Hospitality and Commerce Job Recovery Act of 2021 This bill extends existing and establishes new tax credits that assist the hospitality and restaurant industry. Specifically, it allows a conventionand trade show restart tax credit; extends the employee retention tax credit through 2021; suspends for taxable years 2021 through 2022, the limitation on entertainment expenses related to a trade or business, allows a restaurant and dining restart credit for businesses closed or forced to reduce services due to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019); allows a 50% tax credit for travel expenditures; and allows a tax credit for unmerchantable inventory for the period between December 31, 2019, and before April 1, 2021.
Keystone XL Pipeline Construction and Jobs Preservation Act This bill authorizes the TransCanada Keystone Pipeline to construct, connect, operate, and maintain the pipeline facilities in Phillips County, Montana, for the import of oil from Canada to the United States.
National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for the registered apprenticeship program within the Department of Labor and for related grant programs. The bill provides statutory authority for the Office of Apprenticeship (OA) within Labor. The OA's responsibilities include (1) supporting the development of apprenticeship models; (2) recognizing qualified state apprenticeship agencies, and operating apprenticeship offices in states without a recognized agency; (3) providing technical assistance to state agencies; (4) periodically updating requirements for each occupation in the apprenticeship program and determining whether to approve new occupations for the program; (5) promoting greater diversity in the national apprenticeship system; and (6) awarding grants provided by this bill. The bill also establishes in statute the responsibilities of state apprenticeship agencies and offices, including (1) providing technical assistance to stakeholders, (2) resolving complaints, (3) establishing state performance goals, and (4) including in its written plan a description of how its apprenticeship programs align with the skills needs of the state's employers. The OA shall enter into an agreement with the Department of Education to promote the integration and alignment of apprenticeship programs with secondary, postsecondary, and adult education. The OA shall award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to (1) expand national apprenticeship system programs, including by expanding pre-apprenticeship and youth apprenticeship programs; (2) encourage employer participation; and (3) strengthen alignment between the apprenticeship system and education providers. The bill provides statutory authority for criteria for various programs, including (1) quality standards for apprenticeships, (2) requirements for apprenticeship agreements between a program sponsor and an apprentice, and (3) acceptable uses for grant funds awarded by this bill. The bill also provides statutory authority for the National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships. The committee's duties shall include advising the OA on matters relating to this bill and providing recommendations on topics such as increasing the participation of populations not traditionally involved in the national apprenticeship system. Labor shall engage an independent entity to conduct research on ways to improve the management and effectiveness of national apprenticeship system programs.
This resolution recognizes Black History Month as an opportunity to reflect on U.S. history and to commemorate the contributions of African Americans. It calls for the United States to (1) honor the contribution of pioneers who helped to ensure its legacy; and (2) move forward as a nation "indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
This resolution designates February 28, 2021, as Rare Disease Day.
This resolution calls on the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee to support human rights and boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics if it is held in China. The resolution also expresses support for the committee's athletes, coaches, and personnel.
This resolution commemorates the 30th anniversary of Operation Desert Storm's 100-hour ground campaign, honors the legacy of the 697,000 U.S. Desert Storm veterans, and pays tribute to the 299 men and women who lost their lives.
This resolution opposes lifting specified sanctions on Iran and resolves that these sanctions may be terminated only after Iran has ceased providing support for acts of international terrorism and has dismantled its nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons and related technologies.
This resolution expresses support for the goals and ideas of Endometriosis Awareness Month. Endometriosis is a painful condition in which the tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus grows outside the uterus.
This resolution declares that (1) the United States needs a Marshall Plan for Moms to revitalize and restore mothers in the workforce; and (2) mothers, especially mothers of color have been pushed to the brink of economic, social, and emotional collapse during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic because of the existing economic and social inequalities women have long faced. The resolution also states that any relief and long-term recovery package to address the COVID-19 crisis must recognize and rebuild moms in the workforce by including certain policies such as establishing a robust paid leave plan; rebuilding and stabilizing the child care industry; providing necessary child poverty reduction tools for families' economic security that include recurring child benefits and an expanded and improved child tax credit and earned income tax credit; establishing an expanded unemployment insurance program that benefits struggling workers, including those experiencing long-term unemployment; raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour or higher for all minimum wage workers; and providing access to mental health support for mothers. Finally, the resolution declares that employers and policymakers must prioritize addressing the economic cliff facing mothers and make permanent the policies set forth in this resolution so that mothers are protected against any future economic calamities.
E-Verify Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop an electronic employment eligibility verification system modeled after and to replace E-Verify, which allows employers and recruiters to verify the immigration status of new hires and employees. The bill also requires all employers to use this new system and addresses other related issues. Currently, only some employers, such as federal contractors, are required to use E-Verify. The bill phases in the mandatory use of the system with different deadlines for various types of employers to start using the system. Generally, all employers must use the system within four years of the system's implementation. An employer who takes an employment-related action based on good faith reliance on the system shall not be liable in a civil or criminal case based on that action. DHS shall (1) develop various tools, including a photo checking tool for employers and a tool for an individuals to verify their own status; (2) establish procedures to allow individuals to stop the system from using identifying information belonging to that individual or that individual's child; (3) establish procedures to allow individuals to file complaints about violations relating to the employment of unauthorized aliens; and (4) provide grants to states that allow DHS to access driver's license information to use with the system. The bill also increases civil and criminal penalties related to employing unauthorized aliens. Employers convicted of hiring unauthorized aliens may be debarred from receiving federal contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements.
Conscience Protection Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for certain protections for health care providers that refuse to participate in abortions based on religious beliefs or other convictions. Health care providers include individual professionals, medical facilities, health insurance organizations, and social services providers that refer clients to health care services. The federal government and entities that receive federal funding for health-related activities, including state and local governments, may not discriminate against a health care provider that refuses to be involved in, or provide coverage for, abortions. Currently, similar requirements apply to various related activities, including certain employment or personnel decisions (the Church Amendments), abortion services training (the Coats-Snowe Amendment), qualified health plans offered through health insurance exchanges, and annual appropriations bills for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other federal agencies (the Weldon Amendment). The HHS Office for Civil Rights must investigate complaints of this kind of discrimination. Furthermore, HHS may terminate or reduce HHS funding for health-related activities if a person or entity fails to comply with nondiscrimination requirements. Additionally, the Department of Justice or any entity adversely affected by such discrimination may bring a civil action to obtain appropriate relief. A plaintiff does not need to seek or exhaust administrative remedies before bringing the action. A plaintiff may also bring an action, including one for money damages, against a governmental entity. In many cases, principles of sovereign immunity shield states and some localities from these kinds of actions.
