Sen. Dianne Feinstein

Frank Harrison, Elizabeth Peratrovich, and Miguel Trujillo Native American Voting Rights Act of 2021 This bill addresses the voting rights of Native American and Alaska Native voters and voting access on tribal lands. The bill includes provisions expanding the types of facilities that can be used as voter registration agencies; increasing polling site accessibility, including by expanding early in-person voting and providing ballot drop boxes; providing enforcement power to citizens and attorneys general; requiring approval for actions like moving a polling place; validating certain tribal identification for voting or registering to vote; permitting voters to designate another individual to return a ballot on their behalf; and expanding requirements for bilingual voting accessibility. In addition, the bill establishes a Native American voting task force grant program for the purpose of increasing voter outreach, education, registration, turnout, and accessibility for Native American communities. The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office to study and report on (1) the prevalence of nontraditional or nonexistent mailing addresses among Indians, members of tribes, and individuals residing on Indian lands; and (2) the alternatives for removing barriers to voter registration, receipt of voter information and materials, and receipt of ballots.

Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Act or the HERO Act This bill establishes and authorizes behavioral health programs for law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, 9-1-1 operators, and other public safety officers. Specifically, the Fire Administration within the Federal Emergency Management Agency must develop resources for educating mental health care providers about treating firefighters and emergency medical services personnel. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must develop best practices and resources for identifying, preventing, and treating post-traumatic stress disorder and co-occurring disorders in public safety officers. HHS must work with relevant federal departments to incorporate these resources into federal training programs for public safety officers. The bill also authorizes HHS to set up a public safety officer suicide-reporting system and a grant program for peer-support behavioral health and wellness programs within fire departments and emergency medical services agencies.

This resolution designates August 16, 2021, as National Airborne Day.

This resolution designates September 2021 as National Child Awareness Month to (1) promote awareness of youth-serving charities and organizations throughout the United States, (2) recognize the efforts made by those charities and organizations as critical contributions to the future of the United States, and (3) recognize the importance of meeting the needs of at-risk children and youth.

This resolution designates September 2021 as National Workforce Development Month.

This resolution addresses issues related to individuals with disabilities. Specifically, the resolution recognizes the importance of independent living for individuals with disabilities made possible by the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and encourages all Americans to celebrate the advancement of inclusion and equality of opportunity made possible by its enactment; pledges to continue to work on a bipartisan basis to identify and address the remaining barriers that undermine the national goals of equality of opportunity, independent living, economic self-sufficiency, and full participation for individuals with disabilities; pledges to work with states to improve access to home- and community-based services for individuals with disabilities; calls on the Department of Labor to provide information, resources, and technical assistance to enable individuals with disabilities to achieve economic self-sufficiency; and calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to provide information, resources, and technical assistance regarding such services that enable individuals with disabilities to live independently.

This resolution expresses the condolences of the Senate regarding the death of the Honorable Maurice Robert Gravel, former Senator from Alaska.

Elder Justice Reauthorization and Modernization Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes, provides funding through FY2025 for, and otherwise makes changes to, programs for preventing, detecting, and treating abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults. Specifically, the bill provides funding for states and localities to enhance adult protective services and long-term care ombudsman programs. Additionally, the bill modifies an existing long-term care workforce grant program, including by requiring that grant recipients use funds to provide employees with wage subsidies, educational assistance, and access to affordable child care and transportation. Furthermore, the bill establishes new grant programs for states to (1) link health care and social services for older adults, including through medical-legal partnerships and legal services hotlines; and (2) prevent and address social isolation among older adults and individuals with disabilities. The bill also provides funding for reporting by the Department of Health and Human Services on the effectiveness of various programs and activities in addressing abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults.

Sanction and Stop Ransomware Act of 2021 This bill addresses ransomware threats to national security. Specifically, the bill requires the promulgation of mandatory cybersecurity standards for critical infrastructure entities; requires the instituting of regulatory requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges operating within the United States to reduce the anonymity of users and accounts suspected of ransomware activity; deems ransomware threats to critical infrastructure a national intelligence priority component to the National Intelligence Priorities Framework; and authorizes monitoring of the internet, including the dark web, for evidence of a compromise to critical infrastructure. The Department of State shall annually designate as a state sponsor of ransomware any country the government which has provided support for ransomware demand schemes (including by providing safe haven for individuals engaged in such schemes), and submit to Congress a report listing the designated countries. The National Intelligence Agency shall submit a report to specified congressional committees on the implications of the ransomware threat to national security. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) shall establish ransomware operation reporting capabilities to facilitate the submission of timely, secure, and confidential ransomware notifications by federal agencies and covered entities to CISA. In addition, CISA shall establish a public awareness campaign related to the cybersecurity services of the government. The bill also establishes the Information System and Network Security Fund. Any amounts in the fund may be distributed to eligible entities for a specific network security purpose, including to enable network recovery from an event affecting network cybersecurity.

Preventing Harmful Exposure to Phthalates Act This bill prohibits the use of any phthalate chemical as a food contact substance. (A food contact substance is any substance intended for use as a component of materials used in manufacturing, packing, packaging, transporting, or holding food if such use is not intended to have a technical effect in such food.) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must review FDA-regulated products other than food to determine whether use of such products leads to exposure to phthalate chemicals. This review must be publicly available on the website of the Department of Health and Human Services.