Sen. Richard Blumenthal

Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Labor to promulgate an occupational safety or health standard on prevention of exposure to excessive heat. Excessive heat includes outdoor or indoor exposure to heat at levels that exceed the capacities of the body to maintain normal body functions and may cause heat-related injury, illness, or fatality. In addition, the bill establishes requirements concerning (1) training and education to prevent and respond to heat illness, and (2) whistle-blower protections.

This resolution condemns the acts of gun violence that led to the tragic loss of eight lives in Georgia on March 16, 2021.

This resolution congratulates the people of Greece as they celebrate the 200th anniversary of Greece's independence. The resolution also expresses support for the principles of democratic governance to which the people of Greece are committed.

Climate Change Education Act This bill declares that the evidence for human-induced climate change is overwhelming and undeniable. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must establish a Climate Change Education Program to increase the climate literacy of the United States by broadening the understanding of human-induced climate change, including possible consequences, disproportionate impacts of such consequences, and potential solutions; apply the latest scientific and technological discoveries to provide learning opportunities to people of all ages; and help people understand and promote implementation of new technologies, programs, and incentives related to climate change, climate adaptation and mitigation, climate resilience, climate justice, and environmental justice. NOAA must also establish a grant program for climate change education.

Crumbling Foundations Small Business and Homeowners Assistance Act of 2021 This bill requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency to award grants for states to assist homeowners, small-business owners, and condominium associations in preventing, mitigating, and repairing structural damage to concrete foundations that contain pyrrhotite (an iron sulfide mineral linked to crumbling foundations).

Korematsu-Takai Civil Liberties Protection Act of 2021 This bill modifies the detention authority of the United States. Specifically, it prohibits detention or imprisonment based solely on an actual or perceived protected characteristic of an individual. A protected characteristic includes each of the following: race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and any additional characteristic that the Department of Justice determines to be a protected characteristic.

Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021 This bill reduces statutory mandatory minimum penalties for certain drug offenses, requires reporting on the impact of cost savings from the reductions, and establishes a public database of federal criminal offenses. First, the bill reduces statutory mandatory minimum penalties for two types of offenders: (1) individuals who manufacture, distribute, or possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance; and (2) couriers who import or export a controlled substance. Second, the bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to report on how the reduced expenditures on federal corrections and cost savings from the reductions in mandatory minimum sentences help to reduce overcrowding in federal prisons, increase investment in law enforcement and crime prevention, and reduce recidivism. Third, the bill requires DOJ and federal agencies to report on and create public databases of all criminal offenses—criminal statutory offenses and criminal regulatory offenses.

Help Students Vote Act This bill addresses voter registration of students who attend institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student-aid programs. The bill also directs IHEs to use a specified portion of federal work-study grants to compensate students for civic engagement activities. Specifically, the bill (1) requires IHEs to make every reasonable effort to distribute voter registration applications to each of their students at least twice a year, (2) authorizes grants to IHEs that greatly exceed the requirements governing the distribution of voter registration applications, and (3) allows civil actions against IHEs that violate the requirements. In addition, the bill requires IHEs to use a specified portion of federal work-study grants to compensate students who are employed in civic engagement activities, including voter registration, nonpartisan voter engagement, and voter participation work.

Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act of 2021 or the EACH Act of 2021 This bill requires federal health care programs to provide coverage for abortion services and requires federal facilities to provide access to those services. The bill also permits qualified health plans to use funds attributable to premium tax credits and reduced cost sharing assistance to pay for abortion services.

Jeanette Acosta Invest in Women's Health Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a series of programs to increase access to cancer screenings for women. These programs include demonstration projects to train certain health care providers to screen for breast and cervical cancer, and increase co-testing of human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer among populations that have disproportionate rates of cervical cancer.