21st Century Buy American Act This bill modifies domestic product preferences for federal acquisitions. The bill also allows the Department of Defense to make or guarantee loans to manufacturers under the Defense Production Act for specified uses, such as to increase the capacity to produce items that are vital to national security. The bill requires more than 60% of a product's cost to be from domestic components for the product to qualify as American for purposes of the Buy American Act. The bill narrows the circumstances under which the overseas use exception and the public interest exception to domestic content requirements may be made. The General Services Administration must maintain BuyAmerican.gov, which must include and make available to the public (1) information on all waivers and exceptions to domestic product preference laws requested, under consideration, or granted; and (2) publicly available contact information for the contracting agencies. No requested waiver of a domestic product preference law may be granted if (1) the request was not made available to the public, (2) the information available to the agency concerning the request was not made available to the public, or (3) no opportunity for public comment concerning the request was granted.
Diversifying by Investing in Educators and Students To Improve Outcomes For Youth Act or the Diversify Act This bill revises the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grant program. The TEACH program awards grants to undergraduate and graduate students who commit to teaching in a high-need field and in an elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students. First, the bill raises the maximum amount for TEACH grants. Second, the bill allows TEACH grants to cover the full cost of attendance. Currently, these grants may be used only for tuition, fees, and on-campus housing. The bill allows teaching in a high-need early childhood education program to count toward service requirements for the program. Next, the bill eliminates the process for converting a TEACH grant to a loan if a recipient does not complete the requirements of the program. Further, the bill prohibits the Department of Education (ED) from instituting or creating a monetary penalty for failure or refusal to complete the service requirement. In addition, the bill requires ED to send an electronic certificate to grant recipients who have completed their service requirement. The bill also exempts the TEACH program 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.
Trees for Residential Energy and Economic Savings Act of 2021 or the TREES Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a grant program for states, local governments, Indian tribes, and other entities to facilitate tree planting projects that reduce residential energy consumption. Under the program, DOE must award grants to facilitate the planting of at least 300,000 trees annually in residential neighborhoods.
Financial Factors in Selecting Retirement Plan Investments Act This bill permits fiduciaries of employer-sponsored retirement plans to consider environmental, social, governance, or similar factors when making investment decisions. It also nullifies the rule published by the Employee Benefits Security Administration on November 13, 2020, that requires fiduciaries to select investments and investment courses of action based solely on financial considerations.
Budgeting for Opioid Addiction Treatment Act This bill imposes an excise tax on the sale of any active opioid. The tax is equal to one cent per milligram so sold and it is imposed on the manufacturer, producer, or importer of the opioid. The term active opioid means any controlled substance that is opium, an opiate, or any derivative thereof. The bill provides block grants for substance abuse treatment programs. The Department of Health and Human Services must report on the impact of this bill on (1) the retail cost of active opioids; (2) patient access to such opioids, particularly cancer and hospice patients; and (3) the use of tax revenues to improve substance abuse treatment efforts. The report must also make suggestions for improving access to opioids for cancer and hospice patients and substance abuse treatment efforts.
Extinction Prevention Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of the Interior to provide financial assistance for the conservation of butterflies and moths in North America; plant species in Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands; freshwater mussels in the United States; and bony fish found in desert ecosystems in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah. Among other things, the bill establishes the North America Butterfly Conservation Fund, the Pacific Islands Plant Conservation Fund, the Freshwater Mussel Conservation Fund, and the Southwest Desert Fish Conservation Fund. In selecting projects for assistance, Interior must prioritize projects that conserve threatened and endangered species.
Surviving Widow(er) Income Fair Treatment Act of 2021 or the SWIFT Act This bill modifies eligibility requirements and increases Social Security survivor benefits for widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses of a deceased worker. Specifically, the bill makes widow and widower's benefits available to disabled individuals at any age, whereas currently the benefits are limited to such individuals between ages 50 to 60. In addition, provisions reducing benefits in various instances, such as when a beneficiary is entitled to multiple types of benefits, shall not apply to widow and widower's benefits for individuals with disabilities. Additionally, the bill raises the upper age limit for determining whether a beneficiary has a child in his or her care from 16 to 18 years (or 19, if the child is a full-time elementary or secondary school student). An individual with a child in care may receive increased benefits in specified instances. The bill also increases various limits on widow and widower's benefits in certain instances and modifies the calculation for increased benefits for individuals who choose to delay receiving such benefits. For current beneficiaries, increases in Social Security benefits under this bill shall not affect the beneficiary's eligibility or benefit amount for any federal assistance program.
End Transfers of Detained Immigrants Act This bill imposes requirements related to individuals in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody during the COVID-19 public health emergency declared by the Department of Health and Human Services. ICE may not transfer an individual between ICE facilities until the COVID-19 transmission rate in the United States meets or drops below a certain threshold. In addition, ICE may not apprehend or transfer an individual between an ICE detention facility and a facility operated by an outside entity, such as a state or local prison, unless the individual is tested for COVID-19 and placed in quarantine (1) for 14 consecutive days, or (2) until the test comes back negative. These two requirements shall not prohibit the transfer of (1) an individual solely to process that individual's release from custody, or (2) a minor from ICE custody to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. If ICE cannot ensure compliance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for mitigating the spread of COVID-19 (including maintaining social distancing requirements at all times) in any ICE facility, ICE shall (1) immediately review the custody of all detained individuals in that facility, and (2) release individuals found eligible for release.
Diversifying by Investing in Educators and Students to Improve Outcomes For Youth Act or the Diversify Act This bill revises the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grant program. The TEACH program awards grants to undergraduate and graduate students who commit to teaching in a high-need field and in an elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students. First, the bill raises the maximum amount for TEACH grants. Second, the bill allows TEACH grants to cover the full cost of attendance. Currently, these grants may be used only for tuition, fees, and on-campus housing. The bill allows teaching in a high-need early childhood education program to count toward service requirements for the program. Next, the bill eliminates the process for converting a TEACH grant to a loan if a recipient does not complete the requirements of the program. Further, the bill prohibits the Department of Education (ED) from instituting or creating a monetary penalty for failure or refusal to complete the service requirement. In addition, the bill requires ED to send an electronic certificate to grant recipients who have completed their service requirement. The bill also exempts the TEACH program 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.
Hiring Incentive to Return Employment Act of 2021 or the HIRE Act of 2021 This bill increases the rate of the work opportunity tax credit from 40% to 50% of wages paid to members of the targeted groups eligible for such credit over a two-year period. It also increases to $10,000 the amount of wages taken into account for purposes of the credit.
Jobs, On-the-Job 'Earn-While-You-Learn' Training, and Apprenticeships for Young African Americans Act This bill makes changes to the national apprenticeship system aimed at promoting diversity. Specifically, the bill establishes the Diversity and Inclusion Administrator in the Office Apprenticeship within the Office of Employment and Training Administration at the Department of Labor, requires every apprenticeship program that registers or renews an apprenticeship with the Office of Apprenticeship to submit a plan to increase participation by individuals who are African American, and requires the Diversity and Inclusion Administrator to award grants to create or expand diversity in registered apprenticeship programs.
Civics Learning Act of 2021 This bill expands the use of American History and Civics Education—National Activities grants to prioritize innovative civics learning and teaching. Specifically, the bill expands the allowable uses of these grants to include before-, during-, and after-school activities and extracurricular activities; activities that include service learning and community service projects that are linked to school curriculum; activities that encourage and support student participation in school governance; and online and video game-based learning. Further, the Department of Education must ensure that specified percentages of grant funds are awarded on a diverse basis to eligible entities (e.g., institutions of higher education) that serve students and teachers at elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools.
