Consider Teachers Act of 2021 This bill revises the service obligation verification process for the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grant program. The TEACH program awards grants to postsecondary students who commit to teaching for four years in high-need subjects in low-income schools. In addition, the bill establishes certain program flexibilities with respect to the service obligations of teachers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the bill provides a process for the Department of Education (ED) to reconsider and reverse the conversion of a TEACH grant to a loan. Under current program terms, TEACH grants are converted into loan obligations if service requirements are not met. In addition, the bill directs ED to notify TEACH grant recipients of the requirements for submitting employment certifications. ED must also provide an alternative to certification. ED must maintain and annually update a list of qualifying schools and high-need fields. The bill also provides certain program flexibilities with respect to the service obligations of teachers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the bill (1) extends the service obligation window for TEACH grants, and (2) requires ED to consider teaching service that is interrupted as a result of a qualifying emergency as full-time service for purposes of Federal Perkins Loans.
This bill designates a trail route, to be known as the September 11th National Memorial Trail Route, to link the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York, New York, the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The September 11th National Memorial Trail Route shall provide for a tribute to the family members and loved ones who were victims of the attack and the heroes of September 11th, including the first responders in the days, weeks, and months after the attack; be a trail of remembrance to honor the fallen in a tangible way that keeps their memories alive and reaffirms the exceptionalism of our country; and be a celebration of our nation's resilience and perseverance since September 11, 2001. The September 11th National Memorial Trail Route shall be administered by the National Park Service but not be considered to be a unit of the National Park System or a part of the National Trail System.
K-12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021 This bill requires the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to study the cybersecurity risks facing elementary and secondary schools and develop recommendations that include cybersecurity guidelines designed to assist schools in facing those risks. The use of such recommendations shall be voluntary. The study must evaluate the challenges that schools face in securing (1) information systems owned, leased, or relied upon by those schools; and (2) sensitive student and employee records. Further, the bill requires CISA to (1) develop an online training toolkit designed for school officials; and (2) make available on the Department of Homeland Security website the study's findings, the cybersecurity guidelines, and the toolkit.
Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks Act of 2021 or the HAVANA Act of 2021 This bill specifically authorizes the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State, and other agencies to provide payments to agency personnel who incur brain injuries from hostilities while on assignment. Specifically, the bill allows agency personnel and their families to receive payments for brain injuries that are incurred (1) during a period of assignment to a foreign or domestic duty station; (2) in connection with war, insurgency, hostile acts, terrorist activity, or other agency-designated incidents; and (3) not as the result of willful misconduct. The bill's authority applies to injuries incurred before, on, or after the date of the bill's enactment. Agencies must submit classified reports on the bill's implementation, including the number of payments made and the amount of each payment. Since 2016, some intelligence, diplomatic, and other governmental personnel have reported experiencing unusual cognitive and neurological impairments while on assignment (particularly abroad), the source of which is currently under investigation. Symptoms were first reported by personnel stationed in Cuba and have since been collectively referred to as Havana Syndrome .
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase the amounts payable for wartime disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. Specifically, the VA must increase the amounts by the same percentage as the cost-of-living increase in benefits for Social Security recipients that is effective on December 1, 2021. The bill requires the VA to publish the amounts payable, as increased, in the Federal Register. The VA is authorized to make a similar adjustment to the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who have not received compensation for service-connected disability or death.
Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2021 This bill extends and revises provisions related to federal-aid highway, transit, highway safety, rail, and other surface transportation programs of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Among other provisions, the bill extends FY2021 enacted levels of funding through October 31, 2021, for federal-aid highway, transit, and safety programs; increases the cap from $600 million to $700 million on the amount of funding for nationally significant freight and highway projects and extends authority through FY2022 for DOT to provide funding for such projects; revises and extends authority through FY2022 for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to carry out collaborative research on in-vehicle technology to prevent alcohol-impaired driving; extends authority through October 31, 2021, for DOT to provide direct loans and loan guarantees for railroad rehabilitation and development near rail stations; reauthorizes and extends authority through FY2022 for the Appalachian Regional Commission; compensates any federal employee who is furloughed or required to work without pay during the authorization lapse in Highway Trust Fund expenditure authority at the earliest possible date after the lapse ends; and extends expenditure authority through November 1, 2021, for the Highway Trust Fund, Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.
Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act This act provides continuing FY2022 appropriations for federal agencies, provides supplemental appropriations, and extends several expiring programs and authorities. Specifically, the act provides continuing FY2022 appropriations to federal agencies through the earlier of December 3, 2021, or the enactment of the applicable appropriations act. It is known as a continuing resolution (CR) and prevents a government shutdown that would otherwise occur if the FY2022 appropriations bills have not been enacted when FY2022 begins on October 1, 2021. The CR funds most programs and activities at the FY2021 levels with several exceptions that provide funding flexibility and additional appropriations for various programs. In addition, the act provides supplemental appropriations to several federal agencies for activities related to natural disasters and the evacuees from Afghanistan. The act also extends several expiring programs and authorities, including the National Flood Insurance Program, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, the temporary scheduling order issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration to place fentanyl-related substances in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, and the authority for the Department of Agriculture to waive certain requirements for the school meal programs.
Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2021 This bill extends various Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs. First, the bill permanently extends the VA's authority to administer a dental insurance plan for veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system and certain survivors and dependents of veterans. Next, the bill extends through FY2022 the expansion of the program that authorizes payments and allowances for beneficiary travel in connection with veterans who are receiving care from Vet Centers. Finally, the bill extends authority through December 16, 2026, for the pilot program under which the VA may accept donations of real property or facilities from specified entities (e.g., a state or local authority).
This bill extends the deadline, from three years to five years, for the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children to submit its report to the President and Congress. The commission was established to conduct a comprehensive study of federal, state, local, and tribal programs that serve Native children and to develop plans for federal policy related to Native children.
Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act of 2021 This act requires federal agencies to post budget justification materials on certain public websites, including a single searchable website (e.g., USAspending.gov) and each agency's website. The materials most be posted in an open format that enables users to download individual reports, all reports in bulk, and the results of a search. In addition, the materials must be posted no later than two weeks after they are first submitted to Congress. The act also requires the Office of Management and Budget to maintain a public website that includes details regarding the materials, including a list of the agencies that submit budget justification materials to Congress, the dates that the materials were submitted to Congress and posted online, and links to the materials.
Emergency Repatriation Assistance for Returning Americans Act This bill increases the maximum amount of funding available in FY2021 and FY2022 for temporary assistance for U.S. citizens and their dependents who are returning from foreign countries due to a crisis and are without available resources. Under current law, the Department of Health and Human Services may provide assistance such as money payments and medical care to these individuals on a temporary basis. The bill designates the funding as emergency spending that is exempt from pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules and other budget enforcement procedures.
Harlem Hellfighters Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the 369th Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the Harlem Hellfighters, in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service during World War I.
