American Values Act This bill expands and makes permanent certain restrictions that prohibit the use of U.S. foreign assistance to pay for the performance or promotion of abortion services overseas. Current law generally prohibits the use of foreign assistance for abortions through language included in appropriations bills. This bill specifically prohibits the use of any funds under the Foreign Assistance Act for (1) abortions or involuntary sterilization as methods of family planning, or (2) biomedical research that relates to these practices as methods of family planning. In addition, the bill makes permanent prohibitions on the use of such funds to (1) lobby for or against abortion, or (2) fund any organization or program that supports or participates in coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization. The bill also makes permanent a prohibition on the use of funds made available to the Peace Corps to pay for abortions.
Legacy IRA Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the tax exclusion for distributions from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for charitable purposes. The bill increases from $100,000 to $400,000 the annual limit on the aggregate amount of distributions for charitable purposes that may be excluded from the gross income of a taxpayer. The bill permits tax-free distributions from IRAs to a split-interest entity for four years after the enactment of this bill. A split-interest entity is exclusively funded by charitable distributions and includes: a charitable remainder annuity trust, a charitable remainder unitrust, or a charitable gift annuity. A charitable gift annuity must commence fixed payments of at least 5% no later than one year from the date of funding. A distribution to a split-interest entity may only be treated as a qualified charitable distribution if: (1) no person holds an income interest in the entity other than the individual for whose benefit the account is maintained, the spouse of such individual, or both; and (2) the income interest in the entity is nonassignable.
United States-Israel PTSD Collaborative Research Act This bill establishes a grant program for collaborative efforts between the United States and Israel to advance research on post-traumatic stress disorders. The Department of Defense, in coordination with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of State, shall award grants to eligible academic institutions or nonprofit entities in the United States. Work shall be conducted by the eligible entity and an entity in Israel under a joint research agreement.
This bill expedites the approval process for renewable fuels under the renewable fuel standard (RFS) program. The existing RFS program requires transportation fuel to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuel. Producers must register renewable fuels under the program. The bill considers an application to register a renewable fuel under the RFS program to be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) if the fuel has been approved under any state renewable fuel program. It also establishes a deadline for the EPA to make a decision on any pending application for a renewable fuel that has not yet been approved under any state program. In addition, the bill establishes deadlines for the EPA to make decisions on pending pathway petitions by producers to register biofuels. If the EPA does not make decisions on the petitions by the deadlines, then petitions are automatically approved.
Southern Border Communities Reimbursement Act of 2021 This bill authorizes reimbursement to jurisdictions and organizations for the costs of providing humanitarian relief to aliens, including the cost of emergency preparedness activities. The reimbursement authorized under this bill shall be for FY2021-FY2023 and shall be distributed by the Emergency Food and Shelter Program National Board.
Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed To Survive Act of 2021 or the RESTAURANTS Act of 2021 This bill temporarily establishes and provides funding for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, from which the Department of the Treasury shall make grants to eligible food and beverage purveyors to cover specified costs such as payroll, operational expenses, and paid sick leave. For the grant program's initial period, Treasury must (1) prioritize awarding grants to marginalized and underrepresented communities, and (2) only award grants to eligible food and beverage purveyors with annual revenues of less than $1.5 million in 2019. For tax purposes, grant amounts are excluded from the recipient's gross income. An entity that received a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program established to support small businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) may not apply for or use a restaurant revitalization grant for the same expenses for which the entity received the paycheck protection loan. Further, a grant applicant may request an additional amount to cover the cost of providing 10 days of paid sick leave to its employees. Treasury must report a list of grant recipients with the amount each recipient received, as well as demographics and other specified information.
Public Health Emergency Production Act of 2021 This bill modifies funding, administration, and reporting related to the Defense Production Act of 1950. That act confers upon the President a broad set of authorities to influence domestic industry to secure essential materials and goods needed for the national defense. Specifically, the bill eliminates a requirement to transfer any balance in excess of $750 million from the Defense Production Act Fund to the General Fund of the Department of the Treasury. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must require companies to prioritize fulfilling federal contracts or orders necessary for pandemic preparedness and response if HHS finds that the material being procured is essential to the public health and cannot be adequately sourced through normal distribution channels. HHS must also establish, within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, an office responsible for Defense Production Act of 1950 activities. Additionally, staff may rotate between the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy and specified components of HHS. Furthermore, the Defense Production Act Committee must report monthly about the use of Defense Production Act of 1950 authorities during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency.
Supporting State and Local Leaders Act This bill repeals the prohibition against granting state and local governments a tax credit for paid sick and paid family and medical leave.
Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act of 2021 This bill revises antitrust laws applicable to mergers and anticompetitive conduct. Specifically, the bill applies a stricter standard for permissible mergers by prohibiting mergers that (1) create an appreciable risk of materially lessening competition, or (2) unfairly lower the prices of goods or wages because of a lack of competition among buyers or employers (i.e., a monopsony). Under current law, mergers that substantially lessen competition are prohibited. Additionally, for some large mergers or mergers that concentrate markets beyond a certain threshold, the bill shifts the burden of proof to the merging parties to prove that the merger does not violate the law. The bill also prohibits exclusionary conduct that presents an appreciable risk of harming competition. The bill also establishes monetary penalties for violations, requires annual reporting for certain mergers and acquisitions, establishes within the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the Office of the Competition Advocate, and sets forth whistleblower protections. The Government Accountability Office must report on (1) the success of merger remedies required by the Department of Justice or the FTC in recent consent decrees; and (2) the impact of mergers and acquisitions on wages, employment, innovation, and new business formation.
Protecting Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence Act This bill allows an abused spouse or child whose immigrant status is derived from another alien (the principal alien) to obtain immigrant status independent of the principal alien. Current law provides a path to immigrant status to abused individuals who derive their status from a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, but not to those who derive their status from another alien. Such an abused spouse or child must be accompanying or following to join the principal alien and have been subject to battery or extreme cruelty by the principal alien. An abused individual with immigrant status shall receive employment authorization, be eligible for renewal or extension of status, and become an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence under certain conditions.
Voter Registration Promotion Act This bill directs the Office of the Postmaster General to modify any hard copy change of address form used by the U.S. Postal Service so that the form contains a reminder that any individual using such form should update his or her voter registration.
Youth Corps Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Department of Labor to make grants to public or private nonprofit agencies or organizations to carry out Youth Corps programs that utilize the Youth Corps model to provide low-income youth (age 16 and not more than age 24) with education and work readiness training. The term Youth Corps model means a youth education and training program for which an eligible entity provides eligible youth with stipended or paid work experience and basic and technical skills training leading to (1) enrollment in postsecondary education or training, (2) attainment of an industry-recognized certification or credential, (3) meaningful employment in the economy of the 21st century, or (4) military service.
