State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act This bill allows states, tribes, territories, and localities to use certain COVID-19 relief funds for new categories of spending, including for natural disasters and infrastructure projects. It also makes changes to expenditure deadlines and other aspects of this funding. Specifically, recipients may use funds for emergency relief from natural disasters and associated negative economic impacts of natural disasters. In addition, recipients may use a portion of their COVID-19 relief funds for designated infrastructure projects, such as nationally significant freight and highway projects. Furthermore, the bill allows recipients to expend COVID-19 relief funds on these types of infrastructure projects until September 30, 2026. Under current law, recipients must expend the funds by December 31, 2024. Other changes in the bill include (1) modifying eligibility and allocation requirements for funding set aside for counties and Indian tribes that are near public lands, (2) allowing Indian tribes an additional year to expend their COVID-19 relief funds, and (3) establishing a process for government entities to decline COVID-19 relief funds and requiring any declined funds to be used to reduce the federal deficit.
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.
Revising and Expediting Actions for the Crisis Hotline for Veterans Act or the REACH for Veterans Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to update training and procedures for call responders of the Veterans Crisis Line. Specifically, the VA must enter into an agreement with an outside organization to review the training for crisis line call responders. The VA must update the training if any deficiencies are identified after the review. Among other requirements, the VA must develop guidelines on retraining and quality management for when a call responder has an adverse event or needs improvement, annually perform a common cause analysis for identified callers to the crisis line who died by suicide in situations where the crisis line was the last point of contact, develop enhanced guidance and procedures to respond to calls to the crisis line related to substance use and overdose risk, review the current emergency dispatch standard operating procedure of the crisis line, and solicit feedback from veterans service organizations on how to conduct outreach regarding the move to 988 as the new suicide and mental health crisis hotline. Each call responder must be subject to at least two calls per month that are silently monitored by a supervisor to check for quality of conduct. The Veterans Crisis Line, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention of the VA, and National Center for Patient Safety of the VA must establish quality management processes and expectations for staff of the crisis line.
Caring for Survivors Act of 2021 This bill increases the monthly rate of dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses through the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill also adjusts the amount payable to surviving spouses and children of veterans who were rated as totally disabled for a period of less than 10 years before their death.
Captain James C. Edge Gold Star Spouse Equity Act This bill addresses restrictions on benefits for surviving spouses of service members. Specifically, the bill prohibits the termination of the payment of an annuity under the Survivor Benefit Plan for certain surviving spouses of service members who died while on active duty solely because the surviving spouse remarries. The Department of Defense must resume payment of an annuity to surviving spouses who remarried before the age of 55 and before the enactment of this bill. The remarriage of a surviving spouse of a veteran does not bar the provision of dependency and indemnity compensation, regardless of their age when they remarried. The Department of Veterans Affairs must resume payment of dependency and indemnity compensation to surviving spouses who remarried before the age of 57 prior to the enactment of this bill.
United States Cadet Nurse Corps Service Recognition Act of 2021 This bill recognizes service as a member of the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps between July 1, 1943, and December 31, 1948, as active duty service. The active duty designation entitles qualifying individuals to certain benefits afforded to veterans, such as burial benefits (not including interment or inurnment at Arlington National Cemetery) and honorary veteran status. Under the bill, the Department of Defense (DOD) must issue individuals who served in the corps during the specified period a discharge from their service under honorable conditions if such a discharge is warranted based on the duration and nature of the service. Such individuals are not entitled to Department of Veterans Affairs benefits aside from those related to burials and memorials. The bill also authorizes DOD to produce a service medal or other commendation, memorial plaque, or grave marker to honor the individuals.
This concurrent resolution supports the goals and ideals of the National Day of Silence (during which students vow to remain silent to bring attention to the harassment and discrimination faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning individuals in schools).
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that establishes health care as a right for the people of the United States.
This resolution recognizes and appreciates the dedication and devotion demonstrated by the men and women of law enforcement. It also condemns calls to defund, disband, dismantle, or abolish the police.
HRES 344 is a non-binding resolution that declares racism a public health crisis in the United States, directly affecting Black, Latino, Native American, and other communities of color who experience severe health disparities. It cites historical and ongoing systemic racism as a root cause of unequal health outcomes, including higher infant mortality, chronic disease rates, and barriers to care. The resolution commits the federal government to developing a national strategy to address health inequities, dismantle systemic racism, and tackle social determinants of health affecting marginalized groups. It does not create new laws or funding but urges cross-government action based on established public health criteria.
This resolution calls for the creation of a Green New Deal with the goals of achieving greenhouse gas and toxic emissions reductions needed to stay under 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming; establishing millions of high-wage union jobs and ensuring economic security for all; investing in infrastructure and industry; securing clean air and water, climate and community resiliency, healthy food, access to nature, and a sustainable environment for all; and promoting justice and equality. The resolution calls for accomplishment of these goals through a 10-year national mobilization effort. The resolution also enumerates the goals and projects of the mobilization effort, including building smart power grids (i.e., power grids that enable customers to reduce their power use during peak demand periods); upgrading all existing buildings and constructing new buildings to achieve maximum energy and water efficiency; removing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation and agricultural sectors; cleaning up existing hazardous waste and abandoned sites; ensuring businesspersons are free from unfair competition; and providing higher education, high-quality health care, and affordable, safe, and adequate housing to all.
This resolution recognizes the opportunity for Black Maternal Health Week to raise national awareness of the state of Black maternal health in the United States.
