This resolution condemns the acts of gun violence that led to the tragic loss of eight lives in Georgia on March 16, 2021.
This resolution congratulates the people of Greece as they celebrate the 200th anniversary of Greece's independence. The resolution also expresses support for the principles of democratic governance to which the people of Greece are committed.
Climate Change Education Act This bill declares that the evidence for human-induced climate change is overwhelming and undeniable. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must establish a Climate Change Education Program to increase the climate literacy of the United States by broadening the understanding of human-induced climate change, including possible consequences, disproportionate impacts of such consequences, and potential solutions; apply the latest scientific and technological discoveries to provide learning opportunities to people of all ages; and help people understand and promote implementation of new technologies, programs, and incentives related to climate change, climate adaptation and mitigation, climate resilience, climate justice, and environmental justice. NOAA must also establish a grant program for climate change education.
Crumbling Foundations Small Business and Homeowners Assistance Act of 2021 This bill requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency to award grants for states to assist homeowners, small-business owners, and condominium associations in preventing, mitigating, and repairing structural damage to concrete foundations that contain pyrrhotite (an iron sulfide mineral linked to crumbling foundations).
Korematsu-Takai Civil Liberties Protection Act of 2021 This bill modifies the detention authority of the United States. Specifically, it prohibits detention or imprisonment based solely on an actual or perceived protected characteristic of an individual. A protected characteristic includes each of the following: race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and any additional characteristic that the Department of Justice determines to be a protected characteristic.
Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021 This bill reduces statutory mandatory minimum penalties for certain drug offenses, requires reporting on the impact of cost savings from the reductions, and establishes a public database of federal criminal offenses. First, the bill reduces statutory mandatory minimum penalties for two types of offenders: (1) individuals who manufacture, distribute, or possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance; and (2) couriers who import or export a controlled substance. Second, the bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to report on how the reduced expenditures on federal corrections and cost savings from the reductions in mandatory minimum sentences help to reduce overcrowding in federal prisons, increase investment in law enforcement and crime prevention, and reduce recidivism. Third, the bill requires DOJ and federal agencies to report on and create public databases of all criminal offenses—criminal statutory offenses and criminal regulatory offenses.
Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act of 2021 or the EACH Act of 2021 This bill requires federal health care programs to provide coverage for abortion services and requires federal facilities to provide access to those services. The bill also permits qualified health plans to use funds attributable to premium tax credits and reduced cost sharing assistance to pay for abortion services.
For the 99.5 Percent Act This bill imposes increased tax rates on decedent estates, gifts, and generation-skipping transfers. Estates with a value of over $1 billion are taxed at a 65% tax rate. The basic exclusion amount is reduced to $3.5 million. The bill increases (1) to $3 million the reduction in valuations of farmland for estate tax purposes and adjusts such increased amount for inflation, and (2) to $2 million the maximum estate tax exclusion for contributions of conservation easements. It also increases to 60% the applicable percentage for such exclusion. The bill requires (1) consistent basis reporting for property acquired by gift and transfers in trust, and (2) executors of estates and donors of gifts required to file a gift tax return to disclose to the Department of the Treasury, and to recipients of any interest in an estate or a gift, information identifying the value of each interest received. The bill sets forth estate valuation rules for certain transfers of nonbusiness assets and limits estate tax discounts for certain individuals with minority interests in a business acquired from a decedent. The bill expands rules for valuing assets in grantor retained annuity trusts to require that (1) the right to receive fixed amounts from an annuity last for a term of not less than 10 years and not more than the life expectancy of the annuitant plus 10 years, and that such fixed amounts not decrease during the first 10 years of the annuity term, and (2) the remainder interest have a value when transferred that is not less than the the greater of 25% of the fair market value of the trust property or $500,000. The bill also sets forth rules for the application of transfer taxes to a grantor trust (a trust in which the grantor retains control over the trust assets and has the right to receive income from the trust). The bill eliminates the generation-skipping transfer tax exemption for any trust whose termination date is not greater than 50 years after its creation. The bill modifies the tax exclusion for annual gifts to eliminate the present interest requirement for such exclusion and to impose a new, aggregate per donor limit equal to twice the annual exclusion amount in effect for the taxable year.
Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021 This bill sets forth requirements and incentives to reduce the production of a variety of products and materials, including plastics, and increase efforts to collect, recycle, or compost products and materials. The bill makes certain producers of products (e.g., packaging, paper, single-use products, beverage containers, or food service products) fiscally responsible for collecting, managing, and recycling or composting the products after consumer use. In addition, the bill establishes (1) minimum percentages of products that must be reused, recycled, or composted; and (2) an increasing percentage of recycled content that must be contained in beverage containers. Beginning on January 1, 2023, the bill phases out a variety of single-use products, such as plastic utensils. The bill also sets forth provisions to encourage the reduction of single-use products, including by establishing programs to refund consumers for returning beverage containers and by establishing a tax on carryout bags. The bill creates a temporary moratorium on new or expanded permits for certain facilities that manufacture plastics until regulations are updated to address pollution from the facilities. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must publish guidelines for a national standardized labeling system for recycling and composting receptacles. Producers must include labels on their products that are easy to read and indicate whether the products are recyclable, compostable, or reusable. The EPA must also ensure that certain clothes washers have filtration units as required by this bill. Finally, the bill establishes limitations on the export of plastic waste to other countries.
Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021 This bill provides for the automatic acquisition of citizenship for certain individuals adopted by a U.S. citizen. A child born outside the United States and adopted by a U.S. citizen shall automatically acquire citizenship upon meeting certain requirements, regardless of when the adoption was finalized. Currently, adoptees who were over the age of 18 on February 27, 2001, do not automatically acquire citizenship. An individual born outside the United States and residing in the United States shall automatically acquire citizenship if the individual (1) was adopted by a citizen before becoming 18 years old, (2) was physically present in the United States in the citizen parent's custody pursuant to lawful admission before becoming 18 years old, (3) never acquired citizenship before this bill's enactment, and (4) was lawfully residing in the United States on this bill's enactment date. An individual born outside the United States and residing outside the United States but who otherwise meets all of the requirements shall automatically acquire citizenship upon being physically present in the United States pursuant to lawful admission. Such an individual shall be subject to a background check. If the background check reveals the individual has committed a crime that was not properly resolved, the individual may not receive a visa unless the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State have coordinated with law enforcement to ensure that action was taken to resolve the issue.
