Health Force, Resilience Force, and Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act of 2021 This bill establishes and expands programs to bring on individuals to perform public health functions, such as contact tracing and vaccine administration, to respond to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency and meet future public health needs. The bill provides funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish a Health Force. The funds are designated as an emergency requirement, which exempts the funds from discretionary spending limits and other budget enforcement rules. To establish the force, the CDC must award grants within 30 days to state, tribal, territorial, and local governments and community health centers to recruit and train individuals for roles in public health and health care. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must hire and train additional individuals for its Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employees. These employees may be detailed to certain federal agencies or to state, local, or tribal governments to support response efforts related to COVID-19 or other disasters or emergencies.
Bikeshare Transit Act of 2021 This bill allows bikeshare projects to be eligible for federal funding. The bill also makes shared micromobility (including bikesharing and shared scooter systems) projects eligible for funds if they shift traffic demand to non-peak hours or other transportation modes, increase vehicle occupancy rates, or otherwise reduce demand for roads.
Freedom from Regulating Edible Supplies and Horticulture Trucking Act or the FRESH Trucking Act This bill modifies service hour requirements for drivers transporting perishable agricultural, horticultural, or floricultural commodities. The bill requires the Department of Transportation to establish that loading and unloading of commercial motor vehicles shall be excluded from on-duty time requirements, there shall be no requirement of a 30-minute rest break within the first 8 hours of the hours of service on-duty requirements and the carrier or driver may take breaks at any time during the trip, and such carrier or driver may complete a scheduled trip if they are over the hours of service maximum on-duty drive schedule and are within 150 miles of their scheduled delivery point.
Health Care Affordability Act of 2021 This bill revises the tax credit for health care premium assistance to expand the eligibility of low-income taxpayers for such credit and reduce the cost of health care premiums.
Wear Your Mask Act This bill requires each federal agency to take action to ensure that an individual is required to wear a face mask inside a federal facility under its jurisdiction if the individual is within six feet of another individual to minimize the transmission of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Each agency shall make face masks available at each entrance to a federal facility at which such agency maintains a presence. The bill terminates such requirements when the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases determines, and publishes in the Federal Register a notification, that the requirement to wear a mask is no longer necessary to prevent such transmission.
This bill allows a refundable income tax credit for state income taxes paid by individuals providing services as first responders, doctors, nurses, or other health or emergency services. This credit expires after the Department of the Treasury certifies that the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency period has ended. The bill requires a reduction in federal highway funds paid to a state that corresponds to the credit amount allowed by this bill.
Farm-to-Market Road Repair Act of 2021 This bill expands eligibility for the surface transportation block grant program to include (1) projects for the construction of roads in rural areas that primarily serve to transport agricultural products from a farm or ranch to a marketplace, and (2) special allocations of apportioned funds under the program to areas with a population of less than 50,000.
Build America Act of 20 21 This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to carry out a national infrastructure investment grant program for capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure. Projects eligible for funding under the program include, at a minimum, highway and bridge projects, public transportation projects, passenger and freight rail transportation projects, and port infrastructure investments. In distributing grants under the program, DOT shall ensure an equitable geographic distribution of funds, an appropriate balance in addressing the needs of urban and rural areas, and investment in a variety of transportation modes. At least 20% of grant funds must be set aside for projects in rural areas. The bill also establishes a National Infrastructure Investment Trust Fund and increases the excise tax on gasoline other than aviation gasoline and on diesel fuel or kerosene.
Protecting Local Communities from Harmful Algal Blooms Act This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to include algal blooms in the definition of a major disaster .
Veteran Overmedication and Suicide Prevention Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to report on the deaths of covered veterans who died by suicide during the last five years, regardless of whether information relating to such deaths has been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A covered veteran is any veteran who received VA hospital care or medical services during the five-year period preceding the veteran's death. Among other elements, the report shall include the total number of covered veterans who died by suicide, violent death, or accidental death, as well as certain demographic information.
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting total outlays for a fiscal year from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year unless Congress authorizes the excess by a two-thirds vote of each chamber. The prohibition excludes outlays for repayment of debt principal and receipts derived from borrowing. The amendment prohibits total outlays for any fiscal year from exceeding 18% of the gross domestic product of the United States, unless two-thirds of each chamber of Congress provides for a specific increase above this amount. The amendment requires a two-thirds vote of each chamber of Congress to impose a new tax, increase the statutory rate of any tax, or increase the aggregate amount of revenue. It requires a three-fifths vote of each chamber to increase the limit on the debt of the United States. The President must submit an annual budget in which total outlays do not exceed total receipts and 18% of the gross domestic product of the United States. The amendment prohibits a court from ordering a revenue increase to enforce the requirements. Congress may waive specified requirements when a declaration of war is in effect or the United States is engaged in a military conflict that causes an imminent and serious military threat to national security.
This resolution urges the President not to return the United States to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action—commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal—unless the agreement is revised and Iran meets specified conditions. Further, the resolution recommends that U.S. sanctions against Iran remain in place until Iran has complied with all elements of a revised agreement.
