Secure Rural and Tribal Lands Act This bill specifies the factors to be considered when allocating funding from the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (a general revenue enhancement program that provides additional assistance to eligible counties and tribal governments for any governmental purpose except lobbying).
Loan Forgiveness for Educators Act of 2022 This bill expands the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program. Among other provisions, the bill (1) renames the program the Educator Loan Forgiveness program, (2) expands program eligibility to early childhood educators and program directors serving in early childhood education programs and school leaders serving in public high-need schools, and (3) establishes a program in which the Department of Education cancels monthly student loan payments during qualifying service and provides complete loan forgiveness after five years of service.
Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act This bill applies certain military consumer credit protections to all consumers. Specifically, the bill caps the interest rate on extensions of consumer credit at 36%.
Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2022 This bill provides federal workers' compensation to firefighters who contract certain illnesses as a result of their service. Specifically, the bill provides that heart disease, lung disease, and specified cancers of federal employees employed in fire protection activities for at least 5 years are presumed to be proximately caused by such employment if the employee is diagnosed with the disease within 10 years of employment. The Department of Labor must periodically review the bill's listed diseases and conditions and make appropriate additions. An employee in fire protection activities is a firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, rescue worker, ambulance personnel, or hazardous material worker, who (1) is trained in fire suppression; (2) has the legal authority and responsibility to engage in fire suppression; (3) is engaged in the prevention, control, and extinguishment of fires or response to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk; and (4) performs such activities as a primary responsibility. Additionally, the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture must jointly study the long-term health effects experienced by federal wildland firefighters who are eligible for workers' compensation. The bill also requires Labor to revise regulations so as to allow at least 60 days (rather than at least 30 days) for a claimant to submit any additional evidence that is requested by the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs to support a federal workers' compensation claim.
Enhancing American Retirement Now Act or the EARN Act This bill revises or establishes new tax provisions relating to retirement plans for individuals, retirees, public safety officers and military personnel, disaster relief, and employer plans. The bill revises various provisions relating to individual retirement plans, including provisions to (1) establish a safe harbor for automatic enrollment plans; (2) allow a refundable income tax credit, up to $1,000, for retirement savings contributions; (3) allow penalty-free withdrawals from plans for emergency expenses; (4) modify age requirements for catch-up provisions; (5) allow penalty free withdrawals from plans in domestic abuse cases; (6) allow transfers of plans (portability); and (7) modify the age requirement for ABLE programs for disabled individuals. The bill makes changes to plans for retirees, including by (1) increasing the age for the start of mandatory plan distributions, (2) reducing the excise tax on certain accumulations in qualified retirement plans, (3) recovering retirement plan overpayments, (4) modifying certain Roth IRA distribution requirements, and (5) allowing plan distributions for individuals with a terminal illness. The bill modifies provisions relating to retirement plans of public safety offices and military personnel. It allows (1) small employers a tax credit for establishing military spouse retirement plans, (2) penalty-free distributions to firefighters, (3) a tax exclusion for certain disability-related payment for first responders, and (4) an exemption from the early withdrawal penalty for distributions to certain state and local corrections employees. The bill establishes special tax rules for the use of retirement funds for federally declared disasters. The bill also modifies or establishes requirements relating to employer plans, including (1) allowing a tax credit for small employers with respect to safe harbor requirements for retirement plans, (2) increasing the credit limitation for small employer pension plan startup costs, (3) reforming family attribution rules, (4) providing for starter 401(k) plans for employers with no retirement plan, (5) allowing a tax credit for small employers that adopt an automatic portability arrangement, (6) modifying Internal Revenue Service mortality tables, (7) extending the period for transferring excess pension assets to retiree heath accounts, and (8) deferring the tax on certain sales of employer stock to employee stock ownership plans sponsored by S corporations. The bill modifies provisions relating to the retirement of U.S. Tax Court judges, including participation in the Thrift Savings Plan.
Nationwide Right To Unionize Act This bill provides authorization for labor agreements to require membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment regardless of state law (thus preempting state laws that prohibit such agreements).
Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2021 or the SAFE Banking Act of 2021 This bill generally prohibits a federal banking regulator from penalizing a depository institution for providing banking services to a legitimate cannabis-related business. Prohibited penalties include terminating or limiting the deposit insurance or share insurance of a depository institution solely because the institution provides financial services to a legitimate cannabis-related business and prohibiting or otherwise discouraging a depository institution from offering financial services to such a business. Additionally, proceeds from a transaction involving activities of a legitimate cannabis-related business are not considered proceeds from unlawful activity. Proceeds from unlawful activity are subject to anti-money laundering laws. Furthermore, a depository institution is not, under federal law, liable or subject to asset forfeiture for providing a loan or other financial services to a legitimate cannabis-related business. The bill also provides that a federal banking agency may not request or order a depository institution to terminate a customer account unless (1) the agency has a valid reason for doing so, and (2) that reason is not based solely on reputation risk. Valid reasons for terminating an account include threats to national security and involvement in terrorist financing, including state sponsorship of terrorism.
Smoke-Ready Communities Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to air pollution control agencies to support the development and implementation of programs that support local communities in detecting, preparing for, communicating with the public about, or mitigating the environmental and public health aspects of wildfire smoke.
Smoke Planning and Research Act of 2021 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to research and mitigate the impacts of smoke emissions from wildland fires. Specifically, the EPA must establish (1) four Centers of Excellence for Wildfire Smoke at institutions of higher education, and (2) a grant program to support community mitigation efforts.
This resolution expresses that the Senate has heard the announcement of the death of the Honorable Jacqueline R. Walorski, Congresswoman for the Second Congressional District of Indiana. The resolution also honors Representative Walorski for her service to Indiana and the United States. The resolution expresses that when the Senate adjourns today, it stands adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Representative Walorski.
