Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin

Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Enforcement Ac t This bill establishes statutory prohibitions, investigatory mechanisms, and enforcement provisions regarding the receipt from a foreign or domestic government of profits, gains, advantages, or payments (i.e., emoluments) by U.S. officeholders. Specifically, the bill prohibits any U.S. officeholder from accepting, directly or indirectly, emoluments from a foreign government without consent of Congress. The prohibition is enforceable through a civil action filed by the House of Representatives or Senate. Additionally, the bill prohibits the President from accepting emoluments from a domestic government other than compensation for his or her services as President. Both foreign and domestic emolument prohibitions are enforceable through administrative fines and civil actions by the Office of Government Ethics. The Office of Special Counsel must investigate violations of the bill.

John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 This bill establishes new criteria for determining which states and political subdivisions must obtain preclearance before changes to voting practices may take effect. Preclearance is the process of receiving preapproval from the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before making legal changes that would affect voting rights. The bill also includes provisions related to federally protected activities at polling places and voting access on tribal lands. A state and all of its political subdivisions shall be subject to preclearance of voting practice changes for a 10-year period if 15 or more voting rights violations occurred in the state during the previous 25 years; or 10 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years, at least 1 of which was committed by the state itself. A political subdivision as a separate unit shall also be subject to preclearance for a 10-year period if three or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years. States and political subdivisions that meet certain thresholds regarding minority groups must preclear covered practices before implementation, such as changes to methods of election and redistricting. Further, states and political subdivisions must notify the public of changes to voting practices. Next, the bill authorizes DOJ to require states or political subdivisions to provide certain documents or answers to questions for enforcing voting rights. The bill also outlines factors courts must consider when hearing challenges to voting practices, such as the history of official voting discrimination in the state or political subdivision. In addition, the bill (1) includes certain protections for election workers, polling places, and election infrastructure; and (2) expands voting access on tribal lands.

Service Education Reallocation for Vacant Elected offices Act of 2021 or the SERVE Act of 2021 This bill modifies the authority to make nominations for cadets or midshipmen to the military service academies in situations where a Member of Congress has not submitted a nomination due to death, resignation from office, or expulsion from office and no successor member has been sworn in to office. Specifically, in the event a Senator does not make a nomination for one of the specified reasons, the nominations must be made by the other Senator from the state concerned. In the event a Representative does not make a nomination for one of the specified reasons, the Senators from the state of the congressional district concerned must make the nomination, with nominations divided equally among Senators and any remainder going to the senior Senator from the state.

Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2021 This bill provides legal protections for a noncitizen (i.e., an individual referred to as an alien in federal law) who is detained or subject to immigration-related proceedings. The Department of Justice (DOJ), or the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in a case involving an unaccompanied child, may appoint or provide counsel at the government's expense to noncitizens in removal proceedings and related appeals. An unaccompanied child must be represented by counsel paid for and appointed by the government at every stage of such proceedings unless the child has obtained counsel at their own expense. If HHS fails to provide counsel to an unaccompanied child, the deadline for filing a motion to reopen a proceeding shall not apply, and the filing of such a motion shall stay the child's removal from the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must provide a complete copy of a noncitizen's immigration file to the noncitizen (or the noncitizen's counsel) within seven days of a notice to appear for an immigration proceeding, and failure to provide the file shall result in a delay in the proceeding. DHS must provide access to counsel for all detained noncitizens. The bill authorizes HHS to enter into contacts or award grants for providing immigration-related legal services to children. The Office of Refugee Resettlement must develop model guidelines for representing noncitizen children in immigration proceedings.

South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act of 2021 This bill authorizes sanctions on Chinese individuals and entities that participate in certain activities related to China's territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. The President may impose property-blocking and visa-denial sanctions on certain Chinese individuals and entities, including those that are (1) responsible for or significantly contributing to certain large-scale projects, such as reclamation and militarization projects, in the disputed parts of the South China Sea; (2) responsible for or significantly contributing to actions that inhibit another country from protecting its sovereign rights to access resources in the South China Sea; and (3) responsible for or complicit in actions that threaten the peace, security, or stability in disputed South China Sea areas or in an East China Sea area administered by Japan or South Korea. The President may also (1) deny visas to the corporate officers and controlling shareholders of sanctioned entities, (2) subject sanctioned individuals or entities to certain export restrictions, and (3) prohibit U.S. individuals and entities from investing in sanctioned entities or individuals. The Department of State must periodically submit a report to Congress identifying countries that recognize China's claims to the contested territories.

Haiti Development, Accountability, and Institutional Transparency Initiative Act This bill revises reporting and strategy requirements related to recovery and assistance efforts for Haiti. Specifically, the bill repeals existing reporting and strategy requirements related to earthquake recovery and economic assistance for Haiti. Further, the bill directs the Department of State to undertake specific initiatives that prioritize and assess the protection and preservation of human rights, the promotion of press and assembly freedoms and the protection of journalists, anticorruption efforts, and a strategy of post-disaster and post-pandemic recovery and development efforts. The State Department must also submit a report concerning the July 7, 2021, assassination of former Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.

Vaccine Access Improvement Act of 2021 This bill adds vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for routine administration to children or in pregnant women to the list of taxable vaccines for purposes of the vaccine excise tax. The CDC must notify the Department of the Treasury and specified congressional committees of the designation of such vaccines as taxable vaccines.

Promoting Reentry through Education in Prisons Act of 2021 or the PREP Act This bill establishes, within the Bureau of Prisons, an Office of Prison Education. The office must provide educational services to incarcerated individuals in federal prisons and correctional institutions.

Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2021 This bill establishes several requirements and standards relating to prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Specifically, MA plans must (1) establish an electronic prior authorization program that meets specified standards, including the ability to provide real-time decisions in response to requests for items and services that are routinely approved; (2) annually publish specified prior authorization information, including the percentage of requests approved and the average response time; and (3) meet other standards, as set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, relating to the quality and timeliness of prior authorization determinations.

Freedom to Vote Act This bill addresses voter registration and voting access, election integrity and security, redistricting, and campaign finance. Specifically, the bill expands voter registration (e.g., automatic and same-day registration) and voting access (e.g., vote-by-mail and early voting). It also limits removing voters from voter rolls. Next, the bill establishes Election Day as a federal holiday. The bill declares that the right of a U.S. citizen to vote in any election for federal office shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has been convicted of a criminal offense unless, at the time of the election, such individual is serving a felony sentence. The bill establishes certain federal criminal offenses related to voting. In particular, the bill establishes a new criminal offense for conduct (or attempted conduct) to corruptly hinder, interfere with, or prevent another person from registering to vote or helping someone register to vote. Additionally, the bill sets forth provisions related to election security, including by requiring states to conduct post-election audits for federal elections. The bill outlines criteria for congressional redistricting and generally prohibits mid-decade redistricting. The bill addresses campaign finance, including by expanding the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals, requiring additional disclosure of campaign-related fundraising and spending, requiring additional disclaimers regarding certain political advertising, and establishing an alternative campaign funding system for certain federal offices.