Strengthening and Amplifying Vaccination Efforts to Locally Immunize all Veterans and Every Spouse Act or the SAVE LIVES Act This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish a COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) vaccine to covered individuals during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Under the bill, covered individuals are veterans who are not eligible to enroll in the VA health care system; specified veterans who are eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care abroad; beneficiaries who are eligible for care due to a specified disability or death of a veteran; family caregivers of veterans who are participating in the VA's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers; caregivers of veterans participating in the VA's Program of General Caregiver Support Services; caregivers of veterans participating in the VA's Medical Foster Home Program, Bowel and Bladder Program, Home Based Primary Care Program, or Veteran Directed Care Program; and the spouses of veterans. The VA must prioritize the vaccination of (1) veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system, (2) veterans who fail to enroll but receive hospital care and medical services for specified disabilities in their first 12 months of separation from service, and (3) caregivers accompanying such prioritized veterans. Under the bill, the VA is authorized to offer a vaccine to the spouse of a veteran near the same time the veteran receives the vaccine.
Biliteracy Education Seal and Teaching Act or the BEST Act This bill directs the Department of Education to award renewable two-year grants to states to establish or improve, and carry out, Seal of Biliteracy programs to recognize student proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in both English and a second language. Further, these programs must allow speakers of any official Native American language to use equivalent proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in such language in lieu of proficiency in English.
Farm to School Act of 20 21 This bill modifies and expands the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Farm to School Program. The program currently provides grants and technical assistance to schools, state and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, agricultural producers, and nonprofit entities to improve access to local foods in schools. Among other things, the bill reauthorizes the program through FY2027; permits USDA to provide land-grant colleges and universities with grants, research, evaluation, and technical assistance under the program; expands the purposes for grants awarded under the program to include implementing educational activities relating to agriculture, nutrition, or food; requires USDA to provide technical assistance, research, and information to increase awareness of and participation in farm to school programs among agricultural producers, including beginning, veteran, and socially disadvantaged farmers; directs USDA to seek to improve local food procurement and distribution options for agricultural producers and eligible institutions; authorizes USDA to fund projects that include innovative approaches to aggregation, processing, transportation, and distribution; establishes new limitations on the amount and duration of grants; and limits funds that may be used for administrative costs.
This resolution honors the essential staff of the U.S. Capitol complex, recognizes and thanks them for their invaluable contributions, and commits to better protecting them.
This resolution supports the designation of a National FFA Week. It also (1) recognizes the important role of the National FFA Organization (Future Farmers of America) in developing the next generation of leaders who will change the world, and (2) celebrates 50 years of National FFA alumni and supporters.
TRICARE Select Restoration Act This bill eliminates the TRICARE Select annual enrollment fee for beneficiaries who retired from the uniformed services before January 1, 2018.
Lacey Act Amendments of 2021 This bill modifies the injurious wildlife provision of the Lacey Act, which generally prohibits the import and shipment of listed living creatures and their eggs. First, the bill specifies that the prohibition on shipment applies to interstate shipments within the continental United States. Second, the bill authorizes the Department of the Interior to issue an emergency designation prohibiting the importation of a species if necessary to address an imminent threat to human beings, to the interests of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, or to wildlife, or to the wildlife resources of the United States. Third, the bill establishes a presumptive prohibition on the importation of any nonnative species of wild mammal, wild bird, fish (including mollusks and crustacea), amphibian, or reptile, or the eggs of any such species. The presumption may be overcome if Interior determines that the species does not pose a significant risk of invasiveness to the United States.
American Dream Employment Act of 2021 This bill permits the compensation of congressional employees who hold a current employment authorization document that was issued pursuant to a grant of (1) deferred action, including under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program; (2) deferred enforced departure; or (3) temporary protected status. (Generally, these programs and statuses allow eligible aliens to remain and work in the United States.)
Methane Emissions Reduction Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to estimate annual methane emissions from each oil and natural gas producing basin and levy a fee for such emissions on each company that produces, gathers, processes, or transmits oil or natural gas. The fees must be used to provide grants through the National Coastal Resilience Fund of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Supporting Early-Career Researchers Act This bill authorizes the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a two-year pilot program to award grants to highly qualified early-career investigators to carry out an independent research program at the institution of higher education chosen by such investigator, to last for a period not greater than two years. In awarding grants, the NSF shall give priority to (1) early-career investigators who are from groups that are underrepresented in scientific research, and (2) early-career investigators who choose to carry out independent research at a minority-serving institution.
Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act of 2021 This bill allows tax credits for (1) energy storage technologies, and (2) battery storage technology. The bill expands the tax credit for investments in energy property to include equipment that (1) receives, stores, and delivers energy using batteries, compressed air, pumped hydropower, hydrogen storage (including electrolysis), thermal energy storage, regenerative fuel cells, flywheels, capacitors, superconducting magnets, or other technologies identified by the Internal Revenue Service; and (2) has a capacity of at least five kilowatt hours. The bill also expands the tax credit for residential energy efficient property to include expenditures for battery storage technology that (1) is installed on or in connection with a dwelling unit located in the United States and used as a residence by the taxpayer, and (2) has a capacity of at least three kilowatt hours.
TRICARE Reserve Select Improvement Act This bill expands TRICARE Reserve Select eligibility to include members of the Selected Reserve who are enrolled or eligible to enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
