Sen. Ben Ray Luján

Closing the Meal Gap Act of 202 1 This bill revises the requirements for calculating Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The bill increases the minimum SNAP benefit and requires benefits to be calculated using the value of a low-cost food plan. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must determine the requirements for the low-cost food plan, which is the diet required to feed a family of four, consisting of a man and a woman 19-50 years of age, a child 6-8 years of age, and a child 9-11 years of age. USDA must (1) reevaluate and publish the market baskets of the plan by December 31, 2027, and every five years thereafter, based on current food prices, food composition data, consumption patterns, and dietary guidance; and (2) make adjustments to the plan to account for household size, changes in the cost of the diet, and the costs of food in specified areas. The bill modifies the requirements for calculating household income to determine SNAP eligibility by (1) authorizing a standard medical expense deduction for households containing an elderly or disabled member, and (2) eliminating the cap on the excess shelter expense deduction. The bill eliminates certain work requirements for SNAP. The requirements apply to able-bodied adults who are ages 18-49 and have no dependent children. The bill allows Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands to participate in SNAP. Currently, the three territories receive block grants instead of participating in SNAP.

Washington, D.C. Admission Act This bill provides for admission into the United States of the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, composed of most of the territory of the District of Columbia. The commonwealth shall be admitted to the Union on an equal footing with the other states. The Mayor of the District of Columbia shall issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of the commonwealth. The bill applies current District laws to the commonwealth and continues pending judicial proceedings. The commonwealth (1) shall consist of all District territory, with specified exclusions for federal buildings and monuments, including the principal federal monuments, the White House, the Capitol Building, the U.S. Supreme Court Building, and the federal executive, legislative, and judicial office buildings located adjacent to the Mall and the Capitol Building; and (2) may not impose taxes on federal property except as Congress permits. District territory excluded from the commonwealth shall be known as the Capital and shall be the seat of the federal government. The bill maintains the federal government's authority over military lands and specified other property. The bill provides for expedited consideration of a joint resolution repealing the Twenty-third Amendment to the Constitution, which provides for the appointment of electors of the President and Vice President. The bill continues certain federal authorities and responsibilities, including regarding employee benefits, agencies, courts, and college tuition assistance, until the commonwealth certifies that it is prepared to take over the authorities and responsibilities. The bill establishes the Statehood Transition Commission to advise the President, Congress, and District and commonwealth leaders on the transition.

Fair and Clear Campaign Transparency Act This bill directs the Federal Communications Commission to require certain online public inspection files to be made available to the public in a machine-readable format that supports automated searching, bulk downloading, aggregation, manipulation, sorting, and analysis. Online public inspection files (including political files that contain records of requests to purchase broadcast time by or on behalf of candidates for public office or to communicate a message relating to a political matter of national importance) are files that must be uploaded to the internet by certain television broadcast stations and television systems, AM or FM radio broadcast stations, cable operators, direct broadcast satellite service providers, or satellite digital audio radio service providers.

Juneteenth National Independence Day Act This bill establishes Juneteenth National Independence Day, June 19, as a legal public holiday.

Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2021 This bill makes various changes to the Federal Pell Grant program, including by expanding student eligibility for Pell Grants. The bill also revises student eligibility for federal student-aid programs. Specifically, the bill provides funding to increase the maximum Pell Grant award for each eligible student. Further, the bill requires the award amount to be adjusted for inflation. Next, the bill allows students who receive means-tested federal benefits (e.g., Medicaid) to automatically qualify for the maximum Pell Grant award plus an additional award amount. In addition, the bill moves the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant program into the Pell Grant program. Next, the bill raises from 12 to 18 the total number of semesters during which a student may receive a Pell Grant. The bill makes Dreamer students (i.e., students who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status) who entered the United States before the age of 18 and who meet certain educational criteria eligible for federal financial aid. The bill also revises satisfactory academic progress requirements for federal student-aid programs, including by allowing a student who has not been enrolled in an institution of higher education for two years to regain eligibility for federal student aid.

Resilience Investment, Support, and Expansion from Trauma Act or the RISE from Trauma Act This bill establishes and extends various programs to support infants, children, youth, and families who have experienced, or may experience, trauma. Specifically, the bill allows federal agencies to use specified discretionary funds to implement pilot projects to improve outcomes for children experiencing trauma. It also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to provide tool kits and other guidance to train frontline service providers and certain community members about trauma, toxic stress, and resilience. In addition, the Department of Justice (DOJ) must establish a national center to disseminate to law enforcement agencies best practices and other assistance to enhance interactions with infants, children, youth, and families who are exposed to violence and trauma. Furthermore, the bill establishes grants for multi-sector demonstration projects to prevent and mitigate trauma and toxic stress; interventions to improve outcomes for hospital patients who experience drug overdoses, suicide attempts, or violent injury; and clinical training in infant and early childhood mental health. The bill also authorizes DOJ grants to reduce violence and substance use by preventing children's trauma from exposure to violence and substance use. Additionally, it incorporates trauma-informed practices and otherwise addresses trauma in programs for health care professional education, increasing access to health services, and training for educators.

Brandon Act This bill modifies the regulatory requirement for referrals by commanding officers and supervisors of members of the Armed Forces for mental health evaluations. Specifically, the regulations must (1) establish a phrase that enables the member to trigger a referral for a mental health evaluation, (2) require a commanding officer or supervisor to make such referrals as soon as practicable following disclosure by the member of the established phrase, and (3) ensure that the process protects the confidentiality of the member.

Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act of 2021 This bill provides an additional $60 billion in FY2021 for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which was established to support restaurants and other food and beverage purveyors in response to COVID-19.

Disarm Hate Act The bill expands the categories of persons who are prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm. Specifically, it prohibits firearm sale or transfer to and receipt, possession, shipment, or transport by a person (1) who has been convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime, or (2) who has received an enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sentence.

Revive Economic Growth and Reclaim Orphaned Wells Act of 2021 or the REGROW Act of 2021 This bill provides funding for grants to plug orphaned (i.e., abandoned) oil and gas wells, clean up pollution leaking from such wells, and conduct research and related activities. Specifically, the bill provides funding for a grant program within the Department of the Interior to plug and clean up orphaned wells located on federal, state, tribal, and private land. In addition, the bill provides funding to the Department of Energy and the Oil and Gas Compact Commission for conducting research and development activities to assist federal land management agencies, states, and Indian tribes in (1) identifying and characterizing undocumented orphaned wells, and (2) mitigating the environmental risks of undocumented orphaned wells.