Accelerate Long-term Investment Growth Now Act or the ALIGN Act This bill makes permanent the expensing of certain new business equipment. Expensing allows the deduction of the full amount of an expense item in the same taxable year.
Cultivating Opportunity and Recovery from the Pandemic through Service Act or the CORPS Act This bill expands and modifies the administration of national service programs, including the National Senior Corps, to address the COVID-19 pandemic and its recovery period (i.e., through FY2024). The bill also (1) revises certain living allowances of particular national service corps participants; (2) expands the Senior Service Corps; (3) establishes a COVID-19 educational award; (4) implements a pilot program under which state commissions may directly place individuals in approved national service positions; and (5) excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, any living allowance provided to national public service participants and any national service educational award.
Global Hostage Act of 2021 This bill directs the President to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on foreign individuals or entities that knowingly participate in or are complicit in politically motivated harassment, abuse, arrest, or imprisonment of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. These sanctions shall also apply to those that materially assist or support such actions and those that provide significant support to an individual or entity sanctioned under this bill.
Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of 2021 This bill makes the tax credit for adoption expenses refundable.
Ensuring Linguistic Excellence and Vocational Aptitude by Teaching English Act or the ELEVATE Act This bill allows elementary and secondary school students who have migrated from Puerto Rico to the states to be fully considered as English learners for annual state allotments under the English Language Acquisition grant program.
Promoting Access to Capital in Underbanked Communities Act of 2021 This bill eliminates and reduces certain requirements applicable to new financial institutions, certain rural community banks, and federal savings associations. Federal banking agencies must issue rules allowing new financial institutions three years to meet capital requirements. During this period, a financial institution may request to deviate from an approved business plan and the appropriate agency has 30 days to approve or deny the request. The community bank leverage ratio—a way of evaluating debt levels—is reduced for certain rural community banks. Specifically, new rural community banks must have a ratio of 8%, with a three-year phase-in of the rate. Currently, the ratio is 8.5%. The bill removes certain restrictions to allow federal savings associations to invest in, sell, or otherwise deal in agricultural loans.
Family Medical Leave Modernization Act This bill expands who is permitted to take qualifying family and medical leave and provides additional leave for parents and family caregivers. The bill grants leave to private sector and federal employees to care for a domestic partner and any individual whose close association with such employees is like a family relationship, regardless of biological or legal relationship, if (1) such individual has a serious health condition, or (2) there is a qualifying exigency due to such employees' active duty in the Armed Forces. The bill entitles an employee who is a domestic partner, next of kin of a member of the Armed Forces, or any individual whose close association is like a family relationship, regardless of biological or legal relationship, to take leave to care for the service member. The bill entitles private sector and federal employees to take additional leave to participate in or attend their children's and grandchildren's school or community organization activities, meet routine family medical care needs, or care for their elderly relatives.
Ensuring Linguistic Excellence and Vocational Aptitude by Teaching English Act or the ELEVATE Act This bill allows elementary and secondary school students who have migrated from Puerto Rico to the states to be fully considered as English learners for annual state allotments under the English Language Acquisition grant program.
Fire Fighters and EMS Employer-Employee Cooperation Act This bill requires the Federal Labor Relations Authority to determine whether a state substantially provides fire and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel the right to form and join a labor organization; recognition by fire and EMS employers of the employees' labor organization, agreement to bargain with the organization, and reduction of any agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum of understanding; the right to bargain over hours, wages, and terms and conditions of employment; and arbitration or other mechanisms to resolve an impasse in collective bargaining negotiations. The bill makes the authority responsible for (1) determining the appropriateness of units for labor representation; (2) supervising elections; (3) conducting hearings and resolving complaints of unfair labor practices; and (4) protecting the right of employees to form, join, or assist any labor organization, or to refrain from doing so. An employer, fire and EMS personnel, or labor organization may not engage in a lockout, sickout, work slowdown, strike, or any other organized job action that will measurably disrupt the delivery of emergency services and is designed to compel an employer, fire and EMS personnel, or labor organization to agree to the terms of a proposed contract.
Tax Fairness for Workers Act This bill allows an above-the-line tax deduction for union dues and expenses. (An above-the-line deduction is subtracted from gross income and is available whether or not a taxpayer itemizes other deductions.) The bill also reinstates the miscellaneous itemized tax deduction for unreimbursed expenses attributable to the performance of services as an employee (Under current law, all miscellaneous itemized deductions are suspended through 2025).
No TikTok on Government Devices Act This bill requires the social media video application TikTok to be removed from the information technology of federal agencies. Specifically, the bill requires the Office of Management and Budget to develop standards for executive agencies that require TikTok and any successor application from the developer to be removed from agency information technology (e.g., devices). Such standards must include exceptions for law enforcement activities, national security interests, and security researchers.
Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2021 This bill revises provisions of the low-income housing tax credit and renames it as the affordable housing credit . The bill increases the per capita dollar amount of the credit and its minimum ceiling amount beginning in 2021 and extends the inflation adjustment for such amounts. The bill modifies tenant income eligibility requirements and the average income formula for determining such income. It also revises rules for student occupancy of rental units and tenant voucher payments, and prohibits any refusal to rent to victims of domestic abuse. The bill further modifies the credit to increase state allocations of the credit; repeal the qualified census tract population cap; prohibit local approval and contribution requirements; increase the credit for certain projects designated to serve extremely low-income households; increase the credit for certain bond-financed projects designated by state agencies; eliminate the basis reduction for properties that receive certain energy-related tax benefits; and increase the population cap for difficult development areas (i.e., areas with high construction, land, and utility costs relative to area median gross income). The bill also includes Indian and rural areas as difficult development areas and modifies other requirements relating to casualty losses, acquisition credits, and foreclosures.
