Securing Universal Communications Connectivity to Ensure Students Succeed Act or the SUCCESS Act This bill provides additional funding for the Emergency Connectivity Fund, which supports remote learning during the COVID-19 emergency period by covering reasonable costs of laptop and tablet computers, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and broadband connectivity purchases for off-campus use by students, school staff, and library patrons.
Local Journalism Sustainability Act This bill allows individual taxpayers a tax credit up to $250 in any taxable year for subscriptions to one or more local newspapers for the taxpayer's personal use. It also allows a local news journalist employer a payroll credit for wages paid to local news journalists. The bill allows certain small businesses a tax credit for amounts paid for advertising in a local newspaper or through a broadcast of a radio or television station serving a local community.
Women's Retirement Protection Act This bill modifies the requirements for employer-sponsored pension plans to (1) extend spousal consent requirements that currently apply to defined benefit pension plans to defined contribution pension plans; and (2) allow certain long-term, part-time workers to participate in pension plans that include either a qualified cash or deferred arrangement or a salary reduction agreement. Financial product or service providers who sell retirement financial products or services must provide purchasers of their products or services an easily accessible link to the website of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to obtain information relating to retirement planning or later life economic security. The Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor shall award grants to certain community-based organizations to (1) improve the financial literacy of women who are working age or in retirement, and (2) assist low-income women and survivors of domestic violence in obtaining qualified domestic relations orders and the benefits they are entitled to through the orders.
Time for Completion Act This bill expands consumer information disclosure requirements related to student completion or graduation rates at institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student-aid programs. Currently, such IHEs must disclose the completion or graduation rate of first-time, full-time, certificate- or degree-seeking undergraduate students. This bill expands disclosure requirements to include the completion or graduation rates of non-first-time and half-time certificate- or degree-seeking undergraduate students. The bill also sets forth new time periods for calculating the completion or graduation rates for programs of study that are less than four years.
School Milk Nutrition Act of 20 21 This bill revises requirements for milk provided by the National School Lunch Program of the Department of Agriculture. The bill permits schools participating in the program to offer students low-fat flavored milk.
This bill repeals the limitation on the amount of distilled spirits excise tax covered over (paid) to the treasuries of the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The bill requires certain amounts of the excise tax paid to the treasury of Puerto Rico to be transferred to the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust Fund.
United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act of 2021 This bill establishes restrictions on businesses that relocate call centers or redirect customer service calls to locations outside the United States. Specifically, a business must notify the Department of Labor that it intends to move its customer service call center overseas and Labor must maintain a publicly available list of such businesses. Subject to narrow exceptions, a business appearing on such list is ineligible to receive federal grants or guaranteed loans for five years after the business is added to the list. Further, agencies must condition the awarding of government contracts on the requirement that any call center activity pursuant to the contract must be performed in the United States. Additionally, the bill requires call center employees to disclose their physical location at the beginning of each call initiated or received, unless all employees of the business participating in the communication are located in the United States, among other exceptions.
Averting Loss of Life and Injury by Expediting SIVs Act of 2021 or the Allies Act of 2021 This bill increases the number of special immigrant visas available to qualified Afghan nationals who worked for the U.S. government or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) missions in Afghanistan. The bill also relaxes certain qualifications for such visas. Specifically, this bill makes available an additional 8,000 visas for principal aliens under this special visa program, to be available until all such visas have been issued. (The numerical limitations in this program apply only to the principal alien who applies for the visa, not to any accompanying spouse or child.) Under this bill, an alien may qualify based on a credible basis for concern about the possibility of an ongoing serious threat in Afghanistan due to their work with the U.S. government or a NATO mission, where currently the alien must have experienced such a threat. The bill also eliminates a requirement for each applicant to submit a credible sworn statement describing that threat. Furthermore, for an applicant qualifying for a visa by performing duties for U.S. military personnel stationed with a NATO mission, this bill eliminates a requirement that the duties performed qualify as sensitive and trusted duties. If an alien submits a visa application that included an accompanying spouse or child but the alien passes away before the application is granted, the surviving spouse or child shall remain eligible to receive a visa under that application. Currently, a surviving spouse or child retains eligibility only if the application was approved before the alien passed away.
Universal School Meals Program Act of 2021 This bill revises requirements under the food and nutrition programs of the Department of Agriculture, such as the school lunch and breakfast programs. For example, the bill permanently provides free meals to all school children regardless of income. The bill increases the reimbursement rate for school food authorities participating in the food and nutrition programs. The bill also prohibits school food authorities from (1) physically segregating or otherwise discriminating against any child participating in the free breakfast program, or (2) overtly identifying a child participating in the program with a special token or announcement. Additionally, the bill expands the summer food service program by making all children eligible for participation in the program. Further, the bill revises eligibility determinations for measuring poverty to include runaway or homeless youth, foster children, migratory children, and children participating in specified programs (e.g., Head Start).
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team and the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team should receive equal pay.
United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act of 2021 This bill establishes restrictions on businesses that relocate call centers or redirect customer service calls to locations outside the United States. Specifically, a business must notify the Department of Labor that it intends to move its customer service call center overseas and Labor must maintain a publicly available list of such businesses. Subject to narrow exceptions, a business appearing on such list is ineligible to receive federal grants or guaranteed loans for five years after the business is added to the list. Further, agencies must condition the awarding of government contracts on the requirement that any call center activity pursuant to the contract must be performed in the United States. Additionally, the bill requires call center employees to disclose their physical location at the beginning of each call initiated or received, unless all employees of the business participating in the communication are located in the United States, among other exceptions.
Protect Drinking Water from PFAS Act of 2021 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address the level of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. PFAS are man-made and may have adverse human health effects. A variety of products contain PFAS, such as nonstick cookware or weatherproof clothing. The EPA must publish a maximum contaminant level (MCL) and promulgate a national primary drinking water regulation for PFAS that includes perfluorooctanoic acid (commonly referred to as PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (commonly referred to PFOS). The MCL and regulation must be protective of the health of subpopulations that may be at greater risk than the general population of adverse health effects from exposure to PFAS in drinking water.
