Sen. Cory A. Booker

Women's Retirement Protection Act This bill modifies the requirements for employer-sponsored pension plans to (1) extend spousal consent requirements that currently apply to defined benefit pension plans to defined contribution pension plans; and (2) allow certain long-term, part-time workers to participate in pension plans that include either a qualified cash or deferred arrangement or a salary reduction agreement. Financial product or service providers who sell retirement financial products or services must provide purchasers of their products or services an easily accessible link to the website of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to obtain information relating to retirement planning or later life economic security. The Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor shall award grants to certain community-based organizations to (1) improve the financial literacy of women who are working age or in retirement, and (2) assist low-income women and survivors of domestic violence in obtaining qualified domestic relations orders and the benefits they are entitled to through the orders.

This resolution (1) designates July 2021 as National Blueberry Month; and (2) recognizes the contributions of blueberry growers in the United States and their families, and that purchasing blueberries grown in the United States supports farmers, jobs, communities, and the economy of the United States.

Protect Drinking Water from PFAS Act of 2021 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address the level of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. PFAS are man-made and may have adverse human health effects. A variety of products contain PFAS, such as nonstick cookware or weatherproof clothing. The EPA must publish a maximum contaminant level (MCL) and promulgate a national primary drinking water regulation for PFAS that includes perfluorooctanoic acid (commonly referred to as PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (commonly referred to PFOS). The MCL and regulation must be protective of the health of subpopulations that may be at greater risk than the general population of adverse health effects from exposure to PFAS in drinking water.

Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2021 This bill requires states to direct their local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish policies that prevent and prohibit bullying and harassment of elementary and secondary school students. In particular, these policies must prohibit bullying and harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or religion. Further, LEAs must provide (1) students, parents, and educational professionals with annual notice of the conduct prohibited in their disciplinary policies; (2) students and parents with grievance procedures that target such conduct; and (3) the public with annual data on the incidence and frequency of that conduct at the school and LEA level. The Department of Education must conduct and report on an independent biennial evaluation of programs and policies to combat bullying and harassment in elementary and secondary schools. The National Center for Education Statistics must collect state data to determine the incidence and frequency of the conduct prohibited by LEA disciplinary policies.

Zero Food Waste Act This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a grant program to study and reduce food waste.

Cultivating Organic Matter through the Promotion Of Sustainable Techniques Act or the COMPOST Act This bill makes composting a conservation practice for purposes of Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs. The bill also requires USDA to establish a competitive program to award grants and loan guarantees for projects that expand access to food waste composting.

Reconciliation in Place Names Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to establish the Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names to advise the Board on Geographic Names with regard to renaming geographic features with offensive place names. The board shall rename a geographic feature with an offensive name in accordance with a recommendation of the committee unless the board determines that (1) there is a compelling reason and substantial public interest in rejecting the recommendation, or (2) approving the recommendation would violate federal law. The board shall accept or reject a recommendation within three years of receiving the recommendation.

Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act This bill imposes importation limits on goods produced using forced labor in China, especially the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and imposes sanctions related to such forced labor. The Department of Homeland Security shall report to Congress a strategy for preventing the importation of goods produced in China using forced labor. The strategy must contain certain information, including a list of entities working with the government in Xinjiang to move forced labor or Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of Xinjiang. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall generally presume that goods produced by these entities and certain other entities, generally those sourcing material from Xinjiang or involved with Chinese government forced labor programs, are barred from importation into the United States. The bill also expands existing asset- and visa-blocking sanctions related to Xinjiang to cover foreign individuals and entities responsible for serious human rights abuses in connection with forced labor. The Department of State shall report to Congress a strategy to enhance international awareness of forced labor in Xinjiang and to address such forced labor.

This resolution designates June 2021 as African-American Music Appreciation Month. The resolution also recognizes the contributions of African Americans to the musical heritage of the United States. Finally, the resolution recognizes Black History Month and African-American Music Appreciation Month as important times to celebrate this impact and to encourage greater access to music education.

This bill provides for the removal of certain statues and busts from display in the Capitol. The bill directs the Joint Committee on the Library to remove the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme Court chamber of the Capitol and replace it with a bust of Thurgood Marshall. The committee must remove the statues of Charles Brantley Aycock, John Caldwell Calhoun, and James Paul Clarke and the bust of John Cabell Breckinridge from areas of the Capitol accessible to the public. The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) must store the statues and bust until it arranges their return to the states that provided them. Additionally, the bill prohibits the display of statues in National Statuary Hall of persons who served as officers or voluntarily with the Confederate States of America or of the military forces or government of a state while it was in rebellion against the United States; requires the AOC to identify such statues and arrange for their transfer and delivery from the Capitol to the Smithsonian Institution; requires the Smithsonian to follow its preexisting policies and procedures regarding the storage and display of such transferred statues; requires each statue to be returned to the providing state, including its ownership, if the state requests and agrees to pay any transportation-related costs; and permits a state that has a statue removed to replace the statue.