The bill directs the Joint Committee on the Library to remove the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the Capitol and to obtain a bust of Clarence Thomas with which to replace it.
Rebuilding Communities After Disasters Act This bill requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) to increase the loan limits for the disaster loan program and to communicate certain information about the program following disasters. Specifically, the bill raises from $40,000 to $75,000 the loan amount for repair or replacement of household and personal effects and from $200,000 to $400,000 the loan amount for repair or replacement of a primary residence. Further, the bill requires the SBA to communicate through radio, television, print, and web-based outlets all relevant information needed by disaster loan applicants if a disaster is declared or the SBA declares eligibility for additional disaster assistance. (Currently, the SBA is only required to endeavor to communicate such information.) The SBA must submit a report on the disaster loan program that includes information such as the number and dollar value of program loans and the average estimated dollar value of damage sustained by borrowers.
Restore the Rights of Property Owners under the Eviction Moratorium Issued by the CDC Act of 2021 This bill nullifies beginning on July 1, 2021, the emergency order (and any extensions of the order) issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on September 4, 2020, that restricted residential evictions during the COVID-19 emergency. It also prohibits the order from being reissued unless specifically authorized by law.
Essential Caregivers Act of 2021 This bill requires skilled nursing facilities, nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities for the intellectually disabled, and nearby inpatient rehabilitation facilities to establish an essential caregivers program during a public health emergency. Under the program, facilities must allow each resident to select up to two essential caregivers to provide daily living assistance, emotional support, or companionship during the emergency. Facilities must afford such caregivers 12 hours of access to residents each day (or unlimited access for end-of-life care), and caregivers must agree to follow facility protocols for staff safety. Facilities may deny access to caregivers who violate protocols, subject to certain notification requirements; the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must establish an appeals process relating to such decisions and may take specified enforcement actions against facilities that violate the bill's requirements.
Disaster Reforestation Act This bill sets forth a special rule for the tax deduction for casualty losses of uncut timber (including pre-merchantable timber). It provides that in losses of any uncut timber from fire, storm, insects, invasive species, drought, or other casualty, or from theft, the basis for determining the amount of the deduction for such loss shall not be less than the excess of the value of such timber determined immediately before such loss was sustained, over the salvage value of such timber. To be eligible for the casualty loss deduction, the uncut timber subject to the loss must be reforested not later than the close of the five-year period beginning on the date of the loss.
Stop Inflationary Spending Act This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide inflation projections for bills that Congress considers using the budget reconciliation process. Specifically, the CBO must estimate the impact on inflation that will occur from implementing each reconciliation bill, including the impact on inflation that will occur during each of the first five years after the enactment of the bill.
Taxpayer Protection and Preparer Proficiency Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Department of the Treasury to regulate tax return preparers, including by sanctioning preparers for incompetence and disreputable behavior and by establishing minimum competency standards for preparers.
Expanding Opportunity Zones Act of 2021 This bill revises provisions relating to tax-exempt opportunity zones to increase the number of low-income communities that may be designated as qualified opportunity zones, and to extend the periods of election and deferral of gain invested with respect to such zones.
Increasing Health Coverage through HRAs Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Services rule dated June 20, 2019, which provides for the integration of health reimbursement arrangements and other account-based health plans with individual health insurance coverage or Medicare.
Vaccine Passport Prevention Act of 2021 This bill generally prohibits governments from issuing vaccine passports (i.e., standard documentation other than health records to certify an individual's COVID-19 vaccination status to a third party) and discrimination based on an individual's COVID-19 vaccination status or post-transmission recovery. Specifically, the federal government may not issue any vaccine passport or discriminate based on an individual's COVID-19 vaccination or recovery status by requiring documentation of the status as a condition of receiving a benefit or service. In addition, the federal government (except for the Department of Defense) may not mandate COVID-19 vaccines as a condition of federal employment. Furthermore, the bill prohibits, as a condition of receiving certain COVID-19 relief funds, states, tribal nations, and localities from issuing vaccine passports or engaging in discrimination by requiring documentation of an individual's COVID-19 vaccination or recovery status. Additionally, the bill prohibits private entities that offer products or services affecting interstate commerce from requiring documentation of an individual's COVID-19 vaccination or recovery status in order to obtain a product or service. It also establishes a private right of action for individuals who experience such discrimination by private entities. The bill also provides an exception to allow kindergartens, elementary and secondary schools, and institutions of higher education to mandate COVID-19 vaccines as a condition of enrollment. However, the Department of Education may not award financial assistance to any school that requires COVID-19 vaccines without also providing for exemptions based on (1) religious or conscientious beliefs, (2) medical reasons, and (3) natural immunity from COVID-19.
Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 20 21 This bill prohibits commercial conversion therapy, which is a practice or treatment designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity or otherwise change behaviors, thoughts, or expressions related to gender or sexual attraction. This prohibition does not apply to treatment that assists an individual undergoing a gender transition or facilitates identity exploration and development.
This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that tax-exempt fraternal benefit societies provide critical benefits to the people and communities of the United States and their work should continue to be promoted.
