Fire Fighters and EMS Employer-Employee Cooperation Act This bill requires the Federal Labor Relations Authority to determine whether a state substantially provides fire and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel the right to form and join a labor organization; recognition by fire and EMS employers of the employees' labor organization, agreement to bargain with the organization, and reduction of any agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum of understanding; the right to bargain over hours, wages, and terms and conditions of employment; and arbitration or other mechanisms to resolve an impasse in collective bargaining negotiations. The bill makes the authority responsible for (1) determining the appropriateness of units for labor representation; (2) supervising elections; (3) conducting hearings and resolving complaints of unfair labor practices; and (4) protecting the right of employees to form, join, or assist any labor organization, or to refrain from doing so. An employer, fire and EMS personnel, or labor organization may not engage in a lockout, sickout, work slowdown, strike, or any other organized job action that will measurably disrupt the delivery of emergency services and is designed to compel an employer, fire and EMS personnel, or labor organization to agree to the terms of a proposed contract.
Tax Fairness for Workers Act This bill allows an above-the-line tax deduction for union dues and expenses. (An above-the-line deduction is subtracted from gross income and is available whether or not a taxpayer itemizes other deductions.) The bill also reinstates the miscellaneous itemized tax deduction for unreimbursed expenses attributable to the performance of services as an employee (Under current law, all miscellaneous itemized deductions are suspended through 2025).
Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2021 This bill revises provisions of the low-income housing tax credit and renames it as the affordable housing credit . The bill increases the per capita dollar amount of the credit and its minimum ceiling amount beginning in 2021 and extends the inflation adjustment for such amounts. The bill modifies tenant income eligibility requirements and the average income formula for determining such income. It also revises rules for student occupancy of rental units and tenant voucher payments, and prohibits any refusal to rent to victims of domestic abuse. The bill further modifies the credit to increase state allocations of the credit; repeal the qualified census tract population cap; prohibit local approval and contribution requirements; increase the credit for certain projects designated to serve extremely low-income households; increase the credit for certain bond-financed projects designated by state agencies; eliminate the basis reduction for properties that receive certain energy-related tax benefits; and increase the population cap for difficult development areas (i.e., areas with high construction, land, and utility costs relative to area median gross income). The bill also includes Indian and rural areas as difficult development areas and modifies other requirements relating to casualty losses, acquisition credits, and foreclosures.
Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer's Act This bill allows the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to test a Dementia Care Management Model that provides comprehensive care to Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia. Under the model, participating health care providers receive payment under Medicare for comprehensive care management services that are provided to individuals with diagnosed dementia, excluding Medicare Advantage enrollees, hospice care recipients, and nursing home residents. Required services include medication management, care coordination, and health, financial, and environmental monitoring, as well as trainings and other support services for unpaid caregivers. Providers must furnish services through interdisciplinary teams and must ensure access to a team member or primary care provider 24-7. The CMMI must set payments and determine quality measures for the model in accordance with specified requirements. The bill also allows the CMMI to design a similar model under Medicaid.
Women Veterans Transitional Residence Utilizing Support and Treatment Act or the Women Veterans TRUST Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct a nationwide analysis of the need for women-specific VA programs that treat and rehabilitate women veterans with drug and alcohol dependency. Based on the findings of the analysis, the VA must implement a women-specific pilot program to treat and rehabilitate women veterans with drug and alcohol dependency.
This resolution designates April 18, 2021, as Military Retiree Appreciation Day.
Fair Housing for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors Act of 2021 This bill prohibits discrimination against survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, or sex trafficking in the sale or rental of housing and other related real estate activities.
PFAS Registry Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a registry for current or past members of the Armed Forces who may have been exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances due to the environmental release of aqueous film-forming foam at a military installation or other Department of Defense (DOD) location. Additionally, the VA must consult with DOD and the Environmental Protection Agency to make recommendations for additional chemicals that should be included in the registry.
Maternal Immunization Enhancement Act This bill establishes several administrative requirements relating to vaccination rates among pregnant and postpartum women enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Specifically, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must (1) issue guidance to states with best practices for increasing vaccination rates for certain vaccines that are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and (2) consider adding a quality measure regarding prenatal immunization status for pregnant women under Medicaid and CHIP. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must report on vaccination rates among pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP, including barriers and demographic data.
Maternal Immunization Coverage Act This bill requires state Medicaid programs to cover, without cost-sharing, certain vaccines that are recommended for pregnant women by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Report and Educate About Campus Hazing Act or the REACH Act This bill requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student-aid programs to report hazing incidents and implement hazing education programs. Specifically, the bill requires each IHE to disclose hazing incidents that were reported to campus security authorities or local police agencies in its annual security report. The bill defines the term hazing to mean any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a student, or a former student, of an IHE against another student (regardless of that student's willingness to participate), that (1) is connected with an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in an organization that is affiliated with the IHE (e.g., an athletic team); and (2) contributes to a substantial risk of physical injury, mental harm, or degradation or causes physical injury, mental harm, or personal degradation. In addition, each IHE must implement a comprehensive program to prevent hazing, which must include information on hazing awareness, hazing prevention, and the IHE's policies on hazing.
Invest in American Railroads Act This bill revises and expands the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing program of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Specifically, the bill authorizes DOT to pay certain credit risk premiums for loans or loan guarantees; requires DOT to set aside at least $100 million for passenger rail projects in a given fiscal year; directs DOT to provide loans and loan guarantees to private entities with controlling ownership in one or more freight railroads other than Class I carriers; expands eligibility under the loan program to include reimbursement of planning, permitting, and design expenses related to acquiring, improving, or rehabilitating intermodal or rail equipment or facilities; sets forth collateral and appraisal standards under the program; and allows loan repayment terms to be extended up to 50 years after the date of substantial completion of a project, or the estimated useful life of the rail equipment or facilities to be acquired, rehabilitated, improved, developed, or established.
