Child Care for Working Families Act This bill provides funds and otherwise revises certain child care and early learning programs for low- to moderate-income families. Specifically, the bill provides funds for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program and reestablishes it as a child care and development assistance program. The bill also allocates program funds for states to provide services and supports to infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities. Further, the bill revises the program to require each state to create a tiered and transparent system for measuring the quality of child care providers, which must include evidence-based standards and payment rates that are based on a certain cost estimation model; ensure that copayments are based on a sliding scale and that no family receiving assistance pays more than 7% of its household income on child care; and use quality child care amounts for certain activities, such as increasing the supply of child care providers. The bill also provides funds and establishes grants for states to create preschool programs for low- to moderate-income children between the ages of three and five years. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must make grants to Head Start agencies to provide children with access to full-school-year and full-school-day services, provide access to additional service hours for migrant and seasonal agencies, or enhance the quality of existing services. Finally, the bill requires, and provides funds for, HHS to assist Head Start agencies with ensuring their teachers and staff are paid a living wage.
Farm to School Act of 20 21 This bill modifies and expands the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Farm to School Program. The program currently provides grants and technical assistance to schools, state and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, agricultural producers, and nonprofit entities to improve access to local foods in schools. Among other things, the bill reauthorizes the program through FY2027; permits USDA to provide land-grant colleges and universities with grants, research, evaluation, and technical assistance under the program; expands the purposes for grants awarded under the program to include implementing educational activities relating to agriculture, nutrition, or food; requires USDA to provide technical assistance, research, and information to increase awareness of and participation in farm to school programs among agricultural producers, including beginning, veteran, and socially disadvantaged farmers; directs USDA to seek to improve local food procurement and distribution options for agricultural producers and eligible institutions; authorizes USDA to fund projects that include innovative approaches to aggregation, processing, transportation, and distribution; establishes new limitations on the amount and duration of grants; and limits funds that may be used for administrative costs.
Clean Energy for America Act This bill provides tax incentives for investment in clean electricity, clean transportation, clean fuel production, energy efficiency, and sets forth workforce development requirements for the energy sector. The bill also terminates certain fossil fuel provisions and requires contractors on federal energy projects to ensure that not less than 15% of total labor hours be performed by qualified apprentices.
Debt-Free College Act of 2021 This bill establishes measures to cover the unmet financial need of students who are enrolled at certain institutions of higher education (IHEs). Unmet financial need refers to the difference between a student's cost of attendance and the student's expected family contribution, plus any federal, state, and local sources of grant aid. In addition, the bill makes certain Dreamer students (i.e., students who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status) eligible for federal financial aid. First, the bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to award grants for state-federal partnerships with a goal of providing debt-free college for all eligible students at in-state public IHEs. Eligible student refers to an individual who (1) is enrolled or is eligible to enroll in an in-state public IHE, (2) demonstrates eligibility for a Federal Pell Grant through institutional financial-aid eligibility forms, and (3) demonstrates satisfactory academic progress. Next, the bill requires ED to award grants to historically Black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions to cover the unmet financial need of enrolled students. ED must establish an office to administer grants and provide oversight. In addition, the bill makes Dreamer students who entered the United States before the age of 16 and who meet certain educational criteria eligible for federal student aid.
Clean Commute for Kids Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes through FY2031 and revises the Clean School Bus Program. Under the revised program, the Environmental Protection Agency must provide financial assistance to replace existing school buses with clean school buses that do not emit specified pollutants, including greenhouse gases.
National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act or the NO BAN Act This bill imposes limitations on the President's authority to suspend or restrict aliens from entering the United States. It also prohibits religious discrimination in various immigration-related decisions, such as whether to issue an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa, unless there is a statutory basis for such discrimination. The President may temporarily restrict the entry of any aliens or class of aliens after the Department of State determines that the restriction would address specific and credible facts that threaten U.S. interests such as security or public safety. The bill also imposes limitations on such restrictions, such as requiring the President, State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to (1) only issue a restriction when required to address a compelling government interest, and (2) narrowly tailor the suspension to use the least restrictive means to achieve such an interest. Before imposing a restriction, the State Department and DHS shall consult with Congress. The State Department and DHS shall report to Congress about the restriction within 48 hours of the restriction's imposition. If such a report is not made, the restriction shall immediately terminate. Individuals or entities present in the United States and unlawfully harmed by such a restriction may sue in federal court. DHS may suspend the entry of aliens traveling to the United States on a commercial airline that failed to comply with regulations related to detecting fraudulent travel documents.
Clean Commute for Kids Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes through FY2031 and revises the Clean School Bus Program. Under the revised program, the Environmental Protection Agency must provide financial assistance to replace existing school buses with clean school buses that do not emit specified pollutants, including greenhouse gases.
Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act This bill designates specified National Forest System lands, National Park System lands, and public lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness and as components or additions to existing components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The bill also designates specified federal lands as biological connecting corridors and as special corridor management areas. The Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) shall accept the donation of valid existing permits or leases authorizing grazing on specified public lands or National Forest System lands. The bill designates segments of specified rivers and creeks in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The bill designates specified areas as wildland recovery areas. USDA shall develop a wildland recovery plan for each recovery area. A panel of independent scientists shall study roadless lands greater than 1,000 acres that are within the National Forest System in the Wild Rockies bioregion in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, or Wyoming, but not designated as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, for their role in maintaining biological diversity. The bill prohibits road construction, timber harvest, oil or gas leasing, mining, or other development that impairs the natural and roadless qualities of the land.
College for All Act of 2021 This bill establishes measures to expand access to higher education, including by eliminating tuition and required fees for eligible students, revising the Federal Pell Grant program, and reauthorizing certain programs to assist students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Specifically, the bill provides funding to eliminate tuition and required fees for (1) all students at community colleges and two-year tribal colleges and universities; (2) working- and middle-class students at four-year public institutions of higher education (IHEs) and tribal colleges and universities; and (3) eligible students at private, nonprofit historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and minority-serving institutions. The bill permanently reauthorizes and otherwise revises the Federal Pell Grant program by providing funding to increase the maximum award for each eligible student, increasing the duration limit for the use of Pell Grants, and allowing students to use their awards to cover living and non-tuition expenses. Next, the bill makes Dreamer students (i.e., students who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status) who entered the United States before the age of 16 and who meet certain educational criteria eligible for federal financial aid. Further, the bill requires the Department of Education to award grants to underfunded IHEs, HBCUs, and minority-serving institutions for investing in support programs to improve student outcomes (e.g., graduation rates). The bill also reauthorizes through FY2031 the Federal TRIO Programs and reauthorizes through FY2025 the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.
Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act This bill generally prohibits law enforcement and intelligence agencies from obtaining U.S. customer or subscriber records or any illegitimately obtained information from a third party in exchange for anything of value (e.g., purchasing such information). Records or information obtained in violation of this bill are inadmissible as evidence in any trial, hearing, or other legal proceeding.
Medicare at 50 Act This bill establishes a Medicare buy-in option for certain qualifying individuals and also repeals restrictions relating to prescription drug prices under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Specifically, the bill allows individuals aged 50 to 64 to enroll in Medicare if such individuals would otherwise qualify for Medicare at the age of 65. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must determine enrollment periods and set premiums for the buy-in option established under the bill, in accordance with specified requirements. The CMS must also award grants to states and nonprofit organizations for outreach and enrollment activities relating to the buy-in option. The bill also repeals provisions that prohibit the CMS from negotiating the prices of prescription drugs or from establishing a formulary under the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Tax on Wall Street Speculation Act This bill imposes an excise tax on the transfer of ownership in certain securities (covered transaction), including any share of stock in a corporation; any partnership or beneficial interest in a partnership or trust; any note, bond, debenture, or other evidence of indebtedness (excluding tax-exempt municipal bonds); and derivative financial instruments. The bill includes exceptions for initial issues, certain traded short-term indebtedness, and securities lending arrangements. The bill also (1) imposes a penalty on taxpayers who fail to include a covered transaction on their tax return or information statement, and (2) allows an individual taxpayer whose modified adjusted gross income does not exceed $50,000 ($75,000 for married taxpayers filing joint returns) a tax credit for the amount of tax paid on covered transactions.
