency Consumer Protection Act of 2021 This bill directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to report on the potential for price manipulation in virtual currency markets.
Streamlining Nutrition Assistance Paperwork Act of 2021 or the SNAP Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for a Department of Agriculture (USDA) waiver that allows states to use a written record to document telephonic signatures for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applications. Under current law, states may allow individuals to sign their SNAP applications over the telephone, but states must preserve audio recordings of those telephonic signatures. During the COVID-19 emergency, USDA waived the requirement to preserve the audio recording and allowed states to document the telephonic signatures through written records.
This bill requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to report to Congress on projections of the estimated tax gap (i.e., the difference between tax liabilities owed to the IRS and those liabilities that the IRS actually collects). The IRS may use artificial intelligence and related data analysis tools to calculate a tax gap projection. The bill also requires the Joint Committee on Taxation to issue periodic reports to the congressional tax committees on the tax gap projection. The bill restricts IRS funding to FY2021 levels for audits and enforcement until it publishes an updated tax gap projection. Funding is also restricted for certain purposes, including (1) targeting U.S. citizens who exercise their First Amendment rights, (2) targeting a group for regulatory scrutiny based on its ideological beliefs, and (3) auditing individual taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of less than $400,000. The bill directs the IRS to establish a fellowship program to recruit private sector tax experts to join the IRS to create and participate in the audit task force. The purposes of the tax force include performing audit case selection, educating IRS employees on emerging issues, auditing selected taxpayers, addressing offshore tax evasion, and identifying, mentoring, and training IRS junior employees with respect to audits.
