This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that U.S. Postal Service employees are frontline essential workers and must be prioritized accordingly for purposes of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) vaccine distributions.
National Broadband Plan for the Future Act of 2021 This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to update the national broadband plan, which establishes benchmarks to meet the goal of ensuring that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability. This update must include (1) an assessment of the progress in achieving the goals of the original national broadband plan; (2) an examination of the effects of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic on how people learn, work, receive medical information and treatment, and participate in civic communications; and (3) an analysis of the change in reliance people will have on services enabled by broadband internet access service as a result of COVID-19. The FCC must report annually on its progress toward achieving the goals of the updated national broadband plan.
Library Stabilization Fund Act This bill provides funds for library services and technology. These funds may be used for maintaining and enhancing library operations and services, offering greater access to technology (e.g., purchasing and lending hotspots and other technology), and ensuring training and technical support for libraries. The amounts provided by the bill are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO) and the Senate PAYGO rule.
This bill directs the President to designate an employee of the National Security Council to be the permanent coordinator for pandemic prevention and response for the federal government. The coordinator shall (1) serve as the principal advisor to the President regarding pandemic prevention and response, and (2) lead interagency coordination for such prevention and response. The coordinator may represent the United States in bilateral and multilateral discussions and agreements on matters relevant to such prevention and response.
FEMA Climate Change Preparedness Act This bill requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to (1) revise its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan to ensure that the plan explicitly mentions climate change and addresses the implications of climate change on homeland security and near- and long-term national disaster risk, and (2) ensure that future strategic plans do likewise. The Department of Homeland Security must establish, as a subcommittee of the National Advisory Council, the Climate Change Subcommittee, which shall advise FEMA on how to best incorporate climate change, including risk assessments and strategies for adaptation and mitigation, into and throughout FEMA's policies, plans, programs, and operations. FEMA must publish as a report, submit to specified congressional committees, and make available to Congress and the public, a comprehensive assessment of climate change risks and preparedness.
Set Testing and Objectives Plan for COVID-19 Act or the STOP COVID-19 Act This bill establishes two grant programs to support public health measures to address COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). First, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must award grants to local health departments for testing, contact tracing, and other activities to reduce the spread of COVID-19. A recipient of one of these grants must meet specific standards for testing and contact tracing. If a grantee remains unable to meet those standards after two months, it must return a portion of the grant funding. HHS may use unobligated funds from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for these grants. The authority to make these grants terminates when that funding is expended or 180 days after this bill's enactment, whichever is earlier. Second, HHS must award grants to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts in states and territories. A recipient of one of these grants must publicly report information about its vaccine efforts, develop a unified system to register its residents for vaccines, and administer at least 95% of its vaccine allotment each month. If a grantee fails to use the required percentage of its vaccines, it must return a portion of the grant funding. HHS may use specified COVID-19 relief funding for these grants. The authority to make these grants terminates when that funding is expended or December 31, 2021, whichever is earlier.
Coronavirus Vaccine Act This bill directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to conduct or support research to develop a universal coronavirus vaccine.
Verifiable, Orderly, and Timely Election Results Act This bill establishes certain federal standards for voting by mail and reporting federal election results. It also requires states to establish certain election measures. First, the bill establishes federal standards for (1) requesting a mail-in ballot; (2) confirming the identity, registration, and eligibility of an individual requesting a mail-in ballot; and (3) submitting a mail-in ballot. In particular, the bill requires mail-in ballots to be received by the time the polls close on election day. In addition, the bill makes it unlawful to possess or return a mail-in ballot completed by another person (commonly referred to as ballot harvesting), with exceptions. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to one year, or both. The bill also establishes standards for reporting federal election results, including by requiring states to count all eligible ballots within 24 hours after the election. Finally, each state must, in order to receive election assistance funds, have in effect certain laws related to voting. For example, states must require voters to present identification to cast a ballot in a federal election.
Extreme Risk Protection Order and Violence Prevention Act of 2021 This bill establishes a new grant program to help states and Indian tribes implement extreme risk protection order laws. Extreme risk protection order laws, or red flag laws, generally allow certain individuals (e.g., law enforcement officers or family members) to petition a court for a temporary order that prohibits an at-risk individual from purchasing and possessing firearms. The bill also expands the categories of persons who are prohibited from receiving, possessing, shipping, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. Specifically, it adds a new category of prohibited persons: persons who are subject to an extreme risk protection order.
This bill expands the purposes for which the Department of Commerce is authorized to make economic adjustment grants to include travel promotion, and it authorizes Commerce to cover up to 100% of the cost of a travel promotion project. Further, the bill authorizes the appropriation of $2.25 billion to make these grants to cover costs associated with promoting safe and healthy travel practices and economic recovery in communities impacted by a decline in travel and tourism as a result of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide a variety of assistance to address historical discrimination and disparities in the agricultural sector. For example, the bill establishes an equity commission in USDA to examine discrimination by the agency against Black farmers and ranchers and recommend actions to end the systematic disparities in the treatment of Black farmers and ranchers. USDA must also establish a Farm Conservation Corps to provide young adults who are from socially disadvantaged groups with the skills necessary to pursue careers in farming and ranching. The bill provides funding for historically Black colleges and universities to commence and expand courses of study that are focused on careers in agriculture or related disciplines. The bill also increases the authorization of appropriations for a program to resolve issues relating to ownership and succession on farmland. Additionally, it expands credit assistance for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. Further, the bill (1) establishes that a minimum of 50% of a covered packer's (not including a packer that owns only one livestock processing plant) daily volume of livestock slaughter must be purchased through spot market sales from nonaffiliated producers; (2) increases funding for the Local Agriculture Market Program; and (3) gives priority to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers for conservation technical assistance, the Conservation Stewardship Program, and the Rural Energy for America Program.
End Diaper Need Act of 2021 This bill establishes and expands programs to provide low-income families and other vulnerable groups with access to diapers and related supplies. Specifically, it provides additional funding for FY2022-FY2025 to meet the diapering needs of certain low-income families and adults through the Social Services Block Grant Program. This grant program provides a flexible funding stream to states and territories to support social services for vulnerable children, adults, and families. The bill exempts these funds from sequestration. Sequestration is a process of automatic, across-the-board reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals. In particular, these funds must be used to meet the diapering needs of low-income families with one or more infants, toddlers, or medically complex children (i.e., children who are age three or older and diagnosed with a serious condition such as bowel or bladder incontinence); and low-income adults and adults with disabilities who rely on diapers and other adult incontinence materials. Additionally, the bill permits states to use Medicaid funds to provide medically necessary diapers and supplies to low-income families with one or more medically complex children. It also allows individuals to buy medically necessary diapers and supplies with funds from health savings accounts and other tax-advantaged accounts for health care expenses.
