Restore the Rights of Property Owners under the Eviction Moratorium Issued by the CDC Act of 2021 This bill nullifies beginning on July 1, 2021, the emergency order (and any extensions of the order) issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on September 4, 2020, that restricted residential evictions during the COVID-19 emergency. It also prohibits the order from being reissued unless specifically authorized by law.
Essential Caregivers Act of 2021 This bill requires skilled nursing facilities, nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities for the intellectually disabled, and nearby inpatient rehabilitation facilities to establish an essential caregivers program during a public health emergency. Under the program, facilities must allow each resident to select up to two essential caregivers to provide daily living assistance, emotional support, or companionship during the emergency. Facilities must afford such caregivers 12 hours of access to residents each day (or unlimited access for end-of-life care), and caregivers must agree to follow facility protocols for staff safety. Facilities may deny access to caregivers who violate protocols, subject to certain notification requirements; the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must establish an appeals process relating to such decisions and may take specified enforcement actions against facilities that violate the bill's requirements.
Low-Income Water Customer Assistance Programs Act of 2021 This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish grant programs to assist low-income households in maintaining access to drinking water and wastewater services. Specifically, the EPA must establish a program to assist such households with paying drinking water bills. States and community water systems may apply for grants. In addition, the EPA must establish a program to assist such households with paying wastewater utility bills. States may apply for grants for small community-serving wastewater facilities. Certain municipalities may apply for grants for (1) treatment works for municipal waste, or (2) municipal separate storm sewer systems.
Disaster Reforestation Act This bill sets forth a special rule for the tax deduction for casualty losses of uncut timber (including pre-merchantable timber). It provides that in losses of any uncut timber from fire, storm, insects, invasive species, drought, or other casualty, or from theft, the basis for determining the amount of the deduction for such loss shall not be less than the excess of the value of such timber determined immediately before such loss was sustained, over the salvage value of such timber. To be eligible for the casualty loss deduction, the uncut timber subject to the loss must be reforested not later than the close of the five-year period beginning on the date of the loss.
Mental Health in Schools Excellence Program Act of 2021 This bill establishes a program to expand the mental health services workforce in schools. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Education to contract with graduate institutions to pay a share of the cost of attendance for graduate students pursuing careers in the school-based mental health profession (e.g., school counseling).
Black Farmers and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers Increased Market Share Act This bill addresses ways to increase market access for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and to ensure civil rights accountability for Department of Agriculture (USDA) employees. ( Socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers are those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to individual qualities.) Specifically, USDA must establish a program to make grants to support new or expanding food hubs designed to increase market access for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. USDA shall establish a process to prioritize the purchase of agricultural food products from socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. That process must account for barriers to market entry faced by socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers while maintaining the integrity of the purchasing process. The bill also establishes an agriculture hub income tax credit, which shall be an amount equal to 25% of the qualified food hub expenses for the taxable year. USDA must (1) ensure that its officials and employees are held accountable for engaging in discriminatory or retaliatory actions, harassment, civil rights violations, or related misconduct; and (2) bear the burden of proving by substantial evidence that an adverse decision was valid.
Respect for Peace Corps Volunteers Act This bill allows the official seal or emblem of the Peace Corps and the name Peace Corps to be used on any death announcement, plaque, grave stone, or other grave marker of a former volunteer, officer, or employee of the Peace Corps.
Tax-Free Pell Grant Act This bill excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, any amount received as a federal Pell Grant. It also expands the definition of qualified tuition and related expenses under the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning tax credit to include computer or peripheral equipment (up to a maximum of $1,000), child and dependent care expenses, and course materials.
Patriotic Corporations of America Act of 2021 This bill establishes new requirements for federal contracts, including Department of Defense contracts, with respect to issues of labor, environmental sustainability, taxes, and private equity firms. Specifically, the bill prohibits an executive agency from awarding a contract unless the offeror, among other requirements pays employees wages that meet certain minimums; agrees to sign a neutrality agreement with respect to efforts to form a labor organization and an agreement not to hire replacement workers in any strike; submits to the agency an actionable plan to address natural disasters and health crises, including policies and plans for paid family and medical leave and for whistleblower protections; and submits to the agency an actionable plan to recruit and promote people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and veterans. The bill sets forth additional provisions to assure that the offeror meets specified requirements with respect to the payment of environmental penalties, federal income tax liability and financial performance, and a controlling private equity firm meeting certain labor and environmental requirements. The bill establishes specified contract preferences (e.g., in favor of an offeror that does not outsource jobs outside the United States and that has a collective bargaining agreement with employees).
Expand American Educational Opportunity Act of 2021 This bill replaces the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax credits with a modified American Opportunity Tax Credit that (1) allows an income tax credit of up to $2,500 of the qualified tuition and related expenses of a student who is carrying at least one half of a normal course load, (2) allows a lifetime dollar limitation for the credit of $15,000 for all taxable years, and (3) increases the refundable portion of the credit to a maximum of $1,500. The bill defines qualified tuition and related expenses as tuition, fees, computer or peripheral equipment, child and dependent care expenses, and course materials for the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, and dependents at certain postsecondary educational institutions. The bill also allows an exclusion from gross income, for income tax purposes, of any amount received as a Federal Pell Grant.
Better Care Better Jobs Act This bill establishes programs and provides funds for state Medicaid programs to improve home- and community-based services (HCBS), such as home health care, personal care, case management, and rehabilitative services. Specifically, the bill provides funds for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to award planning grants, develop quality measures, and provide technical assistance to states regarding specified HCBS improvements, particularly with respect to access, utilization, and the associated workforce. The bill also increases the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for HCBS in states that develop plans and meet specified benchmarks for improvements. The bill also makes permanent (1) the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program (a grant program to help states increase the use of HCBS for long-term care and decrease the use of institutional care), and (2) certain provisions regarding Medicaid eligibility that protect against spousal impoverishment for recipients of HCBS.
Increasing Health Coverage through HRAs Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Services rule dated June 20, 2019, which provides for the integration of health reimbursement arrangements and other account-based health plans with individual health insurance coverage or Medicare.
