Public School Green Rooftop Program This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a grant program for installing and maintaining green roof systems on public elementary and secondary school buildings. Green roof refers to a layer of vegetation that is planted over a waterproofing system or to a waterproof management practice that is installed on a roof and may support plant growth. Specifically, DOE must award grants to public elementary and secondary schools, local educational agencies, and partnerships with nonprofit organizations to (1) pay the costs of planning assistance for green roof systems on school buildings (e.g., assessing structures, conducting financial and engineering analyses, and receiving cost estimates), and (2) install green roof systems on these buildings. Additionally, a grant recipient must complete the installation of a green roof system within four years of receiving the grant. A grant recipient that completes this installation requirement shall receive additional funding for maintenance activities, such as conducting routine inspections to monitor the condition of the green roof.
Reserve Employers Comprehensive Relief and Uniform Incentives on Taxes Act of 2021 or the RECRUIT Act of 2021 This bill allows employers with less than 500 employees a new tax credit for 40% of the wages paid to a member of the National Guard or a reserve component of the Armed Forces. The employer may elect to claim a payroll tax credit for wages paid to such service members.
Clean Energy Hydrogen Innovation Act This bill expands the types of hydrogen projects that are eligible for loan guarantees from the Department of Energy.
Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act of 2021 This bill provides housing assistance during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Specifically, the bill suspends rental and mortgage payments for primary residences through April 1, 2022. The bill also forgives rental and mortgage debt accrued from March 13, 2020, through April 1, 2022. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) must establish funds to reimburse lessors and lenders for payments suspended or forgiven under the bill. In addition, HUD must establish an Affordable Housing Acquisition Fund to support the acquisition of multifamily housing projects by nonprofit organizations, public housing agencies, cooperative housing associations, community land trusts, and state and local governments. For a five-year period, entities that are approved for such assistance shall be provided the first right of purchase with respect to these projects.
Sister City Transparency Act This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to study the activities of sister city partnerships involving foreign communities in countries that received a score of 45 or less on Transparency International's 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index. A sister city partnership is a formal agreement between a U.S. community and a foreign community that is recognized by Sister Cities International and that is operating within the United States. Among other elements, the required study must (1) identify oversight practices that U.S communities implement to mitigate the risks of foreign espionage and economic coercion within sister city partnerships, (2) assess the extent to which U.S. communities ensure transparency regarding sister city partnership contracts and activities, and (3) review the range of activities conducted within sister city partnerships.
Responsible Additions and Increases to Sustain Employee Health Benefits Act of 2021 This bill modifies the tax exclusion for distributions from health flexible spending arrangements provided to employees under a cafeteria plan to (1) increase the annual limit on employee salary reduction contributions to $5,000, with an additional $500 for each additional employee dependent above two dependents that has not been taken into account by another person for the year; (2) revise the adjustment for inflation after 2021; and (3) allow a carryforward into the next year for unused amounts in such plans.
Jenna Quinn Law This bill allows the Department of Health and Human Services to provide grants for evidence-informed child sexual abuse awareness and prevention programs. The grants may be awarded for a period of up to five years.
Success in the Middle Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to establish a grant program and take other specified actions to improve student learning and academic achievement for students in the middle grades (i.e., grades 5-8). Specifically, the bill directs ED to make formula grants to states, based on their proportion of children aged 5 to 17 living below the poverty line, to implement state middle grades need analyses and, on the basis of such analyses, create statewide improvement plans to improve student academic achievement in the middle grades; and award competitive subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) or designated LEA partnerships to implement a comprehensive middle school improvement plan for each eligible school (based on graduation rates and specified risk factors). Among other activities, ED must also (1) study and identify promising practices for the improvement of middle grades education, (2) create a national clearinghouse and national middle grades database, (3) establish an educational research and development center, and (4) provide grants to turn around low-performing schools that serve middle grade students.
Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act This bill authorizes the Department of the Treasury to impose restrictions on foreign jurisdictions or financial institutions to counter money laundering and efforts to significantly impede U.S. tax enforcement. Among other provisions, the bill expands reporting requirements for certain foreign investments and accounts held by U.S. persons, establishes a rebuttable presumption against the validity of transactions by institutions that do not comply with reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, treats certain foreign corporations managed and controlled primarily in the United States as domestic corporations for tax purposes, treats swap payments sent offshore as taxable U.S. source income, requires corporations to disclose certain financial information on a country-by-country basis, imposes penalties for failing to disclose offshore holdings, modifies the base erosion anti-abuse tax to lower the gross receipts applicability threshold from $500 million to $100 million, makes investment advisers and persons engaged in forming new business entities subject to new anti-money laundering requirements, requires reporting of U. S. beneficial owners of foreign-owned financial accounts, and imposes additional requirements for third party summonses used to obtain information in tax investigations that do not identify the person with respect to whose liability the summons is issued (i.e., John Doe summons).
QUEST Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Energy to establish and carry out a program (to be known as the Quantum User Expansion for Science and Technology program or the QUEST program) to encourage and facilitate access to U.S. quantum computing hardware and quantum computing clouds for research purposes in order to (1) enhance the quantum research enterprise of the United States, (2) educate the future quantum computing workforce, and (3) accelerate the advancement of U.S. quantum computing capabilities.
COVID Community Care Act This bill provides FY2021 supplemental appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Specifically, the bill provides appropriations to the HHS Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund and the Indian Health Service for implementing programs to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19 in medically underserved communities and among tribal populations, respectively. The bill designates the funding as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.
Dependent Income Exclusion Act of 2021 This bill excludes certain wages or self-employment earnings of a dependent of a taxpayer for purposes of determining the taxpayer's eligibility for premium tax credits used to purchase insurance on Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act exchanges. To qualify for the exclusion, the dependent must be under 18 years of age or have not attained age 24 during a specified five-year period, and be a full- or part-time student or apprentice or participant in a job training program.
