United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Foreign-Trade Zone Modernization Act of 2021 or the USMCA FTZ Modernization Act of 2021 This bill requires the International Trade Commission to investigate tariff policies related to foreign-trade zones (FTZs), which are designated sites at which special customs procedures may be used to allow for domestic activity involving foreign items prior to formal customs entry. The investigation must examine (1) differences in tariff treatment by the United States, Canada, and Mexico; (2) any effects of such differences on the cost-competitiveness of U.S.-manufactured products compared to products manufactured in Canada or Mexico; and (3) how FTZs in the United States could be better employed to redress and mitigate any inequities.
Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act of 2021 This bill requires federally funded entities to certify that they will not perform an abortion, and will not provide funds to any other entity that performs an abortion, except in cases of rape or incest or where a physical condition endangers the woman's life unless an abortion is performed. The bill's requirements do not apply to hospitals, as long as the hospital does not provide funds to any non-hospital entity for abortions that are not otherwise excepted.
Independent Agency Regulatory Analysis Act This bill authorizes the President to order independent regulatory agencies to comply with specified regulatory analysis requirements. Specifically, the President may require an independent regulatory agency to (1) comply with regulatory analysis requirements applicable to other federal agencies, (2) provide the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs with an assessment of the costs and benefits of a proposed or final economically significant rule and an assessment of costs and benefits of potentially effective and reasonably feasible alternatives to the rule, (3) publish the assessments with the rules, and (4) submit to the office for review any proposed or final economically significant rule. An economically significant rule is a rule that is likely to (1) have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; or (2) adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or state, local, or tribal governments or communities. In addition, the bill prohibits judicial review of an independent regulatory agency's compliance with the requirements of this bill.
Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of State to take certain actions promoting the normalization of relations between Israel, Arab states, and other relevant countries and regions. Specifically, the State Department must develop a strategy on expanding and strengthening the Abraham Accords (the term used to refer collectively to agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain marking the public normalization of relations between the two Arab countries and Israel). The strategy must include a description of how the U.S. government will encourage further normalization of relations with Israel. The State Department must report on the status of efforts to promote normalization of relations with Israel and other countries, including information on (1) laws that punish individuals for people-to-people relations with Israelis (i.e., anti-normalization laws), and (2) instances of the use of state-owned or state-operated media outlets to promote the prosecution of citizens or residents of Arab countries calling for peace with Israel.
Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2021 This bill expands tax incentives and federal assistance for employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) that are sponsored by S corporations. The bill provides additional tax incentives for ESOPs by (1) extending to all domestic corporations, including S corporations, provisions allowing deferral of tax on gain from the sale of employer securities to an ESOP; and (2) allowing a tax deduction for 50% of the interest received by a bank on loans to S corporation-sponsored ESOPs for the purchase of employer securities. The Department of the Treasury must establish the S Corporation Employee Ownership Assistance Office to foster increased employee ownership of S corporations. The bill defines an ESOP business concern for purposes of the Small Business Act as a business concern that was eligible for a loan, preference, or other program under such Act before more than 49% of the business concern was acquired by an ESOP.
Unnecessary Agency Regulations Reduction Act of 2021 This bill requires the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to annually report a list of major rules (i.e., rules with a significant economic impact, cost to consumers, or adverse effects on competition) that it recommends should be consolidated or repealed because they are outdated, duplicative, or incur excessive compliance costs. Congress must review the list to determine, and recommend by joint resolution, any such rules to consolidate or repeal.
Tribal Health Data Improvement Act of 2021 This bill expands tribal access to public health care data and public health surveillance programs. It also reauthorizes through FY2026 the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and requires the CDC to take certain actions to address the collection and availability of health data for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services must (1) establish a strategy for providing data access to Indian tribes and tribal epidemiology centers; and (2) make available all requested data related to health care and public health surveillance programs and activities to the Indian Health Service, tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal epidemiology centers. Next, the CDC must make grants to and enter into contracts with tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal epidemiology centers for data collection and related activities. Among other requirements, the CDC must (1) develop guidelines for state and local health agencies to improve birth and death record data for American Indians and Alaska Natives; (2) enter into cooperative agreements with tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, and tribal epidemiology centers to address certain inaccuracies related to records for American Indians and Alaska Natives; and (3) encourage states to enter into data sharing agreements with tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal epidemiology centers to improve the quality and accuracy of public health data.
Elder Abuse Protection Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for the Elder Justice Initiative, which coordinates activities of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat elder abuse, neglect, and financial fraud. The bill requires DOJ's Elder Justice Coordinator to serve as the head of the initiative. The bill also requires the initiative to establish a national elder fraud telephone hotline, promote civil legal aid to victims of elder fraud and elder abuse, and make resources available online in English and Spanish.
Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes through FY2026 and revises several programs and activities relating to newborn screening for certain conditions and genetic, endocrine, and metabolic diseases. Among its changes, the bill reauthorizes and makes mandatory the Hunter Kelly Research Program at the National Institutes of Health, and national surveillance activities conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bill also aligns statutory requirements for research on non-identified newborn blood spots with federal regulations governing research on human subjects. These blood spots are collected as part of newborn screening programs, and some states make them available for biomedical and public health research. Under current regulations, research on non-identified bio-specimens such as blood spots is not considered to be research on human subjects, to which additional protections apply.
Enhancing Credit Opportunities in Rural America Act of 2021 or the ECORA Act of 2021 This bill modifies the requirements for calculating taxable income to exclude from gross income interest received by a lender from real estate loans secured by agricultural real estate or by a leasehold mortgage (with a status as a lien) on agricultural real estate. Agricultural real estate includes real property that is substantially used for the production of one or more agricultural products. It also includes any single family residence that is (1) the principal residence of its occupant, (2) located in a rural area which is not within a Metropolitan Statistical Area and has a population of 2,500 or less, and (3) is purchased or improved with the proceeds of a loan secured by agricultural real estate or by a household mortgage.
Cultivating Opportunity and Recovery from the Pandemic through Service Act or the CORPS Act This bill makes several changes to AmeriCorps programs during the COVID-19 health emergency. Specifically, the bill: increases living allowance payments to program participants; increases educational awards for program participants; relaxes program requirements, including reducing the age requirement for AmeriCorps Seniors to 45 and older; creates a pilot program to allow state commissions to directly place individuals in approved AmeriCorps programs; and allows for targeted AmeriCorps grants to fund recovery projects in communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The bill also excludes AmeriCorps living allowance payments and educational awards from taxable income for program participants.
Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 2021 This bill establishes requirements and procedures for the Department of the Treasury to transfer ownership of certain matured, unredeemed savings bonds and related records to states.
