College Equity Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to establish grant programs for reviewing and addressing inequities in student recruitment, admissions, and support at institutions of higher education (IHEs). Specifically, ED must award grants to IHEs to conduct equity audits that review IHEs' policies, practices, and resources (e.g., admission policies, financial aid, and faculty diversity) to identify areas that might produce gaps in access and outcomes by certain factors. These factors include, among others, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, and age. In addition, ED must award grants to IHEs for executing improvement plans that address inequities. Finally, higher education accrediting agencies and associations must assess the findings from the audits and assist IHEs in addressing inequities.
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.
Break the Cycle of Violence Act This bill establishes federal grant programs and related entities to support violence intervention initiatives. Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants for coordinated community violence intervention initiatives in communities disproportionately impacted by homicides and community violence. HHS must also establish several related entities, including an Office of Community Violence Intervention to administer programs and activities related to violence intervention; the Community Violence Intervention Advisory Committee to advise and assist the office and HHS; and the National Community Violence Response Center to provide training and technical assistance, coordinate research, and develop data collection policies. Additionally, the bill directs the Department of Labor to award grants for job training and workforce programs in communities disproportionately affected by gun violence to connect youth ages 16 to 24 to in-demand occupations.
Better Care Better Jobs Act This bill establishes programs and provides funds for state Medicaid programs to improve home- and community-based services (HCBS), such as home health care, personal care, case management, and rehabilitative services. Specifically, the bill provides funds for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to award planning grants, develop quality measures, and provide technical assistance to states regarding specified HCBS improvements, particularly with respect to access, utilization, and the associated workforce. The bill also increases the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for HCBS in states that develop plans and meet specified benchmarks for improvements. The bill also makes permanent (1) the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program (a grant program to help states increase the use of HCBS for long-term care and decrease the use of institutional care), and (2) certain provisions regarding Medicaid eligibility that protect against spousal impoverishment for recipients of HCBS.
This bill permanently reauthorizes the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.
U.S.-Greece Defense and Interparliamentary Partnership Act of 2021 This bill authorizes programs to provide defense-related assistance to Greece and addresses related issues. The bill authorizes providing to Greece from FY2022-FY2026 (1) assistance through the European Recapitalization Incentive Program to help Greece meet its defense needs and transition away from Russian-produced military equipment; and (2) International Military Education and Training assistance for various purposes, including to train future leaders and to establish rapport between the U.S. Armed Forces and Greece's military. The President may expedite the delivery of future purchases of F-35 aircraft by Greece. The bill also establishes a group of Senators to meet annually with representatives from Cyprus, Greece, and Israel to discuss various issues such as maritime security, defense cooperation, and energy.
Yes In My Backyard Act This bill requires certain Community Development Block Grant program recipients to submit to the Department of Housing and Urban Development information regarding their implementation of certain land-use policies, such as policies for expanding high-density single-family and multifamily zoning.
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.
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Reauthorization Act This bill permanently authorizes the President to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions based on violations of human rights, and it revises the President's authority to impose these sanctions. The bill expands the actors and abuses currently eligible for these sanctions by implementing the standard of serious human rights abuse for the imposition of sanctions. The bill authorizes the President to impose sanctions on any foreign person (or any immediate family member of a person) who (1) is responsible for serious human rights abuse, (2) is a current or former government official who is responsible for or complicit in corruption, (3) is or has been a leader or official of an entity that has engaged in any of these activities, (4) has provided support for any of these activities, or (5) is owned or controlled by a person subject to these sanctions. The President must report on additional steps taken through diplomacy, international engagement, and assistance to foreign or security sectors to address causes of serious human rights abuse and corruption.
Combating Global Corruption Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of State to develop a program to combat corruption in foreign countries. The State Department must annually report to Congress a tiered list of all foreign countries. The first tier shall contain countries that meet minimum standards for combating public corruption, while the second tier shall contain countries that do not yet meet these standards but are making significant efforts to do so. Third-tier countries do not meet the minimum anti-corruption standards and are not making significant efforts to do so. Factors for assessing efforts to address corruption include a country's compliance with specified relevant international agreements. The State Department must report on whether, for purposes of potential sanctions, foreign persons are engaged in significant corruption in third-tier countries or in relation to the planning, construction, or operation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The State Department must also designate an anti-corruption point of contact in the U.S. diplomatic post in each second- or third-tier country and where the State Department determines that such a point of contact is necessary. The point of contact shall be responsible for enhancing coordination and promoting the implementation of a whole-of-government approach to enhancing the ability of foreign countries to combat public corruption.
Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2021 This bill expands tax incentives and federal assistance for employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) that are sponsored by S corporations. The bill provides additional tax incentives for ESOPs by (1) extending to all domestic corporations, including S corporations, provisions allowing deferral of tax on gain from the sale of employer securities to an ESOP; and (2) allowing a tax deduction for 50% of the interest received by a bank on loans to S corporation-sponsored ESOPs for the purchase of employer securities. The Department of the Treasury must establish the S Corporation Employee Ownership Assistance Office to foster increased employee ownership of S corporations. The bill defines an ESOP business concern for purposes of the Small Business Act as a business concern that was eligible for a loan, preference, or other program under such Act before more than 49% of the business concern was acquired by an ESOP.
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.
