This bill directs the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of three Congressional Gold Medals to the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) and other law enforcement agencies that protected the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Following the award of these medals, one medal shall be given to the USCP, one medal shall be given to the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, and one medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution and displayed with a plaque listing all law enforcement agencies that participated in protecting the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Global War on Terrorism Memorial Location Act This bill authorizes the establishment of a National Global War on Terrorism Memorial in the area of the National Mall.
Equality Act This bill prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system. Specifically, the bill defines and includes sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation. The bill expands the definition of public accommodations to include places or establishments that provide (1) exhibitions, recreation, exercise, amusement, gatherings, or displays; (2) goods, services, or programs; and (3) transportation services. The bill allows the Department of Justice to intervene in equal protection actions in federal court on account of sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill prohibits an individual from being denied access to a shared facility, including a restroom, a locker room, and a dressing room, that is in accordance with the individual's gender identity.
Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2027 and revises the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 to expand services for preventing and treating child abuse. Specifically, the bill establishes requirements concerning collecting and exchanging data about child abuse and neglect. For instance, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to (1) establish uniform national standards for tracking and reporting child fatalities and near fatalities resulting from maltreatment, and (2) develop an electronic interstate data exchange system that allows states to share information from their child abuse and neglect registries with other states. The bill also addresses child abuse and neglect related to families impacted by substance use disorders, racial bias in the child protective services system, and child sexual abuse. Further, the bill revises the community-based grants program to emphasize access to effective services for diverse populations and to promote the development of statewide strategies to scale up family strengthening services. Finally, the bill requires HHS to examine unregulated custody transfers and make recommendations for preventing, identifying, and responding to such transfers.
Cost Openness and Spending Transparency Act of 2021 or the COST Act This bill requires recipients of federal funds to disclose financing information relating to programs, projects, or activities carried out using such funds. Specifically, such a recipient (including a state or local government or a recipient of a federal research grant) must clearly state in any press release, request for proposals, bid solicitation, or other document describing the activity the amount and percentage of federal funding and the amount and percentage of nongovernmental funding. If the Office of Management and Budget determines that a recipient is failing to comply, it may direct each agency providing federal funds to withhold up to 25% of the funds until the recipient complies.
Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct an interagency review of the status of women and lung cancer. The review must report on the status of existing research and current knowledge gaps; identify new opportunities for collaborative research to determine the causes of lung cancer and advance prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment; and provide recommendations for a national cancer screening strategy and public education campaign.
Protecting Access to Safe and Effective Medicines Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for the existing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) practice of defining active ingredient more narrowly as active moiety in certain situations, such as when determining whether a new drug is entitled to a market exclusivity period or providing priority review of drugs for treating rare pediatric diseases. Generally, the FDA defines active moiety as the core molecule or ion in a drug responsible for the relevant physiological or pharmacological action. By contrast, the FDA defines an active ingredient as a component in a drug that is intended to furnish pharmacological activity or other direct effect. The FDA's existing practice of interpreting active ingredient as active moiety in certain situations, as statutorily authorized by this bill, tends to exclude some drugs from market exclusivity. The bill replaces references to active ingredient with active moiety in various statutes authorizing FDA activities.
Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the award of matching grants to enhance services in secondary schools for students with mental and behavioral health issues that can lead to failure in school, such as depression and substance abuse. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration may award these grants on a competitive basis to state or local educational agencies that serve at least one secondary school.
NEPA Accountability and Enforcement Act This bills establishes (1) deadlines for federal agencies to complete reviews of the environmental effects of proposed major federal actions, and (2) penalties for agencies that do not comply with these deadlines.
Mens Rea Reform Act of 2021 This bill establishes a default mens rea standard (i.e., state of mind requirement) for federal criminal offenses—statutory and regulatory—that lack an explicit standard. The government must generally prove that a defendant acted willfully with respect to each element of an offense for which the text does not specify a state of mind.
No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act This bill modifies the tax treatment of the foreign source income of domestic corporations. The bill includes provisions that modify calculations of the gross income of U.S. shareholders to include net CFC tested income in the current taxable year, apply limitations on the foreign tax credit on a country-by-country basis, limit the tax deduction for the interest expense of a U.S. corporation that is a member of a financial reporting group (i.e., a group that prepares consolidated financial statements according to generally accepted accounting principles or international financial reporting standards), modify the rules for the taxation of inverted corporations (i.e., U.S. corporations that acquire foreign companies to reincorporate in a foreign jurisdiction with income tax rates lower than the United States), and treat certain foreign corporations managed and controlled primarily in the United States as domestic corporations for tax purposes.
Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy Act or the DRIVE-SAFE Act This bill directs the Department of Transportation to promulgate regulations to implement an apprenticeship program for licensed commercial motor vehicle drivers under the age of 21. Under the program, an apprentice must complete two probationary periods that total 400 hours of on-duty time, of which at least 240 hours must be driving time in a commercial motor vehicle. Additionally, the apprentice must be accompanied in the cab of the commercial motor vehicle by an experienced driver. Further, the bill requires all commercial motor vehicles used in the program for training to be equipped with safety technology such as active braking collision mitigation systems and video event capturing systems. An employer shall not knowingly allow, require, permit, or authorize a driver under the age of 21 to operate a commercial motor vehicle unless the driver is participating in, or has completed, an apprenticeship program that meets the requirements set forth in this bill.
