Lead Abatement for Families Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to identify federally assisted housing projects that use lead-based water pipes and allows HUD to award grants for the replacement of these pipes to public housing agencies and other owners.
Economic Impact of Tolling Act This bill prohibits the Department of Transportation from implementing a congestion pricing program for any toll road, bridge, or tunnel until an economic impact analysis is completed and made available to the public.
Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act This bill establishes the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans. The commission shall examine slavery and discrimination in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present and recommend appropriate remedies. The commission shall identify (1) the role of the federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery, (2) forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed slaves and their descendants, and (3) lingering negative effects of slavery on living African Americans and society.
Healthy Families Act This bill provides for paid and unpaid sick leave for employees to meet their own medical needs and those of their families. It requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide their employees with at least one hour of earned paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 56 hours of paid sick leave in a year. An employer with fewer than 15 employees may also provide the same amount of paid sick leave, but may opt out of such requirement, in which case such employer must provide its employees at least 56 hours of unpaid leave in a year. An employee may use sick leave for absences (1) resulting from a physical or mental illness, injury or medical condition; (2) resulting from obtaining professional medical diagnosis or care, or preventive medical care; (3) to care for a child, parent, spouse, a domestic partner, or other blood or close relative; and (4) resulting from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The bill makes it unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of an employee's right to accrue sick leave as provided by this bill. An employee may take legal action to enforce the right to sick leave granted by this bill and the Department of Labor must investigate complaints of violations of the requirements of this bill. Labor is authorized to conduct a public awareness campaign to educate and inform the public of the requirements for paid sick leave provided by this bill.
America's Clean Future Fund Act This bill establishes requirements and incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and assist industries, communities, and workers transition to a low-carbon economy, including by establishing (1) the Climate Change Finance Corporation (C2FC); (2) the America's Clean Future Fund; and (3) a carbon fee on the use, sale, or transfer of certain fuels by covered entities. The bill provides appropriations to the C2FC, an independent agency, which must finance clean energy and climate change resiliency activities in order to meet the goal of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The bill also provides appropriations for the America's Clean Future Fund. Amounts in the fund may be used for the C2FC, stimulus payments (i.e., tax rebates) to individuals whose gross incomes do not exceed specified thresholds, decarbonization transition payments to the agricultural sector, and grants to help certain communities and workers transition to a low-carbon economy. Revenues generated from the carbon fee must also be deposited into the America's Clean Future Fund. Beginning in 2023, covered entities (e.g., entities that use, sell, or transfer fossil fuels) must pay a carbon fee of $25 per metric ton of carbon dioxide or carbon dioxide equivalent. The fee increases by $10 each year, multiplied by the cost-of-living adjustment. The fees further increase if the entities miss cumulative greenhouse gas emission targets established by the bill. Refund payments may be provided for carbon capture, sequestration, and utilization.
Student Loan Forgiveness for Frontline Health Workers Act This bill establishes temporary programs to provide federal and private student loan forgiveness to certain frontline health care workers. Frontline health care workers are those individuals who have made significant contributions to the medical response (e.g., patient care, medical research, or testing) to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) national emergency. Specifically, the Department of Education (ED) must carry out a program to forgive the outstanding balance of principal and interest due on federal student loans for borrowers who are frontline health care workers. Additionally, the Department of the Treasury must carry out a program to repay in full the outstanding balance of principal and interest due on certain private student loans for borrowers who are frontline health care workers. ED and Treasury must coordinate to ensure that eligibility determinations are consistent across both programs and that frontline health care workers who are eligible for both programs may apply for loan forgiveness with a single application. Further, such programs must be available to frontline health care workers who were borrowers of eligible loans and who died as a result of COVID-19. The bill specifies the notification requirements related to the availability of these programs. ED, Treasury, and the Department of Health and Human Services must jointly establish an intergovernmental working group to assist with the administration of these programs, including the development of the application process. The bill also excludes discharged student loan debt under these programs from an individual's gross income.
Providing Responsible Emergency Plans for Animals at Risk of E merging Disasters Act or the PREPARED Act This bill establishes requirements governing the care of animals by entities, such as zoos, in emergencies or disasters. Specifically, the bill requires each research facility, dealer, exhibitor, intermediate handler, and carrier to develop and follow a contingency plan to provide for the humane handling, treatment, transportation, housing, and care of their animals in the event of an emergency or disaster.
Flood Level Observation, Operations, and Decision Support Act or the FLOODS Act This bill addresses forecasting and the communication of flood, tornado, and hurricane events by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Among other provisions, the bill directs NOAA to establish a National Integrated Flood Information System to better inform and provide for more timely decision-making to reduce flood-related effects and costs; establishes partnerships with institutions of higher education and federal agencies to improve total water predictions; designates a service coordination hydrologist at each National Weather Service River Forecast Center to increase impact-based decision support services at the state and local level; requires NOAA to evaluate and improve flood watches and warnings and communication of information to support preparation and responses to floods; ensures that the tornado warning improvement and extension program periodically examines the value of incorporating innovative observations, such as acoustic or infrasonic measurements, observations from phased array radars, and observations from mesonets; requires NOAA to estimate and communicate the frequency of precipitation; establishes an Interagency Coordinating Committee on Water Management to ensure that federal agencies that engage in water-related matters, including water storage and supplies, water quality and restoration activities, water infrastructure, transportation on rivers and inland waterways, and water forecasting, work together where such agencies have joint or overlapping responsibilities; and directs NOAA to conduct an analysis of gaps in the availability of snow-related data to assess and predict floods and flood impacts.
Teaching Asian Pacific American History Act This bill requires entities (e.g., institutions of higher education, libraries, and museums), in order to be eligible for certain grants administered by the Department of Education (ED), to include Asian Pacific American history in their teaching of American history. It also requires Asian Pacific American history to be included in tests administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Specifically, the bill mandates the inclusion of Asian Pacific American history as a required component of American history for such entities to be eligible for American History and Civics Academies' competitive grants. These grants support the establishment of (1) Presidential Academies for Teachers of American History and Civics, which offer workshops to teachers of American history and civics to strengthen their knowledge and prepare them to teach in these subjects; and (2) Congressional Academies for Students of American History and Civics, which support high school students in developing an understanding of these subjects. (Currently, Asian Pacific American history is not a required component of American history for either academy.) In addition, ED must give priority to grant applicants that align their activities with programs and resources of the Smithsonian Institution's Asian Pacific American Center. The bill also requires the inclusion of Asian Pacific American history in tests administered by the NAEP, which measures student academic achievement in various subjects.
Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2021 This bill increases funding for water infrastructure, including funding for several programs related to controlling water pollution or protecting drinking water. Specifically, it establishes a Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund. The fund may be used for specified grant programs. The bill increases the corporate income tax rate to 24.5% to provide revenues for the fund. In addition, the bill revises requirements concerning the clean water state revolving fund (SRF) and the drinking water SRF. It also creates or reauthorizes several grant programs for water infrastructure.
