Rep. Bill Foster

Energy Resilient Communities Act This bill requires the Department of Energy to establish a program that awards grants to make critical energy infrastructure more resilient to climate change hazards, such as grants for developing clean energy microgrids that support critical community infrastructure or customers of electric utilities with special energy needs due to medical conditions.

This resolution removes Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House Committee on the Budget and the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Relaunching America's Workforce Act This bill establishes several grant programs to address employment, the workforce, and education access in response to the COVID-19 national emergency. The Department of Labor must provide grants in response to the COVID-19 national emergency to provide training and employment for dislocated, unemployed, and underemployed workers; support youth employment; establish workforce information systems improvements; provide reentry employment opportunities for justice-involved youth and young adults; and create or expand apprenticeship programs. Programs directed towards assisting Native Americans and migrant and seasonal farmworkers may be extended. The Department of Education must provide grants to expand the capacity of adult education providers to prioritize serving adults with low-literacy or numeracy levels negatively impacted by the COVID-19 national emergency, and to improve or expand career and technical education programs and programs of study to respond to state and local needs as a result of the COVID-19 national emergency.

Safe from the Start Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of State to direct U.S. foreign assistance to address humanitarian crises in a manner that aims to prevent and respond to gender-based violence at the onset of an emergency. The State Department shall focus on (1) preventing gender-based violence, (2) protecting survivors of humanitarian crises from the onset of the emergency, (3) promoting standards and activities to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, and (4) advancing and empowering survivors and at-risk individuals. Activities shall include improving access to post-sexual-assault medical and mental health services and ensuring such services are available to hard-to-reach populations. The State Department may provide support to local and international organizations to achieve its goals.

Global Health, Empowerment and Rights Act This bill establishes that a foreign nongovernmental organization shall not be disqualified from receiving certain U.S. international development assistance solely because the organization provides medical services using non-U.S. government funds if the medical services are legal in both the United States and the country in which they are being provided. Such foreign organizations shall not be subject to requirements relating to their use of non-U.S. funds for advocacy or lobbying activities, other than those that apply to U.S. nongovernmental organizations. Current U.S. policy prohibits various foreign assistance from going to a foreign nongovernmental organization unless it agrees to not perform or actively promote abortions.

Securing Access to Lower Taxes by ensuring Deductibility Act or the SALT Deductibility Act This bill repeals the temporary restrictions in taxable years 2018 through 2025 on the deductibility of state and local taxes.

Special Districts Provide Essential Services Act This bill makes special districts eligible for the Coronavirus Relief Fund and the Municipal Liquidity Facility program. Specifically, the bill makes special districts eligible for payments from amounts paid to states from any new appropriations to the fund. A special district must submit a request for payment to the state with information demonstrating that the special district has experienced or is likely to experience during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency reduced revenue or operational funding derived from provided services, taxes, fees, or other sources of revenue; reduced indirect funding from the federal government, the state, or a unit of general government below the state level; or as a result of the COVID-19 emergency, increased expenditures necessary to continue operations. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall include special districts as eligible issuers in the Municipal Liquidity Facility program, which was created in response to the COVID-19 emergency to buy municipal securities.

Raise the Wage Act of 2021 This bill increases the federal minimum wage for regular employees over a 5-year period, for tipped employees, and for newly hired employees who are less than 20 years old. The bill sets forth a schedule of annual increases in the federal minimum wage for individuals with disabilities. The Department of Labor shall no longer issue special certificates for the payment of subminimum wages to such individuals after the final wage increase under this bill for such individuals takes effect. Labor shall provide, upon request, technical assistance and information to employers to (1) help them transition their practices to comply with wage increases and other requirements under this bill for individuals with disabilities, and (2) ensure continuing employment opportunities for such individuals. The bill eliminates the separate minimum wage requirements for tipped, newly hired, and disabled employees. After a specified period, these employees shall be paid the same minimum wage as regular employees. Labor must publish any increase in the minimum wage in the Federal Register and on its website 60 days before it takes effect.

Nuclear Forensics Authority Realignment Act This bill reorganizes nuclear forensics and attribution activities of the federal government. Specifically, the bill transfers nuclear forensics activities currently performed by the Department of Homeland Security to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) within the Department of Energy (DOE). Nuclear forensics is the examination of nuclear and other radioactive materials to determine the origin and history of the material for purposes of law enforcement investigations or assessment of nuclear security vulnerabilities. The bill also establishes the National Nuclear Forensics Center within the NNSA. The center must coordinate stewardship, planning, assessment, and other functions for all federal nuclear forensics and attribution activities. Additionally, the NNSA must develop and implement a plan to modify its university-based research collaboration program to include the development of expertise in nuclear forensics in supporting scientific and engineering advancement in DOE defense and national security program areas.

Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act of 2021 This bill modifies the extension of dependent coverage under TRICARE by allowing a dependent under the age of 26 to be covered without an additional premium. Additionally, the bill authorizes such coverage of dependents without a premium regardless of whether they are eligible to enroll in an employer sponsored plan.