Rep. Steve Cohen

Choosing Healthy Investments and not Lunch Deductions (CHILD) Care Act of 2021 or the CHILD Care Act of 2021 This bill repeals the temporary increase (from 50% to 100%) of the tax deduction for business meals and entertainment expenses in 2021 and 2022. The bill also provides additional appropriations in FY2021 for payments under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990.

Computer Science for All Act of 2021 This bill establishes a program through which the Department of Education must award grants to states, local educational agencies, and eligible tribal schools to serve as models for national replication of computer science education expansion efforts. Grant recipients must use these funds for certain activities, including training teachers to teach computer science and expanding access to high-quality learning materials and online options.

Veteran Education Empowerment Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2029 and otherwise revises a Department of Education (ED) grant program for student veteran centers. Specifically, ED must make grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or consortia of IHEs to establish, maintain, improve, or operate a student veteran center. A student veteran center is a dedicated space on a campus that provides students who are veterans or members of the Armed Forces with (1) a lounge or meeting space for themselves, their spouses or partners, their children, and veterans in the community; and (2) a centralized office for student veteran services that serves as a single point of contact to coordinate comprehensive support services for student veterans.

Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of State to include in its annual reports on human rights in countries receiving U.S. development and security assistance a discussion of the status of reproductive rights in each country. This must include whether a country has adopted and enforced policies to (1) promote access to contraception and accurate, nondiscriminatory family planning and sexual health information; (2) provide services to ensure safe and healthy pregnancy and childbirth; (3) expand or restrict access to safe abortion services; and (4) prevent and treat sexually transmitted diseases. For each country, the reports shall also contain (1) data concerning pregnancy-related injuries and deaths; and (2) a description of the nature and extent of discrimination and violence against women, girls, and LGBTQI+ individuals in health care settings and the relevant government's response to such actions.

This resolution supports the designation of ALS Awareness Month. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of State, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide assistance to people in Vietnam in relation to Agent Orange exposure. Specifically, the State Department must provide assistance (1) to address the health care needs of certain residents of Vietnam affected by Agent Orange exposure, (2) to institutions in Vietnam that provide health care to such individuals, (3) to improve housing and reduce poverty for specified individuals and their families, and (4) to remediate areas of Vietnam that contain high levels of Agent Orange. HHS must (1) make grants to public health organizations and Vietnamese American organizations to conduct a broad health assessment of Vietnamese Americans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange and their descendants; and (2) establish centers in U.S. locations where large populations of Vietnamese Americans reside to provide assessment, counseling, and treatment for conditions related to Agent Orange exposure. Under the bill, certain benefits will be made available to the children of male Vietnam veterans who are affected by certain birth defects. Currently, these benefits are only available to the children of women Vietnam veterans. The VA shall require any health care provider with whom the VA enters into a contract for the provision of health care to such children to provide the VA access to their medical records for research into the intergenerational effects of Agent Orange exposure.

John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act This bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or religion in the provision of child welfare programs and services by entities receiving federal funding. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must provide technical assistance to help states follow this requirement, including (1) guidance for bringing state laws into compliance, (2) developing training to increase cultural competency related to social identity, and (3) training for judges and attorneys involved in child welfare cases, among other supports. Additionally, HHS must establish the National Resource Center on Safety, Well-Being, Placement Stability, and Permanency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved with Child Welfare Services to provide training, technical assistance, and guidance to applicable state and local agencies and service providers. Further, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act may not be the basis for challenging the application or enforcement of this bill. The Government Accountability Office must study and report on states' compliance with the requirements of the bill no later than three years after enactment.

Increasing Access to Osteoporosis Testing for Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2021 This bill specifies that certain Medicare payment rules applicable to imaging services shall apply to dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry services used in bone mass scans beginning in 2022. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must establish national minimum payment amounts for such services.

End Polluter Welfare Act of 2021 This bill limits or eliminates certain fossil fuel oil and gas subsidies for oil companies, including by (1) eliminating the limit on liability for offshore facilities and pipeline operators; (2) eliminating the authority of the Department of Energy to carry out the Fossil Energy Research and Development Program and prohibiting funds made available to the Advanced Research Project Agency from being used to carry out any project that supports fossil fuels; (3) terminating certain provisions relating to enhanced oil recovery, producing oil and natural gas from marginal wells, and limitations on percentage depletion for oil and natural gas wells; (4) terminating other deductions and accounting methods supporting oil, natural gas, and coal companies; (5) increasing the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund financing rate; (6) denying a tax deduction for removal costs and damages relating to oil spills; (7) imposing an excise tax on the removal price of any taxable crude oil or natural gas; (8) increasing amortization periods for tertiary injectant expenses, development expenditures of a mine or other natural deposit, mining exploration expenditures, and intangible drilling and development costs for oil and gas wells and geothermal wells; (9) repealing the tax credits for the production of electricity from refined coal and for carbon oxide sequestration; and (10) requiring a study and elimination of certain other fossil fuel subsidies.

This resolution expresses the sense of Congress that legislation and policies that address poverty, low wages, and related issues should be prioritized. Among other priorities, the resolution commits to updating the poverty measure; raising the minimum wage; expanding unemployment insurance; ensuring that all workers receive paid family and medical leave; implementing a federal jobs guarantee; guaranteeing safe and quality housing, a right to water, high-quality public education, and quality health care for all; enacting relief from household and personal debt that cannot be paid; ensuring that state, local, and tribal governments are adequately funded; expanding and protecting the right to vote; eliminating persistent racial inequities; protecting the constitutional rights of assembly and free speech; enacting comprehensive and just immigration reform; ensuring all the rights of Native and Indigenous peoples and tribal nations; transforming the economy into a green renewable energy economy; demilitarizing U.S. foreign policy, borders, and policing; enacting fair taxes on corporations and the wealthy; using deficit spending to meet pressing needs; and encouraging states and cities to enact policies that follow the direction provided by this resolution.