USPS Fairness Act This bill repeals the requirement that the U.S. Postal Service annually prepay future retirement health benefits.
Effective Drug Control Strategy Act of 2021 This bill requires the Office of National Drug Control Policy to (1) evaluate the effectiveness of all federally funded activities aimed at reducing the demand for illegal drugs, and (2) publish annually a complete list of all drug control grant programs.
Protecting Americans from Unnecessary Spread upon Entry from COVID-19 Act of 2021 or the PAUSE Act of 2021 This bill maintains immigration restrictions put in place under public health emergency authorities to prevent the introduction of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) from foreign countries. Specifically, the bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from rescinding or reducing the stringency of the restrictions. It also prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from stopping or reducing enforcement of the restrictions. These prohibitions remain in effect until (1) federal and state COVID-19 emergency orders are lifted, and (2) the risk of introducing COVID-19 in or from Canada and Mexico is minimal.
Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act This bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from awarding family planning grants to entities that perform abortions or provide funding to other entities that perform abortions. To receive a grant, an entity must certify it will refrain from those activities during the grant period. The bill provides exceptions for abortions (1) in cases of rape or incest; or (2) when the life of the woman is in danger due to a physical disorder, injury, or illness. It also exempts hospitals unless they provide funds to non-hospital entities that provide abortions. HHS must report annually on this prohibition.
Daylight Act This bill allows states to observe daylight savings time year-round. (States may already choose to observe standard time year-round.)
This bill establishes in the legislative branch the Election Integrity Commission. The commission must (1) study the integrity and administration of the November 2020 general election; and (2) make recommendations to Congress on improving the security, integrity, and administration of federal elections. The commission terminates 30 days after the submission of its final report.
Student Empowerment Act This bill allows tax-exempt distributions from qualified tuition programs (known as 529 plans) to be used for additional educational expenses in connection with enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary school. (Under current law, distributions in connection with an elementary or secondary school are limited to tuition for a public, private, or religious school.) The bill allows the distributions to be used for additional educational expenses, including curriculum and curricular materials, books or other instructional materials, online educational materials, tutoring or educational classes outside the home, testing fees, fees for dual enrollment in an institution of higher education, and educational therapies for students with disabilities. Distributions may also be used for tuition and the purposes above in connection with a homeschool (whether treated as a homeschool or a private school under state law).
Responsible Climate Action and American Competitiveness Act This bill requires the President to notify Congress at least 30 days before submitting to the other parties of the Paris Agreement the climate change-related actions the United States will take. (The agreement refers to these planned actions as nationally determined contributions.) The notification to Congress must contain certain information including (1) a detailed economic justification of the planned actions, (2) a cost-benefit analysis of the actions, and (3) a description of how the actions will support U.S. efforts to counter the malign influence of the Chinese and Russian governments over energy supply chains. The Paris Agreement requires each party to periodically submit its planned actions for addressing climate change, such as a plan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by a certain level.
This concurrent resolution authorizes the use of the rotunda of the Capitol to honor, upon death, the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient for acts performed during World War II, at the election of the individual or their next of kin.
Access Technology Affordability Act of 2021 This bill allows a refundable tax credit equal to the amounts paid for qualified access technology for use by a blind individual who is the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or a dependent of the taxpayer. Qualified access technology is hardware, software, or other information technology with the primary function of converting or adapting information that is visually represented into forms or formats useable by blind individuals. The credit is limited to (1) costs that are not compensated by insurance or otherwise, and (2) an aggregate amount of $2,000 per blind individual in any period of three consecutive taxable years. The credit must be adjusted for inflation after 2021 and terminates after 2026.
