Supporting Older Workers Act This bill allows states to use allocated Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds for statewide training activities to support older workers. Specifically, the bill authorizes training activities that coordinate with existing programs for older workers, support the development of activities that enhance the skills of older individuals, or enhance economic choices available to older individuals. The bill also requires the Department of Labor to award grants to states and local areas to hire WIOA coordinators for older worker and establishes the Older Workers Bureau. The Government Accountability Office must study how well existing state and local performance accountability measures under WIOA measure the success of older individuals.
Preventing Youth Substance Abuse Act of 2021 This bill authorizes for FY2022-FY2026 the Opioid Affected Youth Initiative, which is administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Establishing New Authorities for Businesses Laundering and Enabling Risks to Security Act or the ENABLERS Act This bill expands the definition of a financial institution for purposes of reporting suspicious transactions, anti-money laundering programs, and other related measures. Specifically, the bill expands this definition to include persons who provide investment advice for compensation; persons who trade in works of art, antiques, or collectibles; attorneys, law firms, or notaries involved in financial or related activity on behalf of another person; certain trusts and company service providers; certified public accountants and public accounting firms; persons engaged in the business of public relations, marketing, communications, or other similar services in such a manner as to provide another person anonymity or deniability; and persons engaged in the business of providing third-party payment services. Additionally, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network must establish a task force to develop a strategy to impose anti-money laundering safeguards and enforce requirements on certain professions. Finally, domestic title insurance companies must obtain, maintain, and report to the Department of the Treasury information on the beneficial owners of entities that purchase or sell residential or commercial real estate in transactions involving the domestic title insurance company.
SRES 411 designates October 6, 2021, as "Energy Efficiency Day" to celebrate the economic and environmental benefits of energy efficiency policies and private sector innovation. The resolution calls on the American public to observe the day with programs and activities highlighting how these efforts have saved consumers billions annually in energy costs and reduced energy waste. It references decades of bipartisan support for energy efficiency, including federal policies that have driven significant energy savings and job growth in the sector. The bill does not create new regulations but serves as a symbolic recognition of existing achievements in energy conservation.
SRES 372 is a symbolic Senate resolution designating the week beginning September 13, 2021, as "National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week." It recognizes Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) - colleges and universities with at least 25% Hispanic undergraduate enrollment - as vital providers of higher education to underserved students, particularly Hispanic learners. The resolution calls on the public and organizations to observe the week with events supporting these institutions, which serve 2.3 million Hispanic students nationwide. This is a non-binding commemorative measure with no policy changes or funding impacts.
Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act of 2021 This bill sets out programs and otherwise directs the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to carry out activities to prevent and treat malnutrition globally. In coordination with relevant federal agencies, bilateral and multilateral donors, partner countries, and other stakeholders, the USAID may scale up programs for preventing and treating malnutrition globally. This includes focusing on interventions for the populations most susceptible to severe malnutrition (e.g., pregnant and lactating women and children younger than five years of age). The USAID must select countries based on specified malnutrition-related indicators for purposes of targeting malnutrition prevention and treatment programs and update the selection within five years. To support these programs, the USAID must leverage additional private sector resources in priority countries, including by considering opportunities within the Development Finance Corporation's impact framework for supporting improved nutrition outcomes. The USAID must provide Congress with an implementation plan and annual reports concerning its programs for preventing and treating malnutrition. The bill also establishes the Nutrition Leadership Council, comprised of various USAID bureaus and offices, to coordinate agency activities to prevent and treat malnutrition. The bill's provisions terminate seven years after its enactment.
FDA Modernization Act of 2021 This bill allows an applicant for market approval for a new drug to use methods other than animal testing to establish the drug's safety and effectiveness. Under this bill, these alternative methods may include cell-based assays, organ chips and microphysiological systems, computer modeling, and other human biology-based test methods.
Child Suicide Prevention and Lethal Means Safety Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish grant programs and set up a website to reduce suicide rates among youth and young adults (those under age 26), including by addressing the use of firearms in suicides and suicide attempts. Specifically, HHS must award grants to states, Indian tribes, health departments, hospitals, or other organizations to train health care providers on lethal means safety (e.g., safe storage of firearms), relevant laws concerning the use and possession of firearms, and other suicide prevention and intervention strategies for youth and young adults. Grantees may use a portion of funds to make secure gun storage or safety devices available to residences with an individual under age 26 who is at risk of suicide. In addition, HHS must award grants to health professional schools to integrate content into their curricula and continuing education programs about suicide prevention strategies and interventions to reduce suicide rates among youth and young adults. The bill also requires HHS to develop and maintain a website that contains information for individuals under age 26, their families, health care providers, and health professional schools concerning suicide prevention and the use of firearms in suicide attempts.
Northern Neck National Heritage Area Act This bill establishes the Northern Neck National Heritage Area in Virginia. The bill includes in the heritage area land between the Potomac River and Rappahannock River of the eastern coastal region of Virginia, including King George, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland Counties. The bill designates the Northern Neck Tourism Commission, a working committee of the Northern Neck Planning District Commission, as the local coordinating entity for the heritage area. The Northern Neck Tourism Commission shall submit a proposed management plan for the heritage area to the Department of the Interior for approval.
Securing Systemically Important Critical Infrastructure Act This bill sets out a process to designate elements of critical infrastructure as systemically important. Critical infrastructure refers to the machinery, facilities, and information that enable vital functions of governance, public health, and the economy. Specifically, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) must establish a methodology based on objective criteria to designate critical infrastructure as systemically important. In developing the criteria, CISA must consider, among other factors, the scale of the potential effects of a disruption to the infrastructure on domestic security, the economy, health, or safety. Using the methodology, CISA must make a preliminary designation and then provide an opportunity for the infrastructure's owner or operator to share additional information. A preliminary designation becomes final after 30 days unless, on the basis of additional information, CISA determines the infrastructure does not meet required criteria. The bill also requires CISA to maintain a list of systemically important critical infrastructure, prioritize systemically important critical infrastructure in its programs and activities, report on various matters related to the designation process, and assess processes for and benefits of enhanced risk management coordination between the federal government and the owners and operators of systemically important critical infrastructure. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security must prioritize the security clearance applications of owners and operators of systemically important critical infrastructure.
Equal Access to the Right Nutrition for Military Families (EARN) Act of 2021 This bill facilitates the participation of military households in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by excluding from income limits the housing allowance provided to members of the Armed Forces and modifying administration and other aspects of the program.
This resolution requests the President and directs the Department of State to transmit to the House of Representatives, not later than 14 days after the adoption of this resolution, copies of both classified and unclassified documents that refer or relate to certain information on the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan, including reactions, concerns, or objections expressed by certain allies and partners; any agreement reached with the Taliban related to the evacuation of specified individuals; and numbers of specified individuals in contact with the State Department to request evacuation assistance from Afghanistan, from July 30, 2021, to the present.
