Rep. Tim Ryan

This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to designate one week per year as Battle Buddy Check Week for the purposes of organizing outreach events and educating veterans on how to conduct peer wellness checks. The VA shall ensure that the Veterans Crisis Line has a plan for handling the potential increase in calls that may occur during such week.

Stop Copay Overpay Act This bill prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from charging a covered individual (i.e., individuals enrolled under the TRICARE program) a co-payment exceeding a certain rate for an outpatient visit for mental health or behavioral health under the TRICARE program, regardless of whether the visit is furnished by a specialty care provider. Specifically, the co-payment amount may not exceed the amount of a co-payment that would be charged under the TRICARE program for an outpatient visit for primary care services. During the one-year period after this bill is enacted, DOD may not increase the co-payment amount charged to a covered individual for any service (1) furnished by a specialty care provider under the TRICARE program, and (2) that is not mental or behavioral health care.

Steel Industry Preservation Act This bill extends and modifies the production tax credit for steel industry fuel. (Under current law, steel industry fuel is a fuel that is (1) produced through a process of liquefying coal waste sludge and distributing it on coal, and (2) used as a feedstock for the manufacture of coke.) Specifically, the bill modifies the tax credit to (1) extend the credit period and the placed-in-service date for steel industry fuel producing facilities, (2) revise the definition of steel industry fuel to allow blends of coal and petroleum coke or other coke feedstock in the fuel, and (3) specify requirements for treating an owner as producing and selling steel industry fuel. The bill also allows a taxpayer that produces steel industry fuel to elect to accept an increased tax credit in lieu of certain deductions for expenses in connection with the production of steel industry fuel.

Performing Artist Tax Parity Act of 2021 This bill modifies the tax deduction for the expenses of performing artists (including commissions paid to managers or agents) to provide for a phaseout of such deduction for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000 ($200,000 for joint return filers). The $100,000 phaseout threshold is adjusted for inflation annually for taxable years beginning after 2021.

Revitalizing Downtowns Act This bill expands the investment tax credit to add a qualified office conversion credit. The amount of such credit is 20% of the qualified conversion expenditures with respect to a qualified converted building. The bill defines qualified converted building as any building if (1) prior to conversion, the building was nonresidential real property which was leased, or available for lease, to office tenants; (2) the building has been substantially converted from an office use to a residential, retail, or other commercial use; (3) the building was initially placed in service at least 25 years prior to the beginning of the conversion, and (4) straight line depreciation is allowable with respect to the building.

Saving America's Pollinators Act of 2021 This bill addresses the use of certain pesticides and the health and status of native bees and other pollinators. First, the bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a Pollinator Protection Board to develop an independent review process for pesticides that pose a threat to pollinators and their habitats. All active ingredients and pesticide products that contain one or more specified neonicotinoid pesticides must be deemed to generally cause unreasonable adverse effects to the environment. Under the bill, the registration of all uses of neonicotinoid pesticides must be immediately and permanently canceled. The EPA must revoke any tolerance or exemption that allows the presence of a neonicotinoid pesticide, or any pesticide chemical residue that results from neonicotinoid pesticide use, in or on food. The continued sale or use of existing stocks of neonicotinoid pesticides is prohibited, and the EPA may not register any such pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. The bill requires the Department of the Interior, the EPA, and the Department of Agriculture to coordinate monitoring activities and report on the health and population status of native bees and other pollinators. Finally, a state or federal agency may be granted an exemption to use neonicotinoid pesticides if the board votes that use of the pesticide is warranted (1) in an emergency situation to avert significant risk to threatened or endangered species, (2) to quarantine invasive species, or (3) to protect public health.

Closing the Meal Gap Act of 202 1 This bill revises the requirements for calculating Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The bill increases the minimum SNAP benefit and requires benefits to be calculated using the value of a low-cost food plan. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must determine the requirements for the low-cost food plan, which is the diet required to feed a family of four, consisting of a man and a woman 19-50 years of age, a child 6-8 years of age, and a child 9-11 years of age. USDA must (1) reevaluate and publish the market baskets of the plan by January 1, 2027, and every five years thereafter, based on current food prices, food composition data, consumption patterns, and dietary guidance; and (2) make adjustments to the plan to account for household size, changes in the cost of the diet, and the costs of food in specified areas. The bill modifies the requirements for calculating household income to determine SNAP eligibility by (1) authorizing a standard medical expense deduction for households containing an elderly or disabled member, and (2) eliminating the cap on the excess shelter expense deduction. The bill eliminates certain work requirements for SNAP. The requirements apply to able-bodied adults who are ages 18-49 and have no dependent children. The bill allows Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands to participate in SNAP. Currently, the three territories receive block grants instead of participating in SNAP.

Transition for Success Act This bill allows members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces to participate in the Department of Defense's Skillbridge program, which provides job training to service members who are transitioning into civilian life.

Special Guerrilla Unit Veterans Service Recognition Expansion Act of 2021 This bill expands eligibility for internment in national cemeteries to include certain individuals who the Department of Veterans Affairs determines served honorably with a special guerilla unit or irregular forces in Laos in support of the U.S. Armed Forces between February 28, 1961, and May 7, 1975. Such individuals are eligible if, at the time of their death, they resided in the United States and were a U.S. citizen or alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States.

Rebuilding Economies and Creating Opportunities for More People Everywhere To Excel Act or the RECOMPETE Act This bill establishes a grant program to assist economically distressed local communities and labor markets that meet specified economic criteria, including employment criteria. The Economic Development Administration (EDA) must award 10-year grants to a local government, tribal government, economic development district, or consortium of local government units located in such areas. Each grant recipient must develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to address the economic challenges specific to the area. The grants may be used to increase employment opportunities, increase local per capita income, support economic development, and develop infrastructure and housing. Additionally, the EDA must periodically evaluate each grant recipient based on certain benchmark criteria and annually report on the implementation of the program. The bill specifies formulas for determining the grant amount for each community or market and the federal share of the cost of each program or activity conducted under the program.