Sen. Jeff Merkley

Medium- and Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Act of 2021 This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a rebate program that encourages the purchase and installation of electric vehicle charging equipment for medium-duty electric vehicles and heavy-duty electric vehicles.

3D Printed Gun Safety Act of 2021 This bill makes it unlawful to intentionally publish digital instructions for programming a three-dimensional printer to make a firearm.

This joint resolution nullifies the final rule issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency titled National Banks and Federal Savings Associations as Lenders and published on October 30, 2020. The rule requires that to be considered a lender, a national bank or federal saving association must, as of the date of origination of the loan (1) be named as the lender in the loan agreement, or (2) fund the loan.

This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that tax-exempt fraternal benefit societies provide critical benefits to the people and communities of the United States and their work should continue to be promoted.

Affordable Housing Opportunities Made Equitable Act or the Affordable HOME Act This bill addresses the availability and affordability of housing. Among other provisions for low-income and homeless individuals, the bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to construct and preserve multifamily rental housing projects in rural areas, specifies the number of low-income housing choice vouchers HUD must provide in FY2022-2031, and provides FY2022-2031 appropriations for HUD to assist permanent supportive housing. The bill also repeals the limitation on construction of new public housing units, commonly known as the Faircloth limit or the Faircloth amendment; prohibits discrimination in housing based on source of income; and provides additional FY2021 appropriations for the Housing Trust Fund, which provides assistance to states to produce and preserve affordable housing. For individuals experiencing unemployment or income shortfalls during periods of increased state unemployment or during certain disasters, the bill establishes an emergency assistance fund to provide housing assistance. For qualifying homeowners, the bill requires HUD to provide grants for down payment assistance and establishes a 15% annual mortgage interest tax credit. Among other provisions for residential renters, the bill requires notice and specific cause for eviction, provides funding to state and local governments that have established a right to counsel in certain housing cases, and requires certain landlords to provide renters an opportunity to purchase before selling or transferring the rental property. The bill also provides grants for acquisition and preservation of manufactured home communities.

Medication Access and Training Expansion Act of 2021 or the MATE Act of 2021 This bill requires health care providers, as a condition of receiving or renewing a registration to prescribe potentially addictive drugs, to complete a one-time training on managing patients with substance use disorders. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services must award grants to health professional associations and education programs for integrating substance use disorder training into relevant curricula.

Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2021 or the PAST Act of 2021 This bill addresses the practice of soring horses. The soring of horses includes various actions taken on horses' limbs to produce higher gaits that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness. Specifically, the bill expands soring regulation and enforcement at horse shows, exhibitions, sales, and auctions, including by establishing a new system for inspecting horses for soring. In addition, the bill increases penalties for violations.

Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 20 21 This bill prohibits commercial conversion therapy, which is a practice or treatment designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity or otherwise change behaviors, thoughts, or expressions related to gender or sexual attraction. This prohibition does not apply to treatment that assists an individual undergoing a gender transition or facilitates identity exploration and development.

Minor League Baseball Relief Act This bill establishes a program for the relief of certain minor league baseball clubs and independent professional baseball clubs that experienced large business losses. The bill provides funding for the Small Business Administration to make grants to such clubs that experienced decreases in gross revenue in 2020 of at least 75%, as measured against revenues in 2019 (or, if revenues were negatively affected by a natural disaster or weather disruption in 2019, by the average of revenues over the prior three-year period). The source of funding for the grants shall be funds appropriated under enacted COVID-19 relief legislation that have not been obligated and are no longer being used to carry out activities authorized under those laws. Grant amounts provided to any club may not exceed $10 million.

STEM Opportunities Act This bill provides for guidance, data collection, and grants for groups historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at institutions of higher education (IHEs) and at federal science agencies. Specifically, the bill requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to provide specified guidance related to such groups to federal science agencies and IHEs. Each federal science agency must collect comprehensive demographic data on recipients of merit-reviewed research and development grants given to IHEs and federal laboratories supported by that agency. Each agency must also implement recommendations from the OSTP report titled Reducing the Impact of Bias in the STEM Workforce . In addition, each agency must carry out a pilot program and implement evidence-based policies and practices to minimize the effect of implicit bias in the grant review process. The National Science Foundation (NSF) must carry out and publish a survey to collect data on the demographics of STEM faculty, by broad fields of STEM, at different types of IHEs. The NSF must also carry out a variety of grant programs, including grants for increasing (1) the recruitment, retention, and advancement of individuals from underrepresented minority groups in STEM careers; (2) the recruitment and retention of minority students who are underrepresented in STEM fields; and (3) student participation in computer science and computational thinking education programs at tribal colleges and universities.