Reducing Barriers for Military Voters Act This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop a plan for providing end-to-end electronic voting services (e.g., services for registering to vote and returning a ballot) in participating states for absent uniformed service members who are deployed or mobilized in locations with limited or no postal service. Specifically, DOD must develop the plan by consulting with state and local election officials. Further, the plan must include (1) methods to ensure that voters have the opportunity to verify that their ballots are received and tabulated, (2) methods to generate a verifiable and auditable vote trail, and (3) an assessment of whether commercially available technologies may be used to carry out the plan. DOD must implement the plan for a trial group of voters in participating states for the 2024 federal elections. The plan must be implemented for all voters in participating states for the 2026 federal elections and subsequent years.
Sponsored bills
This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that tax-exempt fraternal benefit societies provide critical benefits to the people and communities of the United States and their work should continue to be promoted.
This resolution (1) supports the designation of June 2021 as National Dairy Month, and (2) encourages the people of the United States to visit with dairy producers to learn more about agriculture and the vital role dairy producers play in our global food system.
Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act of 2021 This bill requires federally funded entities to certify that they will not perform an abortion, and will not provide funds to any other entity that performs an abortion, except in cases of rape or incest or where a physical condition endangers the woman's life unless an abortion is performed. The bill's requirements do not apply to hospitals, as long as the hospital does not provide funds to any non-hospital entity for abortions that are not otherwise excepted.
Improving FHA Support for Small-Dollar Mortgages Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to report on barriers to making Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single-family mortgage insurance available for mortgages under $100,000. Specifically, HUD must report on policies, practices, and products used by the FHA and actions that will be taken to remove such barriers.
Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to issue regulations regarding lead-based paint in certain federally assisted housing that was constructed prior to 1978 and in which a child younger than age six will reside. Specifically, HUD must require owners of such housing to (1) conduct, within specified time frames, risk assessment for lead-based paint hazards; (2) control the hazards; and (3) provide certain notice to residents. If a family with a child younger than age six occupies such housing in which lead-based paint hazards are identified but not controlled, HUD must allow the family to relocate on an emergency basis to another dwelling without any wait, penalty, or lapse in assistance.
Growing Climate Solutions Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a voluntary Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Certification Program to help reduce entry barriers into voluntary environmental credit markets for farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners. A voluntary environmental credit market is a market through which agriculture and forestry credits may be bought or sold. Entities eligible to participate in the program are (1) providers of technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, or private forest landowners in carrying out sustainable land use management practices that prevent, reduce, or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, or sequester carbon; or (2) third-party verifiers that conduct the verification of the processes described in the protocols for voluntary environmental credit markets. Among other requirements, USDA must publish (1) a list of protocols and qualifications for eligible entities; (2) information describing how entities may self-certify under the program; (3) information describing how entities may obtain the expertise to meet the protocols and qualifications; and (4) instructions and suggestions to assist farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners in facilitating the development of agriculture or forestry credits and accessing voluntary environmental credit markets. USDA must also establish an advisory council to make recommendations regarding the list of protocols and qualifications, best practices, and voluntary environmental credit markets. The bill also rescinds certain funds provided in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and makes the funds available for the certification program.
Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of State to take certain actions promoting the normalization of relations between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant countries and regions. Specifically, the State Department must develop a strategy on expanding and strengthening the Abraham Accords (the term used to refer collectively to agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain marking the public normalization of relations between the two Arab countries and Israel). The strategy must include a description of how the U.S. government will encourage further normalization of relations with Israel. The State Department must report on the status of efforts to promote normalization of relations with Israel and other countries, including information on (1) laws that punish individuals for people-to-people relations with Israelis (i.e., anti-normalization laws), and (2) instances of the use of state-owned or state-operated media outlets to promote the prosecution of citizens or residents of Arab countries calling for peace with Israel.
Protections for Socially Good Activities Act This bill specifies that certain activities do not establish an employment relationship between a franchisor and a franchisee (or their respective employees) for the purpose of certain federal labor laws. Specifically, an employment relationship is not formed if the franchisor carries out activities that include providing, or otherwise requiring the use of, certain training or other materials related to sexual harassment, workplace violence, or discrimination; requiring the adoption of certain policies related to sexual harassment, workplace violence, or discrimination; requiring the adoption of a policy based on COVID-19; or providing personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Enhancing Credit Opportunities in Rural America Act of 2021 or the ECORA Act of 2021 This bill modifies the requirements for calculating taxable income to exclude from gross income interest received by a lender from real estate loans secured by agricultural real estate or by a leasehold mortgage (with a status as a lien) on agricultural real estate. Agricultural real estate includes real property that is substantially used for the production of one or more agricultural products. It also includes any single family residence that is (1) the principal residence of its occupant, (2) located in a rural area which is not within a Metropolitan Statistical Area and has a population of 2,500 or less, and (3) is purchased or improved with the proceeds of a loan secured by agricultural real estate or by a household mortgage.