Rep. Theodore E. Deutch

Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act of 2021 This bill establishes an alternative formula to calculate Social Security retirement benefits for those who receive pensions for certain non-covered employment. (The existing formula is known as the windfall elimination provision.) The alternative formula adjusts an individual's total lifetime earnings based on the proportion of covered earnings (i.e., earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes). It applies to individuals who (1) first become eligible for benefits after 2022, (2) have earnings from non-covered service performed after 1977, and (3) have less than 30 years of coverage (i.e., years in which a beneficiary is considered to have contributed a substantial amount into the Social Security trust funds). Beneficiaries receive the higher benefit amount as calculated under the alternative method or the existing formula. In addition, the bill provides rebates for certain beneficiaries currently impacted by the existing formula. The Social Security Administration must include non-covered earnings in Social Security account statements, and the Government Accountability Office must study the availability of certain information related to retirement plans maintained by state and local governments.

Automatic Voter Registration Act This bill provides for automatic voter registration of individuals through state motor vehicle authorities. Specifically, the bill requires each state motor vehicle authority, upon receiving specified identifying information regarding an individual who requests services from the authority, to transmit the identifying information to the appropriate state election official. The state election official must then notify the individual that the individual shall be automatically registered to vote in federal elections unless the individual declines to be registered to vote, does not meet voter registration eligibility requirements, or is already registered to vote. The bill provides an individual with a 21-calendar day period to opt out of automatic voter registration. A state may only use identifying information regarding an individual's citizenship status for determining whether the individual is eligible to vote in federal elections.

Computer and Internet Access Equity Act This bill increases broadband service support for low-income consumers, establishes a grant program to provide internet safety education or training, and provides a tax credit for certain computer and education costs. Specifically, the bill modifies the broadband service support program known as Lifeline, which assists low-income consumers with access to telecommunications and broadband services, to (1) increase the amount of the payments that a provider of Lifeline services may receive for each low-income consumer to whom the provider supplies such services, (2) allow consumers with higher incomes to qualify for participation in the program, and (3) allow a broadband service provider to receive Lifeline support for providing such service to a low-income consumer without being designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier. The bill also requires the Federal Communications Commission to establish a grant program to develop and implement internet education and training programs for low-income individuals. Further, the bill provides a refundable tax credit, not to exceed $2,000 ($4,000 in the case of a joint return) in a taxable year or $10,000 in a lifetime ($20,000 in the case of a joint return), for amounts paid or incurred for computers, printers, and other education-related technology. The Department of the Treasury must establish a program for making advance payments of such credit to eligible individuals.

Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2021 This bill increases the number of residency positions eligible for graduate medical education payments under Medicare for qualifying hospitals, including hospitals in rural areas and health professional shortage areas. Current law provides for an increase of up to 200 positions per fiscal year beginning in FY2023, with a total increase of 1,000 positions; each hospital may receive up to 25 additional positions. The bill provides for an additional increase of 2,000 positions per fiscal year from FY2023-FY2029; during this period, each hospital may receive up to 75 additional positions in total under the bill and current law. Additionally, one-third of the positions that are made available under the bill must be allocated to hospitals that are already operating above applicable resident limits. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to report on strategies to increase the diversity of the health professional workforce, including with respect to representation from rural, low-income, and minority communities.

Willie O'Ree Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O'Ree or, if unavailable, to a member of his family, in recognition of his contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity.

This bill directs the Department of State to include additional information in its annual reports concerning Taiwan's participation at the World Health Organization's World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer. The report shall describe changes and improvements to the State Department's plan to support Taiwan's observer status at the WHA, following any meetings at which Taiwan did not participate under such status. (China has opposed Taiwan's participation in the WHA.)

Protecting Americans from Dangerous Algorithms Act This bill limits a social media company's immunity from liability if it promotes certain content on its platform. Specifically, the bill removes this immunity from a social media company with more than 10 million monthly users if it utilizes an algorithm, model, or other computational process to amplify or recommend content to a user that is directly relevant to a claim involving (1) interference with civil rights, (2) neglect to prevent interference with civil rights, or (3) acts of international terrorism.

This resolution recognizes the disparity between wages paid to men and women, and its impact on women, families, and the nation and reaffirms Congress' commitment to supporting equal pay and to narrowing the gender wage gap.

This joint resolution eliminates the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on sex. The amendment was proposed to the states in House Joint Resolution 208 of the 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972. The amendment shall be part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states.

COVID-19 Disinformation Research and Reporting Act of 2021 This bill requires the National Science Foundation to contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study disinformation and misinformation about COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) on the internet and social media platforms.