This resolution supports the designation of Mental Health Awareness Month and declares mental health a national priority.
This resolution (1) expresses support for the designation of Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month; (2) recognizes the contribution of motorcycles to the transportation mix; (3) encourages motorcycle awareness by all road users; (4) recognizes that motorcyclists have a right to the road and that all motorists should safely share the roadways; (5) encourages rider safety education, training, and proper gear for safe motorcycle operation; and (6) supports the goals of Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.
This resolution expresses the support of the House of Representatives for recognized standards of education, training, and skills to deliver substance use disorder counseling and recognizes the addiction professionals who provide these services.
Virtual Peer Support Act of 2021 This bill appropriates funding for grants to transition behavioral health peer support services that are provided at no cost to participants from in-person to virtual platforms or to otherwise expand these kinds of virtual services. Specifically, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration must award competitive grants to certain consumer-controlled or consumer-run organizations and tribal communities. Among other eligibility requirements for these grants, entities must have offered certain behavioral health services at no cost to participants before the declaration of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency.
Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy Act or the THRIVE Act This bill establishes a program to address the economy, racial justice, and climate change. The President must establish a board to advise the President and the heads of federal departments and agencies regarding the implementation of this bill. The President, in consultation with the board, must establish a 10-year plan to create a society that enables and supports greater racial, Indigenous, gender, environmental, and economic justice; work opportunities; healthy communities; a stable climate; and healthy ecosystems. In addition, the President, in consultation with the board, must implement a program that provides support to public or private entities that carry out qualified programs. The programs must meet certain labor, equity, and environmental conditions and support infrastructure, including to expand access to pollution-free, renewable, and affordable energy; care workers and social infrastructure (e.g., health care infrastructure); expanded access to housing; efforts to protect and restore biodiversity or natural habitats and efforts to remediate pollution in communities harmed by environmental, economic, or socioeconomic injustice; agriculture, including agricultural workers; or the development and transformation of the U.S. industrial base, including by expanding manufacturing of clean technologies.
This concurrent resolution commemorates the 30th anniversary of Operation Provide Comfort (the humanitarian operation to defend and deliver aid to Kurdish refugees fleeing attacks by the Hussein regime), and it reaffirms the strong American-Kurdish partnership.
Putting Americans First Act This bill prohibits the termination of U.S. sanctions against Iran unless and until the President certifies that all U.S. citizens imprisoned in Iran have been released into U.S. custody.
This bill requires the Department of the Treasury, within five years of the enactment of this bill, to modify its regulations relating to Income Tax; Diversification Requirements for Variable Annuity, Endowment, and Life Insurance Contracts to facilitate the use of exchange-traded funds as investment options under certain variable contracts. An exchange-traded fund means a regulated investment company, partnership, or trust (1) that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an open-end investment company or a unit investment trust, (2) the shares of which can be directly purchased or redeemed only by an authorized participant (i.e., a financial institution that is a member or participant of a registered clearing agency), and (3) the shares of which are traded throughout the day on a national stock exchange at market prices that may or may not be the same as the net asset value of the shares.
Global Climate Change Diplomacy Act This bill requires the Department of State to take specified actions to address global climate change. Specifically, the State Department must establish and staff Climate Change Officer positions, the holders of which shall be assigned to U.S. embassies, consulates, or diplomatic missions. Each officer shall provide climate change mitigation expertise, engage with international entities concerned with addressing climate change, and facilitate U.S. engagement in bilateral and multilateral cooperation on climate change. Each chief of mission in a foreign country must take certain climate change-related actions, including (1) developing a strategy to improve and increase studying, mitigating, and adapting to climate change; and (2) certifying that considerations related to climate change are incorporated in activities, management, and operations of the U.S. embassy or other diplomatic post under the director of the chief of mission. The State Department must also establish a curriculum at its Foreign Service Institute to provide employees with specialized climate change training, and it must ensure that embassy personnel responsible for contracts, grants, or acquisitions are trained on evaluating such agreements for considerations related to sustainability and climate change.
Taiwan International Solidarity Act This bill requires the Department of State to annually report to Congress on efforts by China to undermine Taiwan's participation in international organizations or Taiwan's relationships with other countries.
No Taxpayer Funding for the U.N. Population Fund This bill prohibits the use of funds to provide contributions directly or indirectly to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The UNFPA is a United Nations agency that supports access to sexual and reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning, maternal health care, and sexuality education.
This resolution sets forth procedures that allow Senators to cast their votes from outside of the Senate chamber. Specifically, these votes may be cast using certain technology approved by the Secretary of the Senate and Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper if the majority leader and minority leader jointly determine that an extraordinary crisis of national extent exists in which it would be infeasible for Senators to cast their votes in person.
