This resolution calls on all Americans to observe the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and honor those who lost their lives.
Federal Acquisition E-Commerce Fairness and Competition Act This bill requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to expand the testing program for e-commerce portal models. Specifically, the GSA must (1) expand the proof-of-concept testing program by testing at least three commercial e-commerce portal models, including the E-Commerce Model, the E-Procurement Model, and the E-Marketplace Model (as described in a GSA implementation plan published in March 2018), to ensure that such program is representative of available commercial e-commerce portal models that qualify for the program; and (2) report to Congress. The GSA must ensure that a commercial e-commerce portal provider awarded a contract that is owned or controlled by a person or entity with a market capitalization greater than $600 billion at any time in the two years preceding this bill's enactment (e.g., Amazon) does not sell products through the commercial e-commerce portal that compete with products sold by any third-party supplier through such portal.
Prevent Taliban Support Act This bill prohibits using federal funds to provide any kind of support to the Taliban or a Taliban affiliate. It also prohibits waiving any U.S.-imposed sanctions on the Taliban or a Taliban affiliate unless a law is enacted specifically providing for such a waiver.
This bill requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to report to Congress on projections of the estimated tax gap (i.e., the difference between tax liabilities owed to the IRS and those liabilities that the IRS actually collects). The IRS may use artificial intelligence and related data analysis tools to calculate a tax gap projection. The bill also requires the Joint Committee on Taxation to issue periodic reports to the congressional tax committees on the tax gap projection. The bill restricts IRS funding to FY2021 levels for audits and enforcement until it publishes an updated tax gap projection. Funding is also restricted for certain purposes, including (1) targeting U.S. citizens who exercise their First Amendment rights, (2) targeting a group for regulatory scrutiny based on its ideological beliefs, and (3) auditing individual taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of less than $400,000. The bill directs the IRS to establish a fellowship program to recruit private sector tax experts to join the IRS to create and participate in the audit task force. The purposes of the tax force include performing audit case selection, educating IRS employees on emerging issues, auditing selected taxpayers, addressing offshore tax evasion, and identifying, mentoring, and training IRS junior employees with respect to audits.
Protecting Student Athletes From Concussions Act This bill conditions each state's receipt of federal funds, beginning in FY2023, on the state's enforcement of specified minimum requirements for the prevention and treatment of concussions in school-sponsored athletics and activities. Each local educational agency must develop and implement a standard plan for concussion safety and management that includes (1) the education of students, parents, and school personnel about concussions; (2) specified supports for each student recovering from a concussion; and (3) best practices designed to ensure the uniformity of safety standards, treatment, and management. Each public school must post on school grounds and publish on the school website specified information about concussions. If any public school personnel suspects that a student has sustained a concussion during a school-sponsored activity, the student must be immediately removed from participation in that activity and prohibited from participating in any school-sponsored athletic activities until the student submits a written release from a health care professional. Furthermore, the school personnel must report all available information regarding the injury to a concussion management team that will confirm and report details of the injury to the student's parents. The school's concussion management team shall consult with and make recommendations to relevant school personnel and the student to ensure that the student is receiving the appropriate academic supports.
Working Dog Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue 50,000 $5 gold coins, 500,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins in commemoration of the service that working dogs provide to society. The designs of the coins minted under this bill shall be emblematic of the contributions of working dogs to society, including in detection, military service, therapy and assistance. Treasury may issue coins only during the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2023. All sales of coins shall include a surcharge, which shall be paid to America's VetDogs for general expenses associated with the fulfillment of its mission.
Renter Protection Act of 2021 This bill limits the use and availability of assistance provided under certain emergency rental assistance programs created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, rental assistance not yet used by grantees to assist eligible households as of July 1, 2021, must only be used for rental arrears after this date, and not for rent, utilities and home energy costs and arrears, or other expenses as allowed under current law. Further, the bill changes the deadline for distribution of these funds from September 30, 2022, to December 31, 2021.
Veterans' Prostate Cancer Treatment and Research Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish in its National Surgery Office an interdisciplinary clinical pathway for all stages of prostate cancer. Clinical pathways are health care management tools designed around research and evidence-based practices that provide direction for the care and treatment of a specific condition. The clinical pathway must include specified elements, such as a diagnosis pathway and a treatment pathway. The VA must consult with and incorporate feedback from (1) veterans who have received prostate cancer care at its medical facilities, and (2) experts in multidisciplinary cancer care and clinical research. Additionally, the VA must publish the clinical pathway on a public VA website and annually update the pathway as needed based on medical literature and evidence-based guidelines. The bill also requires the VA to submit a plan to establish a prostate cancer program using the comprehensive prostate cancer clinical pathway.
Veterans' Agricultural Apprenticeship Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Agriculture to establish a program to make direct loans to farmers and ranchers who will provide mentorship and apprenticeship opportunities for veterans who have not previously operated a farm or ranch. The Government Accountability Office must report on the effectiveness of the program in assisting veterans in becoming farmers and ranchers.
This resolution expresses support for robustly funding programs to increase access to affordable housing and address homelessness, including in any infrastructure package housing investments to serve families with the lowest incomes, and expanding renters' rights.
Member Business Loan Expansion Act This bill revises requirements related to the terms and lending limits of certain credit union loans. Specifically, the bill (1) allows the National Credit Union Administration Board to lengthen the maturity term of certain loans made by a credit union, and (2) raises the credit limit for credit union member businesses under which such loans are excluded from overall credit union lending limits. Finally, the bill expands the definition of a community financial institution by (1) allowing insured credit unions to qualify, and (2) raising the average asset limit. (Community financial institutions are subject to reduced asset requirements for purposes of Federal Home Loan Bank membership.)
Creating Opportunities in Research for Environmental Justice Act of 2021 or the CORE Justice Act of 2021 This bill allows certain educational institutions a tax credit for up to 30% of amounts paid that are necessary for a qualified environmental justice program. The bill defines qualified environmental justice program as a program conducted by educational institutions that is designed to address, or improve data about, qualified environmental stressors (e.g., contaminations of air, water, soil, or food) for the primary purpose of improving health and economic outcomes of individuals residing in low-income areas or areas at risk of experiencing multiple exposures to environmental stressors. The bill requires (1) the allocation of credit amounts to educational institutions over a five-year period, and (2) public disclosure of the identity of educational institutions receiving allocations and the amount of each allocation.
