This resolution calls on the government of Azerbaijan to immediately return all Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians. The resolution also urges the Department of State to engage with Azerbaijani authorities to bring about this result.
This resolution condemns Iranian state-sponsored terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens and officials and Iranian dissidents and expresses support for the people of Iran who are engaged in legitimate and peaceful protests against the Iranian regime.
This joint resolution nullifies the rule finalized by the Social Security Administration on November 16, 2020, that outlines when its administrative appeals judges may hold hearings and issue decisions on individual cases. Currently, these judges serve an appellate function where they review, at the request of Social Security claimants, the decisions of the administrative law judges who issue decisions in individual cases.
Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act of 2021 This bill establishes an alternative formula to calculate Social Security retirement benefits for those who receive pensions for certain non-covered employment. (The existing formula is known as the windfall elimination provision.) The alternative formula adjusts an individual's total lifetime earnings based on the proportion of covered earnings (i.e., earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes). It applies to individuals who (1) first become eligible for benefits after 2022, (2) have earnings from non-covered service performed after 1977, and (3) have less than 30 years of coverage (i.e., years in which a beneficiary is considered to have contributed a substantial amount into the Social Security trust funds). Beneficiaries receive the higher benefit amount as calculated under the alternative method or the existing formula. In addition, the bill provides rebates for certain beneficiaries currently impacted by the existing formula. The Social Security Administration must include non-covered earnings in Social Security account statements, and the Government Accountability Office must study the availability of certain information related to retirement plans maintained by state and local governments.
Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act of 2021 This bill increases the rehabilitation tax credit and modifies certain requirements for the credit. The bill increases the rate of the credit for qualified rehabilitation expenditures in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019, and before January 1, 2027, after which the rate reverts to 20%. The bill increases the rate of the credit to 30% for certain small projects whose qualified rehabilitation expenditures do not exceed $2.5 million. The bill also expands the types of buildings eligible for rehabilitation by decreasing the rehabilitation threshold from 100% to 50% of project expenses. It also eliminates the basis adjustment requirement for the credit and modifies rules relating to tax-exempt use property eligible for the credit.
Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2021 This bill increases the number of residency positions eligible for graduate medical education payments under Medicare for qualifying hospitals, including hospitals in rural areas and health professional shortage areas. Current law provides for an increase of up to 200 positions per fiscal year beginning in FY2023, with a total increase of 1,000 positions; each hospital may receive up to 25 additional positions. The bill provides for an additional increase of 2,000 positions per fiscal year from FY2023-FY2029; during this period, each hospital may receive up to 75 additional positions in total under the bill and current law. Additionally, one-third of the positions that are made available under the bill must be allocated to hospitals that are already operating above applicable resident limits. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to report on strategies to increase the diversity of the health professional workforce, including with respect to representation from rural, low-income, and minority communities.
Willie O'Ree Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O'Ree or, if unavailable, to a member of his family, in recognition of his contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity.
Our Homes, Our Votes Act This bill facilitates voter registration for residents of certain federally assisted housing for the purpose of federal elections. Specifically, the bill requires each lease and annual income recertification for such housing that is administered by a public housing agency (PHA) to include a voter registration application. A PHA must send any completed application to state election officials. The bill also treats owners of federally assisted housing as voter registration agencies.
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021 This bill provides for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley. After the award the medal shall be given to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Focused Reduction of Effluence and Stormwater runoff through Hydrofracking Environmental Regulation Act of 2021 or the FRESHER Act of 2021 This bill addresses stormwater runoff from mining, oil, or gas operations. Specifically, it eliminates a prohibition on the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring a permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System for discharges of certain collected, uncontaminated stormwater runoff from mining operations or oil and gas operations. In addition, the Department of the Interior must study stormwater runoff associated with oil or gas operations, including an analysis of (1) measurable contamination, (2) groundwater resources, and (3) the susceptibility of aquifers to contamination from stormwater runoff associated with the operations.
