John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act This bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or religion in the provision of child welfare programs and services by entities receiving federal funding. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must provide technical assistance to help states follow this requirement, including (1) guidance for bringing state laws into compliance, (2) developing training to increase cultural competency related to social identity, and (3) training for judges and attorneys involved in child welfare cases, among other supports. Additionally, HHS must establish the National Resource Center on Safety, Well-Being, Placement Stability, and Permanency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved with Child Welfare Services to provide training, technical assistance, and guidance to applicable state and local agencies and service providers. Further, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act may not be the basis for challenging the application or enforcement of this bill. The Government Accountability Office must study and report on states' compliance with the requirements of the bill no later than three years after enactment.
Enhancing Child Passenger Safety in Underserved Communities Act This bill incorporates efforts to improve child safety into federally supported transportation programs. Specifically, the bill includes promoting the proper use of child safety seats and increasing public awareness of pediatric vehicular heatstroke within the scope of state highway safety programs. In addition, the bill expands the permitted uses of occupant protection grants. (These grants support activities to reduce highway deaths and injuries resulting from unrestrained or improperly restrained individuals riding in motor vehicles.) Currently, states may use the grants to purchase and distribute child safety seats to low-income families. Under this bill, states may also use their grants to hire and train certified child passenger safety technicians and educate parents and caregivers about the proper use of child safety seats. Further, the bill requires certain states to expend a portion of their occupant protection grant funds on projects or activities related to child safety seats.
This resolution expresses support for the goals and ideals of Caribbean-American Heritage Month. The resolution also affirms that (1) the contributions of Caribbean Americans are a significant part of the history, progress, and heritage of the United States; and (2) the ethnic and racial diversity of the United States enriches and strengthens the nation.
Increasing Access to Mental Health in Schools Act This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to establish a grant program and a student loan forgiveness program to increase the number of school-based mental health services providers in elementary and secondary schools. First, ED must award grants to partnerships between educational agencies and graduate institutions to increase the number of school-based mental health services providers employed by low-income local educational agencies (LEAs). Grant funds may be used for specified purposes, including to provide student loan forgiveness and tuition credits and to support recruitment, hiring, and training. In addition, ED must establish a program to provide student loan forgiveness for individuals who (1) are not, and have never been, participants in the grant program established by the bill; and (2) have been employed by low-income LEAs for five or more consecutive school years as mental health services providers.
Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act This bill establishes grant programs to address neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), and contains other related provisions. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall award grants to eligible entities to facilitate patients' access to investigational drugs that diagnose or treat ALS. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shall award grants to public and private entities to cover the costs of research and development of drugs that diagnose or treat ALS and other severely debilitating neurodegenerative diseases. HHS shall also establish the Public-Private Partnership for Neurodegenerative Diseases between the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and at least one eligible entity (generally, an institution of higher education or a nonprofit organization). The partnership shall support the development and regulatory review of drugs that address ALS and other rare neurodegenerative diseases. The FDA shall publish on its website a five-year action plan for fostering the development of drugs that improve or extend the lives of people living with rare neurodegenerative diseases.
Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act This bill modifies the Conrad 30 Waiver program, which incentivizes qualified foreign physicians to serve in underserved communities. It also extends statutory authority for the program for three years from this bill's enactment. Aliens coming to the United States under a J-1 nonimmigrant visa to receive medical training typically must leave the country and reside for two years abroad before being eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or permanent residence. The Conrad program waives this requirement for individuals who meet certain qualifications, including serving for a number of years at a health care facility in an underserved area. The bill increases the number of waivers that a state may obtain each fiscal year from 30 to 35 if a certain number of waivers were used the previous year, and provides for further adjustments depending on demand. An alien physician may be employed at an academic medical center to meet the Conrad program's employment requirements if the alien's work is in the public interest, even if the medical center is not in an underserved area. Employment contracts for alien physicians under the Conrad program shall contain certain information, such as the maximum number of on-call hours per week the physician shall have to work. Certain alien physicians (along with the physician's spouse and children) shall be exempt from the direct annual numerical limits on immigration, including those physicians that have met certain requirements related to visas for physicians to serve in underserved areas.
Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2021 This bill establishes grants to support the implementation of extreme risk protection order laws at the state and local levels, extends federal firearms restrictions to individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders, and expands related data collection. Extreme risk protection order laws, or red flag laws, generally allow certain individuals (e.g., law enforcement officers or family members) to petition a court for a temporary order that prohibits an at-risk individual from purchasing and possessing firearms. Among its provisions, the bill directs the Department of Justice to establish a grant program to help states, local governments, Indian tribes, and other entities implement extreme risk protection order laws; extends federal restrictions on the receipt, possession, shipment, and transportation of firearms and ammunition to individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders; and requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to compile records from federal, tribal, and state courts and other agencies that identify individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders.
Upskilling and Retraining Assistance Act This bill increases to $12,000 in 2021-2022, the exclusion from employee gross income, for income tax purposes, of employer-paid educational assistance programs. The bill also expands the exclusion to include amounts paid for education-related tools and technology (e.g., hand tools, computers, software, licensure fees).
Young Americans Financial Literacy Act This bill requires the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to award competitive grants to eligible institutions for the establishment of financial literacy education programs for young people and families. An eligible institution is a partnership among two or more of the following an institution of higher education; a state or local government agency specializing in financial education; a nonprofit agency, organization, or association; a financial institution; or another small organization. Authorized grant funded activities shall include developing and implementing comprehensive, research based, financial-literacy education programs for young people; designing instructional materials; developing and supporting the delivery of professional development programs in financial literacy education; improving access to, and dissemination of, financial literacy information for young people and families; developing educational programs to reduce student loan default rates; conducting ongoing research and evaluation of financial literacy education programs; and measuring the effectiveness of authorized activities. The grant program shall terminate after FY2025.
Healthcare for Our Troops Act This bill addresses TRICARE Reserve Select coverage and eligibility for Selected Reserve members of the Ready Reserve and their families. Among other elements, the bill provides eligibility for TRICARE Reserve Select to Selected Reserve members of the Ready Reserve who are eligible for or enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
Travel Trailer and Camper Tax Parity Act This bill modifies the tax deduction for floor plan financing interest to include in the term motor vehicles eligible for such financing any trailer or camper that is designed to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or seasonal use and is designed to be towed by, or affixed to, a motor vehicle.
Air America Act of 2021 This bill establishes the service of Air America employees as qualifying service for purposes of the Civil Service Retirement System. (Air America was a government-owned airline that provided air transport for certain covert operations in Southeast Asia, including Laos and Vietnam, between 1950 and 1976.) The bill applies to U.S. citizens who were employees of Air America or another affiliated company, as specified, between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 1976. Benefit applications must be filed within two years of the date of enactment of this bill.
