I am Vanessa Guillén Act of 2021 This bill addresses the policies and procedures of the Department of Defense (DOD) for cases or allegations of sex-related offenses.
Connecting Opportunities through Mobility Metrics and Unlocking Transportation Efficiencies Act or the COMMUTE Act This bill directs the Department of Transportation to establish an accessibility data pilot program. The purpose of the pilot program is to develop or procure an accessibility data set and make such data available for states and metropolitan or rural planning organizations to improve their transportation planning by measuring the level of access to important destinations such as jobs, health care facilities, child care services, educational and workforce training facilities, affordable housing, and food sources; disaggregating the level of access by multiple transportation modes by a variety of population categories, including minority populations; assessing the change in accessibility that would result from new transportation investments; and providing data necessary to prioritize transportation investments that will improve access by all modes of travel.
Caregivers, Access, and Responsible Expansion for Kids Act of 2021 or the CARE for Kids Act of 20 21 This bill extends eligibility for the National School Lunch Program and school breakfast program of the Department of Agriculture. A local educational agency (including any school operated by the Bureau of Indian Education) may certify as eligible for free lunches or breakfasts the following: children whose placement with a caregiver was carried out with the involvement of an agency that administers a state plan or a tribal child welfare agency, without regard to whether the agency is responsible for the care and placement of the child; children being raised by a relative who receives adoption or guardianship assistance; and children of a family that lives in housing dedicated to low-income families with a caregiver who is a grandparent or another older person that cares for the child full-time or that receives housing or housing assistance under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996. The bill also extends eligibility for free or reduced-price school lunches for children who were determined to be eligible in the school year prior to placement with a grandparent or relative for the school year immediately following placement. The bill provides children who receive medical assistance under the Medicaid program with direct certification for free lunches and breakfasts under the school lunch and breakfast programs.
Carried Interest Fairness Act of 2021 This bill modifies the tax treatment of carried interest, which is compensation that is typically received by a partner of a private equity or hedge fund and is based on a share of the fund's profits. (Under current law, carried interest is taxed as investment income rather than at ordinary income tax rates.) This bill includes provisions that set forth a special rule for the inclusion in gross income of partnership interests transferred in connection with the performance of services, treat as ordinary income the net capital gain with respect to an investment services partnership interest except to the extent such gain is attributable to a partner's qualified capital interest, exempt income from investment services partnership interests from treatment as qualifying income of a publicly traded partnership, exempt certain family partnerships from the application of this bill, increase the penalty for underpayments of tax resulting from failure to treat income from an investment services partnership interest as ordinary income, and include income and loss from an investment services partnership interest for purposes of determining net earnings from self-employment and applicable self-employment taxes. The bill defines investment services partnership interest as any interest in a partnership held by a person who provides services to a partnership by (1) advising the partnership about investing in, purchasing, or selling specified assets; (2) managing, acquiring, or disposing of specified assets; or (3) arranging financing with respect to acquiring specified assets.
Citizenship for Essential Workers Act This bill establishes a mechanism for eligible aliens who worked as essential workers during the declared COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency to apply for and obtain permanent resident status. The bill also narrows certain grounds for deportability and inadmissibility. To be eligible for permanent resident status under this bill, an alien must have earned income at any point during the COVID-19 emergency period doing work deemed essential by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or a state or local government. An alien may also be eligible if that alien is a parent, spouse, or child of (1) an eligible alien who died from COVID-19, or (2) a member of the Armed Forces. Certain aliens shall be ineligible, such as an alien who was a refugee on January 1, 2021. To obtain permanent resident status under this bill, an applying alien must satisfy additional requirements, including by passing a background check. Furthermore, the bill repeals provisions providing for three-year bars and permanent bars to admission into the United States. (Generally, these bars apply to aliens who were previously removed or unlawfully present in the United States.) The bill also narrows the scope of certain crime-based grounds for inadmissibility or deportability, such as by redefining the term conviction to exclude expunged convictions. The Department of Justice or DHS may waive certain grounds of inadmissibility or deportability (1) for humanitarian purposes, (2) to ensure family unity, or (3) for the public interest.
Human-Services Emergency Logistic Program Act of 2021 or the HELP Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to allot funding to states, tribal nations, and territories to improve the 2-1-1 and 9-8-8 telecommunication systems. The 2-1-1 system provides callers with information and referrals with respect to health and human services and other provider agencies, and the 9-8-8 system provides callers with mental health or suicide crisis support and resources through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The funds must be used solely for making the call systems available to all individuals in the service area, enhancing community information and referrals with respect to human services, or both. As a condition of this funding, recipients must appoint a lead entity to manage activities to improve the call systems. Recipients must also establish a Human Services State Oversight Council to provide the lead entity with guidance and oversight related to the call systems. In addition, HHS must establish a Human Services National Board, comprised of federal and non-federal representatives, to manage the allocation of funds and evaluate the call systems.
Accelerating Kids' Access to Care Act This bill requires state Medicaid programs to establish a process through which qualifying out-of-state providers may enroll as participating providers without undergoing additional screening requirements. Among other things, a qualifying provider must (1) serve minors, or adults whose condition began as a minor; and (2) have previously been screened for Medicare participation or for participation in the Medicaid program of the state in which the provider is located.
Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2021 This bill requires hospitals to implement and submit to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a staffing plan that complies with specified minimum nurse-to-patient ratios by unit. Hospitals must post a notice regarding nurse-to-patient ratios in each unit and maintain records of actual ratios for each shift in each unit. The bill also requires hospitals to follow certain procedures regarding how ratios are determined and other staff are prohibited from performing nurse functions unless specifically authorized within a state's scope of practice rules, among other requirements. HHS must adjust Medicare payments to hospitals to cover additional costs attributable to compliance with these ratios. Nurses may object to, or refuse to participate in, an assignment if it would violate minimum ratios or if they are not prepared by education or experience to fulfill the assignment without compromising the safety of a patient or jeopardizing their nurse's license. Hospitals may not (1) take adverse actions against a nurse based on the nurse's reasonable refusal to accept an assignment; or (2) discriminate against individuals for good faith complaints relating to the care, services, or conditions of the hospital or related facilities. HHS may impose civil monetary penalties on hospitals violating the ratio requirements and must publish the names of such hospitals. The bill provides stipends to the nurse workforce loan repayment and scholarship program and expands the nurse retention grant program to include nurse preceptorship and mentorship projects.
Safe Interactions Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to nonprofit disability organizations to develop training programs for law enforcement officers who may encounter individuals with disabilities.
Universal School Meals Program Act of 2021 This bill revises requirements under the food and nutrition programs of the Department of Agriculture, such as the school lunch and breakfast programs. For example, the bill permanently provides free meals to all school children regardless of income. The bill increases the reimbursement rate for school food authorities participating in the food and nutrition programs. The bill also prohibits school food authorities from (1) physically segregating or otherwise discriminating against any child participating in the free breakfast program, or (2) overtly identifying a child participating in the program with a special token or announcement. Additionally, the bill expands the summer food service program by making all children eligible for participation in the program. Further, the bill revises eligibility determinations for measuring poverty to include runaway or homeless youth, foster children, migratory children, and children participating in specified programs (e.g., Head Start).
