This bill removes conditions on the designation of Puerto Rico as a qualified opportunity zone. In general, a qualified opportunity zone is an economically-distressed community where new investment may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.
Puerto Rico Film, Television, and Theatre Production Act of 2021 This bill extends the expensing provisions for film, television, and theater productions to productions in Puerto Rico. (Expensing permits the write-off of property costs in the current taxable year rather than capitalizing such costs.)
Real Estate Exchange Fairness Act of 2021 This bill requires Puerto Rico to be treated as part of the United States for the purpose of determining if an exchange of real property qualifies as a like-kind exchange for tax purposes. (Under current law, real property located in the United States and real property located outside of the United States are not property of a like kind.)
Support Our Military Working Dogs Act This bill addresses provisions regarding the care and study of military working dogs. First, the bill authorizes the Department of Defense (DOD) to accept donations for the purpose of providing long-term care for retired military working dogs that have been adopted. The bill authorizes DOD to enter into a multi-year agreement with a veterans service organization or nonprofit entity to solicit, accept, and transfer funds to provide long-term care for adopted military working dogs. The bill prohibits charging a fee for the adoption of a military animal. The bill updates the duties of the Joint Trauma Education and Training Directorate. Specifically, the bill requires the directorate to develop a comprehensive trauma care registry with respect to military working dogs. Additionally, the directorate must inform and advise the conduct of research on the leading causes of morbidity and mortality of military working dogs in combat. Finally, DOD must establish a personnel management plan for veterinary care.
Retaining Educators Takes Added Investment Now Act or the RETAIN Act This bill allows a refundable tax credit for the employment of early childhood educators, teachers, early childhood education program directors, school leaders, and school-based mental health services providers that is based upon the number of school years for which such individuals have been continuously employed.
Building on Reemployment Improvements to Deliver Good Employment for Workers Act or the BRIDGE for Workers Act This bill extends eligibility for reemployment services to all individuals claiming unemployment compensation. Currently, only unemployment claimants that are identified as likely to exhaust their regular unemployment compensation are eligible for such reemployment services.
Defense Language Improvement Act or the DLI Act This bill adds authority for the Defense Language Institute to confer a Bachelor of Arts degree in a foreign language—in addition to the currently authorized Associate degree—upon a graduate of the Institute's Foreign Language Center.
Northern Marianas Family Assistance Act This bill expands eligibility for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to include the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). It also makes certain TANF provisions, including those related to child support enforcement and mandatory work requirements, inapplicable to that territory. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services must provide technical assistance to the CNMI on developing a plan to use its TANF funds; and seek to negotiate an agreement with the CNMI that sets out how the territory's work, employment, and training programs will be assessed.
Hold Congress Accountable Act This bill withholds or eliminates the pay of Members of Congress during a government shutdown. Through the day of the general election in November 2022, any salary earned by Members during a government shutdown must be held in escrow and released on the last day of the 117th Congress. After the November 2022 general election, a Member shall not be paid for any day during which the government is shut down.
CCUS Innovation Act This bill revises a Department of Energy loan guarantee program for carbon capture, utilization, and storage projects. Specifically, the bill specifies categories of projects that are eligible for loan guarantees, such as projects for developing infrastructure (e.g., pipelines) to enable carbon capture, utilization, or storage.
Carbon Capture Modernization Act This bill modifies sequestration and other requirements for the qualifying advanced coal project tax credit.
Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2021 This bill generally prohibits the federal government, states, tribal nations, or localities from discriminating or taking adverse action against a child welfare provider that declines to provide services due to the provider's sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions. However, government entities may still take adverse action against a provider that declines to provide adoption or foster care services based on race, color, or national origin. The Department of Health and Human Services must withhold a portion of federal funding for family services and child welfare activities from a government entity that discriminates against a child welfare provider in violation of this bill. Child welfare providers may also sue the government entity for such discrimination. A prevailing provider may recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Furthermore, government entities that accept certain federal funding for family services and child welfare activities must waive sovereign immunity as a defense to lawsuits brought under this bill. (In many cases, sovereign immunity shields states, territories, tribal nations, and some localities against private suits.)
