Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 This bill imposes certain safety requirements on infant and toddler food. The bill establishes maximum levels of certain toxic elements (cadmium, and lead, mercury, and inorganic arsenic) allowable in infant and toddler food, defined as food intended to be sold for children up to 36 months old. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shall periodically review and, if necessary, further lower these levels. The FDA may also establish limits on other toxic elements upon review of relevant health and dietary data. Furthermore, facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold infant and toddler food must have certain controls and plans to ensure that their food complies with the limits on toxic elements established by this bill. Such facilities shall also make publicly available certain information, including results from tests for toxic elements in their infant and toddler foods. The bill also expands the FDA's authority to require a recall of adulterated or misbranded food to include infant and toddler food that exceeds limits on toxic elements. The Centers for Disease Control shall carry out a public awareness campaign about the risks of toxic elements in infant and toddler food. The FDA shall commission research on agricultural methods that minimize levels of toxic heavy metals in crops.
This bill makes changes to facilitate data sharing between the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and programs that subsidize communication services to verify eligibility for applicable programs. Specifically, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must award grants to states and tribes for establishing or modifying connections between databases with information regarding benefit programs (e.g., SNAP) and the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier to verify eligibility for the Lifeline program (which subsidizes telephone and internet services for low-income individuals) and the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (which subsidizes broadband services for those who suffered income loss during the COVID-19 pandemic and other eligible households). The bill also reauthorizes through FY2026 the fund that supports the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. In addition, the FCC must establish an automated connection to share data between the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier and the National Accuracy Clearinghouse for SNAP. The FCC must coordinate with the Department of Agriculture to establish the connection.
American Apprenticeship Act This bill authorizes the Department of Labor to make grants to assist states in carrying out projects that defray the cost of instruction associated with pre-apprenticeship and qualified apprenticeship programs. Labor shall (1) establish performance measures and an evaluation system for such grant program; and (2) identify in-demand occupations that lack the use of qualified apprenticeship programs, analyze the use of such program model in those occupations, and report on such analysis to states and Congress.
Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation Policy Act of 2021 This bill addresses the manufacturing capacity of the United States. The bill establishes the Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation Policy, led by the Chief Manufacturing Officer, to serve as a source of manufacturing and industrial innovation analysis and judgment for the President with respect to the major policies, plans, and programs of the federal government. The office must establish a national strategic plan for manufacturing and industrial innovation that identifies critical needs to the manufacturing sector, including emergency readiness and resilience. The Government Accountability Office must report on the efforts of the office along with recommendations for improvements. The bill also establishes the Federal Strategy and Coordinating Council on Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation within the executive branch to be chaired by the President to coordinate manufacturing and industrial innovation policy. Finally, the bill establishes the National Medal of Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation to be awarded for outstanding contributions to knowledge in manufacturing and industrial innovation.
Access to Technology and Equipment for Same-day Tests Act or the Access to TESTs Act This bill establishes grant programs to increase access to diagnostic tests. Specifically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must award grants to hospitals, primary care facilities, and other health care providers to buy equipment and supplies to increase access to same-day diagnostic testing in point-of-care settings. The CDC must also award grants to public health and other laboratories to buy high-throughput diagnostic equipment and supplies to increase testing capacity and expedite test results.
Kira Johnson Act This bill establishes grants to improve maternal health outcomes for racial and ethnic minority groups and other underserved populations. Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services must award grants for community-based programs to improve maternal health outcomes for Black pregnant and postpartum individuals, as well as individuals in other underserved groups; training for health care providers and others who work in maternity care settings on reducing and preventing racism, bias, and discrimination; and respectful maternity care compliance programs in specified health care facilities. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine must study issues related to the training programs, and the Government Accountability Office must study issues related to the compliance programs.
This bill directs the Department of State to include additional information in its annual reports concerning Taiwan's participation at the World Health Organization's World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer. The report shall describe changes and improvements to the State Department's plan to support Taiwan's observer status at the WHA, following any meetings at which Taiwan did not participate under such status. (China has opposed Taiwan's participation in the WHA.)
This resolution condemns and denounces all forms of anti-Asian sentiment, including those related to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), and calls on federal law enforcement officials, working with state and local agencies, to take specified steps. The resolution calls on federal officials to expeditiously investigate and document all credible reports of hate crimes, harassment, bullying, and threats against the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities; the Attorney General to work with state and local agencies and Asian American and Pacific Islander community-based organizations to prevent discrimination and to expand culturally competent and linguistically appropriate education campaigns on public reporting of hate crimes; and the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance describing best practices to mitigate racially discriminatory language in describing the pandemic. The resolution recommits the United States to serving as a model for the world in building a more inclusive, diverse, and tolerant society by (1) prioritizing language access and inclusivity in communication practices, and (2) combating misinformation and discrimination that puts Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders at risk.
This resolution celebrates the successes and contributions of Latinas in the United States and recognizes the changes still to be made to ensure that Latinas can realize their full potential as equal members of society.
American Cures Act This bill permanently funds several federal agencies and programs that perform biomedical research. The bill provides specified funding for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense health program, and the Department of Veterans Affairs medical and prosthetics research program. The bill exempts the funding from sequestration, which is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals. It also exempts the budgetary effects of the funding from the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO) and the Senate PAYGO rule.
No Junk Plans Act This bill nullifies a rule by the Department of Treasury, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Services regarding short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans. Short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans are plans that may only offer coverage for a limited amount of time under law and that are exempt from the market requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (e.g., coverage of individuals with preexisting conditions). The rule increases the maximum authorized duration of such plans from less than 3 months (including renewals) to an initial maximum duration of less than 12 months (with a total duration of up to 36 months, including renewals). The rule took effect October 2, 2018.
This bill establishes that a minimum of 50% of a covered packer's weekly volume of livestock slaughter must be purchased through spot market sales from nonaffiliated producers. (The term covered packer applies to a packer that is required to report to the Department of Agriculture each reporting day information on the price and quantity of livestock purchased by such packer and does not include a packer that owns only one livestock processing plant.) A spot market sale is a purchase and sale of livestock by a packer from a producer under (1) an agreement that specifies a firm base price that may be equated with a fixed dollar amount on the date the agreement is entered into, (2) which the livestock are slaughtered not more than 14 days after the date on which the agreement is entered into, and (3) circumstances in which a reasonable competitive bidding opportunity exists on the date on which the agreement is entered into.
