Keep the Watchdogs Running Act This bill authorizes a federal office of inspector general (OIG) to continue performing its duties during a lapse in appropriations (i.e., government shutdown). During a lapse in appropriations, the OIG may obligate funds (1) at the rate of operations and under the terms and conditions provided in the most recently enacted appropriations act, and (2) to perform its duties with respect to any program that continues during the lapse in appropriations.
Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act of 2021 This bill requires federally funded entities to certify that they will not perform an abortion, and will not provide funds to any other entity that performs an abortion, except in cases of rape or incest or where a physical condition endangers the woman's life unless an abortion is performed. The bill's requirements do not apply to hospitals, as long as the hospital does not provide funds to any non-hospital entity for abortions that are not otherwise excepted.
Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act of 2021 This bill imposes a limitation on the tax deduction for qualified conservation contributions made by certain partnerships if the amount of the contribution exceeds 2.5% times the sum of each partner's relevant basis in the partnership. This limitation also applies to other pass-thru entities, such as S corporations.
Clean Fuels Vehicle Act of 2021 This bill allows a new business-related tax credit through 2031 for the production of flexible fuel vehicles (i.e., motor vehicles engineered and designed to be operated on a petroleum fuel and on a methanol or ethanol fuel, or on any mixtures of such fuels). The amount of such credit in a taxable year is equal to the product of $200, and the number of vehicles produced and sold by the taxpayer to an unrelated person in the United States. The bill also repeals limitations on manufacturing incentives for dual fuel automobiles and repeals the maximum fuel economy increase for alternative fuel automobiles.
Independent Agency Regulatory Analysis Act This bill authorizes the President to order independent regulatory agencies to comply with specified regulatory analysis requirements. Specifically, the President may require an independent regulatory agency to (1) comply with regulatory analysis requirements applicable to other federal agencies, (2) provide the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs with an assessment of the costs and benefits of a proposed or final economically significant rule and an assessment of costs and benefits of potentially effective and reasonably feasible alternatives to the rule, (3) publish the assessments with the rules, and (4) submit to the office for review any proposed or final economically significant rule. An economically significant rule is a rule that is likely to (1) have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; or (2) adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or state, local, or tribal governments or communities. In addition, the bill prohibits judicial review of an independent regulatory agency's compliance with the requirements of this bill.
Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of State to take certain actions promoting the normalization of relations between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant countries and regions. Specifically, the State Department must develop a strategy on expanding and strengthening the Abraham Accords (the term used to refer collectively to agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain marking the public normalization of relations between the two Arab countries and Israel). The strategy must include a description of how the U.S. government will encourage further normalization of relations with Israel. The State Department must report on the status of efforts to promote normalization of relations with Israel and other countries, including information on (1) laws that punish individuals for people-to-people relations with Israelis (i.e., anti-normalization laws), and (2) instances of the use of state-owned or state-operated media outlets to promote the prosecution of citizens or residents of Arab countries calling for peace with Israel.
Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2021 This bill establishes a framework to allow federal court proceedings—in district courts, in circuit courts, and at the Supreme Court—to be photographed, recorded, broadcast, or televised. Specifically, it authorizes the presiding judge to permit media coverage of court proceedings, subject to requirements and limitations.
Cameras in the Courtroom Act This bill requires the Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open sessions of the Court unless it decides by majority vote that allowing such coverage in a particular case would violate the due process rights of any of the parties involved.
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.
Unnecessary Agency Regulations Reduction Act of 2021 This bill requires the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to annually report a list of major rules (i.e., rules with a significant economic impact, cost to consumers, or adverse effects on competition) that it recommends should be consolidated or repealed because they are outdated, duplicative, or incur excessive compliance costs. Congress must review the list to determine, and recommend by joint resolution, any such rules to consolidate or repeal.
Reducing Hereditary Cancer Act of 2021 This bill provides for Medicare coverage of germline mutation testing for individuals with a personal or family history of a hereditary cancer gene mutation or suspected history of hereditary cancer, as well as for associated coverage of risk-reducing surgeries and screenings.
Safe Skies Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to modify a specified DOT final rule relating to flight crew member duty and rest requirements so that the requirements under that rule apply to all-cargo flight crew members to the same extent they apply to air passenger flight crew members.
