Jobs for Economic Recovery Act of 2021 This bill establishes an employment and training program to assist workers who are unemployed or underemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and other displaced workers and those who face barriers to employment, to obtain employment, including through subsidized employment programs. Specifically, states, Indian tribes, local governments, and particular nonprofits must meet certain conditions before receiving funding to establish these programs. In addition to providing this funding, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award temporary grants to these entities to plan and implement the programs. The HHS Inspector General must biennially audit a sample of the state programs to ensure compliance with program and nondisplacement requirements, and to identify and protect against any waste, fraud, or abuse in such programs. HHS must make information publicly available to job seekers online about whether they are eligible for state, local, or tribal program employment services, and the agency to contact for further information. The bill also creates an employee retention work opportunity tax credit for employers that retain workers hired through the program for 24 months. Finally, the bill requires the Government Accountability Office to evaluate whether the retention credit (1) had a meaningful impact on retention as compared to currently existing and previous subsidized employment programs, and (2) was easily understood by employers and had an impact on hiring decisions in addition to any subsidy received by this bill.
Major Richard Star Act This bill allows a veteran with a combat-related disability and fewer than 20 years of creditable service to receive retirement pay, without reduction, concurrent with disability compensation.
Dynamic Glass Act of 2021 This bill includes electrochromic glass as energy property for purposes of the 30% energy tax credit. The bill defines electrochromic glass as glass that uses electricity to change its light transmittance properties to heat or cool a structure, but only with respect to property whose construction begins before January 1, 2024.
Women's Military History Day Act This bill establishes Women's Military History Day and requires the President to annually issue a proclamation to celebrate the women who have served in the military and their achievements.
Working Families Flexibility Act of 2021 This bill revises requirements for the receipt of compensatory time off for private sector employees. Specifically, the bill authorizes private employers to provide compensatory time off to their employees at a rate of one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime compensation otherwise is required; employees may accrue a maximum of 160 hours of compensatory time. Employers are prohibited from interfering with an employee's right to or not request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of overtime compensation or from requiring an employee to use such compensatory time, and must give their employees 30-days notice before discontinuing a compensatory time policy. Employers are liable to employees for damages from violations of these requirements.
Child Care Accessibility Report and Evaluation Act of 2021 or the Child CARE Act of 2021 This bill requires the Administration for Children and Families to report on the regulations in each state relating to child care. The report must include the average cost of child care in each state and any effects of regulations that address the quality of child care on the cost and supply of child care.
Child Care Choices Act of 2021 This bill requires states to prioritize the availability of child care certificates over grants or contracts when providing federally supported child care assistance to families. A child care certificate is a voucher provided directly to a parent who may use the voucher only as payment for child care services. The bill also prohibits states from setting differential payment rates based solely on the type of child care or type of provider.
Empowering Nonprofits Act This bill reduces cost-sharing requirements for grants directly awarded to certain nonprofit organizations during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency period and the following five years. Eligible nonprofit organizations are those in jurisdictions with more than 20% of individuals living below the poverty line. Specifically, the bill provides that (1) any cost-sharing requirement shall be waived during a COVID-19 emergency period; and (2) in the five years following such an emergency, any cost-sharing requirement shall be reduced by 25%.
Payer State Transparency Act of 2021 This bill requires the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce to calculate the federal tax burden of each state for each calendar year. It also requires the Office of Management and Budget to calculate the total amount of federal outlays received by each state in each fiscal year.
Disaster Savings and Resilient Construction Act of 2021 This bill allows a tax credit through 2023 for certain residential or commercial buildings owned by a taxpayer in a disaster area that are designed and constructed to meet resilient construction requirements. The bill defines resilient construction requirements as requirements with respect to buildings in a disaster area that make such buildings resistant to hazards brought on by a major disaster, reduce the magnitude or duration of a disruptive event, and have the capacity to withstand a potentially disruptive event.
Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act of 2021 This bill increases the current 21% income tax rate of corporations whose ratio of compensation of their principal executive officers or other highest compensated employees to median worker compensation is more than 50 to 1, in which case the increase is 0.5%. The pay ratio disparity extends from 100 to 1 to 500 to 1, in which case the increase is 5%. The bill exempts from such increase certain corporations based upon their average annual gross receipts.
Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act This bill expands special education and related services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, students with visual disabilities, and children and youth who are deaf-blind. The individualized education program for each child who is visually and/or hearing impaired must include specified components and must provide the child with instruction that meets the child's unique learning needs. In addition, a state's closure of a special school serving deaf or blind children shall count as a reduction of its financial support for special education and related services. Among other provisions, the bill authorizes support, including grants for training special education personnel, to be used in preparing individuals to become qualified teachers and early intervention specialists for children with hearing disabilities. The bill establishes within the Department of Education the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Educational Excellence to better support students with visual disabilities.
