Rep. Byron Donalds

This resolution mourns the death of Frederick Stephen Humphries, former president of Florida A&M University and Tennessee State University, and requests that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to his family.

The bill directs the Joint Committee on the Library to remove the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the Capitol and to obtain a bust of Clarence Thomas with which to replace it.

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.

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.

Vaccine Passport Prevention Act of 2021 This bill generally prohibits governments from issuing vaccine passports (i.e., standard documentation other than health records to certify an individual's COVID-19 vaccination status to a third party) and discrimination based on an individual's COVID-19 vaccination status or post-transmission recovery. Specifically, the federal government may not issue any vaccine passport or discriminate based on an individual's COVID-19 vaccination or recovery status by requiring documentation of the status as a condition of receiving a benefit or service. In addition, the federal government (except for the Department of Defense) may not mandate COVID-19 vaccines as a condition of federal employment. Furthermore, the bill prohibits, as a condition of receiving certain COVID-19 relief funds, states, tribal nations, and localities from issuing vaccine passports or engaging in discrimination by requiring documentation of an individual's COVID-19 vaccination or recovery status. Additionally, the bill prohibits private entities that offer products or services affecting interstate commerce from requiring documentation of an individual's COVID-19 vaccination or recovery status in order to obtain a product or service. It also establishes a private right of action for individuals who experience such discrimination by private entities. The bill also provides an exception to allow kindergartens, elementary and secondary schools, and institutions of higher education to mandate COVID-19 vaccines as a condition of enrollment. However, the Department of Education may not award financial assistance to any school that requires COVID-19 vaccines without also providing for exemptions based on (1) religious or conscientious beliefs, (2) medical reasons, and (3) natural immunity from COVID-19.

Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2021 This bill increases from $10,000 to $20,000 the lifetime limitation on penalty-free distributions from tax-exempt retirement plans for first-time homebuyers.

Unnecessary Agency Regulations Reduction Act of 2021 This bill requires the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to annually report a list of major rules (i.e., rules with a significant economic impact, cost to consumers, or adverse effects on competition) that it recommends should be consolidated or repealed because they are outdated, duplicative, or incur excessive compliance costs. Congress must review the list to determine, and recommend by joint resolution, any such rules to consolidate or repeal.

Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching Act of 2021 or the ACCESS Act of 2021 This bill requires large online platforms (e.g., YouTube, Salesforce) to facilitate consumers and businesses switching from one platform to another. Specifically, the platforms must maintain interfaces that (1) securely transfer user data to other platforms (i.e., portability), and (2) allow other platforms to connect and communicate with their systems (i.e., interoperability). The bill provides the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice with the authority to designate specific platforms to which these requirements apply. After a platform is designated, the FTC must issue standards of interoperability specific to the platform. A platform may not change its interoperability interface without petitioning the FTC, and the platform must provide to competing businesses documentation for accessing the interface. Further, the FTC must establish a technical committee to assist with the implementation of these requirements. The bill provides the FTC with authority to enforce these requirements including through recovery of civil penalties and injunctive relief.

This resolution requires an analytical statement to be included in committee reports on whether, and the extent to which, the increased budget authority, outlays, or revenue produced by the enactment of a bill or joint resolution may have an inflationary impact on prices and costs in the operation of the national economy and the purchasing power of low- and middle-income families.

Vote Outcome Transparency in Elections Act or the VOTE Act This bill establishes certain requirements for counting ballots in federal elections. Specifically, the bill requires the appropriate state or local election official, within one hour after the closure of a polling place on election day, to submit a report to the chief state election official. The report must document (1) the total number of voted ballots in the possession of the state or local official, and (2) the total number of voted ballots that have been tabulated for the election. Within one hour after the closure of polling places on election day, the chief state election official must (1) submit a final report to the chief executive of the state, and (2) make the final report publicly available on a government website. The bill also requires each state and local jurisdiction to ensure that voted ballots delivered by postal mail are postmarked, signed, or otherwise indicated as delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.