Rep. Darin LaHood

Fostering Innovation and Research to Strengthen Tomorrow Act This bill doubles the rate of the tax credit for increasing research expenses and the alternative simplified research tax credit. It also increases the credit rate for taxpayers with no research expenses during a specified three-year period and the amount of the credit that certain small businesses may apply against payroll tax liabilities.

Permanent Extension of Rate Cuts and Extension of National Tax Simplification Act of 2022 or the PERCENTS Act of 2022 This bill makes permanent provisions in Public Law 115-97 (also known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) relating to individual taxpayers, including the modification of individual income and capital gains tax rates and the increased exemption for the alternative minimum tax. It also increases the standard tax deduction and repeals the limitation on itemized tax deductions.

Screening for Communities to Receive Early and Equitable Needed Services for Cancer Act or the SCREENS for Cancer Act of 2022 This bill reauthorizes through FY2027 and makes changes to the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. This program provides funding to states for breast and cervical cancer screening, diagnostic, and treatment services for individuals who have low incomes, are uninsured, or otherwise lack access to such services.

Starter-K Act of 2022 This bill allows employers who do not provide a retirement plan to establish a starter 401(k) deferral-only arrangement for plan years beginning after 2022. The bill defines starter 401(k) deferral-only arrangement as any cash or deferred arrangement that meets specified automatic deferral requirements, contribution limitations, and notice requirements. Such arrangements also allow catch-up contributions for individuals age 50 and over and exempt such employers from complying with certain participation and discrimination standards.

This bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 200 East Main Street in Maroa, Illinois, as the Jeremy L. Ridlen Post Office.

Military Spouse Hiring Act This bill expands the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to include the hiring of a qualified military spouse. (The WOTC permits employers who hire individuals who are members of a targeted group such as qualified veterans, ex-felons, or long-term unemployment recipients to claim a tax credit equal to a portion of the wages paid to those individuals.) A qualified military spouse is any individual who is certified by the designated local agency as being (as of the hiring date) a spouse of a member of the Armed Forces.

Chase COVID Unemployment Fraud Act of 2022 This bill addresses fraud and overpayments of pandemic unemployment assistance, including by allowing states to retain a specified percentage of recovered funds and prohibiting the Department of Labor from allowing blanket waivers of overpayments.

Student Loan Accountability Act This bill generally prohibits the Departments of Education, Justice, or the Treasury from taking any action to cancel or forgive the outstanding balances, or portion of balances, of covered loans. Covered loans refer to Federal Family Education Loans, Federal Direct Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, and loans under the Health Education Assistance Loan Program. The prohibition does not apply to targeted federal student loan forgiveness, cancellation, or repayment programs carried out under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Additionally, the bill repeals the temporary tax-free treatment of discharged student loan debt. It also prohibits tax return information from being shared for the purpose of administering a student loan cancellation plan.

Healthy Homes Act This bill expands the low-income housing tax credit to include an additional credit amount for healthcare-oriented housing (e.g., low-income buildings that meet certain requirements, e.g., healthcare screening available on building premises, adequate space for physicians to conduct screenings, and telehealth capacity). The bill directs the Governmental Accountability Office to study the utilization of the low-income housing tax credit with respect to healthcare-oriented housing.

Freight Rail Assistance and Investment to Launch Coronavirus-Era Activity and Recovery Act of 2022 or the Freight RAILCAR Act of 2022 This bill provides a new tax credit through 2024 for 10% of freight railcar fleet modernization expenses (i.e., railcar replacement and modernization expenses for meeting fuel efficiency and performance standards). The bill provides that no more than 2,000 freight railcars per taxpayer may be taken into account for purposes of determining the credit in a taxable year. The Department of the Treasury must report to Congress on the credit to provide information on the number of times the credit was claimed and the number of railcars scrapped or built as a result of the credit.