Sen. Chris Van Hollen

Jeanette Acosta Invest in Women's Health Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a series of programs to increase access to cancer screenings for women. These programs include demonstration projects to train certain health care providers to screen for breast and cervical cancer, and increase co-testing of human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer among populations that have disproportionate rates of cervical cancer.

For the 99.5 Percent Act This bill imposes increased tax rates on decedent estates, gifts, and generation-skipping transfers. Estates with a value of over $1 billion are taxed at a 65% tax rate. The basic exclusion amount is reduced to $3.5 million. The bill increases (1) to $3 million the reduction in valuations of farmland for estate tax purposes and adjusts such increased amount for inflation, and (2) to $2 million the maximum estate tax exclusion for contributions of conservation easements. It also increases to 60% the applicable percentage for such exclusion. The bill requires (1) consistent basis reporting for property acquired by gift and transfers in trust, and (2) executors of estates and donors of gifts required to file a gift tax return to disclose to the Department of the Treasury, and to recipients of any interest in an estate or a gift, information identifying the value of each interest received. The bill sets forth estate valuation rules for certain transfers of nonbusiness assets and limits estate tax discounts for certain individuals with minority interests in a business acquired from a decedent. The bill expands rules for valuing assets in grantor retained annuity trusts to require that (1) the right to receive fixed amounts from an annuity last for a term of not less than 10 years and not more than the life expectancy of the annuitant plus 10 years, and that such fixed amounts not decrease during the first 10 years of the annuity term, and (2) the remainder interest have a value when transferred that is not less than the the greater of 25% of the fair market value of the trust property or $500,000. The bill also sets forth rules for the application of transfer taxes to a grantor trust (a trust in which the grantor retains control over the trust assets and has the right to receive income from the trust). The bill eliminates the generation-skipping transfer tax exemption for any trust whose termination date is not greater than 50 years after its creation. The bill modifies the tax exclusion for annual gifts to eliminate the present interest requirement for such exclusion and to impose a new, aggregate per donor limit equal to twice the annual exclusion amount in effect for the taxable year.

Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021 This bill sets forth requirements and incentives to reduce the production of a variety of products and materials, including plastics, and increase efforts to collect, recycle, or compost products and materials. The bill makes certain producers of products (e.g., packaging, paper, single-use products, beverage containers, or food service products) fiscally responsible for collecting, managing, and recycling or composting the products after consumer use. In addition, the bill establishes (1) minimum percentages of products that must be reused, recycled, or composted; and (2) an increasing percentage of recycled content that must be contained in beverage containers. Beginning on January 1, 2023, the bill phases out a variety of single-use products, such as plastic utensils. The bill also sets forth provisions to encourage the reduction of single-use products, including by establishing programs to refund consumers for returning beverage containers and by establishing a tax on carryout bags. The bill creates a temporary moratorium on new or expanded permits for certain facilities that manufacture plastics until regulations are updated to address pollution from the facilities. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must publish guidelines for a national standardized labeling system for recycling and composting receptacles. Producers must include labels on their products that are easy to read and indicate whether the products are recyclable, compostable, or reusable. The EPA must also ensure that certain clothes washers have filtration units as required by this bill. Finally, the bill establishes limitations on the export of plastic waste to other countries.

Japanese American Confinement Education Act This bill establishes a museum program on the historical importance of Japanese American confinement during World War II and permanently reauthorizes the Japanese American Confinement Sites preservation program. The bill directs the Department of the Interior to establish a program of grants to a Japanese American museum to educate individuals in the United States on the historical importance of such confinement and the commitment of the United States to equal justice.

Investing in Cures Before Missiles Act of 2021 or the ICBM Act This bill addresses the transfer and use of funds intended for defense programs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to transfer $1 billion of unobligated balances intended for its ground-based strategic deterrent program to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease for research on the development of a universal coronavirus vaccine. Next, the bill requires the Department of Energy to transfer unobligated balances for the W87-1 warhead modification program administered by the National Nuclear Security Administration to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research and combat emerging and zoonotic infectious diseases. The bill prohibits the use of funds authorized for FY2022 for the ground-based strategic deterrent program or the W87-1 warhead modification program. Finally, the bill requires DOD to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to study extending to 2050 the life of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.

This bill requires the Joint Committee on the Library to enter into an agreement to obtain a statue of Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to Congress. The committee shall place the statue in a permanent public location in the U.S. Capitol.

This bill makes changes to facilitate data sharing between the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and programs that subsidize communication services to verify eligibility for applicable programs. Specifically, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must award grants to states and tribes for establishing or modifying connections between databases with information regarding benefit programs (e.g., SNAP) and the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier to verify eligibility for the Lifeline program (which subsidizes telephone and internet services for low-income individuals) and the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (which subsidizes broadband services for those who suffered income loss during the COVID-19 pandemic and other eligible households). The bill also reauthorizes through FY2026 the fund that supports the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. In addition, the FCC must establish an automated connection to share data between the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier and the National Accuracy Clearinghouse for SNAP. The FCC must coordinate with the Department of Agriculture to establish the connection.

No Fencing at the United States Capitol Complex Act This bill prohibits the use of federal funds for permanent fencing around the perimeter of any U.S. Capitol buildings or grounds. On January 7, 2021, in response to the previous day's events, razor wire fencing was erected to secure the perimeter of the U.S. Capitol; the fencing was initially to remain in place for 30 days and has since been kept in place through periodic extensions.

Kira Johnson Act This bill establishes grants to improve maternal health outcomes for racial and ethnic minority groups and other underserved populations. Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services must award grants for community-based programs to improve maternal health outcomes for Black pregnant and postpartum individuals, as well as individuals in other underserved groups; training for health care providers and others who work in maternity care settings on reducing and preventing racism, bias, and discrimination; and respectful maternity care compliance programs in specified health care facilities. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine must study issues related to the training programs, and the Government Accountability Office must study issues related to the compliance programs.

This resolution condemns and denounces all forms of anti-Asian sentiment, including those related to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), and calls on federal law enforcement officials, working with state and local agencies, to take specified steps. The resolution calls on federal officials to expeditiously investigate and document all credible reports of hate crimes, harassment, bullying, and threats against the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities; the Attorney General to work with state and local agencies and Asian American and Pacific Islander community-based organizations to prevent discrimination and to expand culturally competent and linguistically appropriate education campaigns on public reporting of hate crimes; and the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance describing best practices to mitigate racially discriminatory language in describing the pandemic. The resolution recommits the United States to serving as a model for the world in building a more inclusive, diverse, and tolerant society by (1) prioritizing language access and inclusivity in communication practices, and (2) combating misinformation and discrimination that puts Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders at risk.