Rep. Ayanna Pressley

Advancing Uniform Transportation Opportunities for Veterans Act or the AUTO for Veterans Act This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide (or assist in providing) an eligible veteran or service member with an additional automobile or other conveyance under the VA automobile allowance and adaptive equipment program. Currently, a veteran or service member with a specified service-connected disability or impairment may not receive more than one automobile or other conveyance under the program. The bill authorizes the additional benefit for such veterans and service members if 10 years have passed since the person last received such benefit.

Gluten in Medicine Disclosure Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the sale of any drug intended for human use that contains an ingredient derived from a gluten-containing grain unless the drug's label (1)states that the drug contains such an ingredient, and (2)identifies the type of grain from which the ingredient is derived.

Providing Responsible Emergency Plans for Animals at Risk of E merging Disasters Act or the PREPARED Act This bill establishes requirements governing the care of animals by entities, such as zoos, in emergencies or disasters. Specifically, the bill requires each research facility, dealer, exhibitor, intermediate handler, and carrier to develop and follow a contingency plan to provide for the humane handling, treatment, transportation, housing, and care of their animals in the event of an emergency or disaster.

Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2021 This bill increases funding for water infrastructure, including funding for several programs related to controlling water pollution or protecting drinking water. Specifically, it establishes a Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund. The fund may be used for specified grant programs. The bill increases the corporate income tax rate to 24.5% to provide revenues for the fund. In addition, the bill revises requirements concerning the clean water state revolving fund (SRF) and the drinking water SRF. It also creates or reauthorizes several grant programs for water infrastructure.

This resolution declares that respect for human rights is foundational to U.S. bilateral and international engagement with Nigeria, and it condemns the violence by Nigerian security forces against peaceful protestors. Further, the resolution supports the demands of the movement for justice, accountability, and meaningful police and security-sector reform in Nigeria, and it calls on the Nigerian government to release everyone who has been wrongfully arrested for participating in or supporting this movement.

This resolution calls on the government of Azerbaijan to immediately return all Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians. The resolution also urges the Department of State to engage with Azerbaijani authorities to bring about this result.

Climate Change Education Act This bill declares that the evidence for human-induced climate change is overwhelming and undeniable. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must establish a Climate Change Education Program to increase the climate literacy of the United States by broadening the understanding of human-induced climate change, including possible consequences, disproportionate impacts of such consequences, and potential solutions; apply the latest scientific and technological discoveries to provide learning opportunities to people of all ages; and help people understand and promote implementation of new technologies, programs, and incentives related to climate change, climate adaptation and mitigation, climate resilience, climate justice, and environmental justice. NOAA must also establish a grant program for climate change education.

International Human Rights Defense Act of 2021 This bill establishes in the Department of State a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex) Peoples who shall serve as the principal State Department advisor regarding human rights for LGBTQI people and represent the United States in diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights of LGBTQI people. The special envoy shall periodically provide Congress with a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI people. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development may provide assistance to prevent and respond to such activities against LGBTQI people. The bill also requires that annual country reports on human rights practices include information on criminalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act of 2021 This bill establishes an alternative formula to calculate Social Security retirement benefits for those who receive pensions for certain non-covered employment. (The existing formula is known as the windfall elimination provision.) The alternative formula adjusts an individual's total lifetime earnings based on the proportion of covered earnings (i.e., earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes). It applies to individuals who (1) first become eligible for benefits after 2022, (2) have earnings from non-covered service performed after 1977, and (3) have less than 30 years of coverage (i.e., years in which a beneficiary is considered to have contributed a substantial amount into the Social Security trust funds). Beneficiaries receive the higher benefit amount as calculated under the alternative method or the existing formula. In addition, the bill provides rebates for certain beneficiaries currently impacted by the existing formula. The Social Security Administration must include non-covered earnings in Social Security account statements, and the Government Accountability Office must study the availability of certain information related to retirement plans maintained by state and local governments.

Automatic Voter Registration Act This bill provides for automatic voter registration of individuals through state motor vehicle authorities. Specifically, the bill requires each state motor vehicle authority, upon receiving specified identifying information regarding an individual who requests services from the authority, to transmit the identifying information to the appropriate state election official. The state election official must then notify the individual that the individual shall be automatically registered to vote in federal elections unless the individual declines to be registered to vote, does not meet voter registration eligibility requirements, or is already registered to vote. The bill provides an individual with a 21-calendar day period to opt out of automatic voter registration. A state may only use identifying information regarding an individual's citizenship status for determining whether the individual is eligible to vote in federal elections.