Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of 2021 This bill makes the tax credit for adoption expenses refundable.
This bill indefinitely extends the requirement for annual reporting on the material readiness of Navy ships. Additionally, the bill requires this report to be submitted in a classified form that is available only to the congressional defense committees.
PPP Equity Act of 2021 This bill allows farmers, ranchers, and sole proprietors to retroactively recalculate their loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, established to support small businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), based on gross income rather than net profits.
Fire Fighters and EMS Employer-Employee Cooperation Act This bill requires the Federal Labor Relations Authority to determine whether a state substantially provides fire and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel the right to form and join a labor organization; recognition by fire and EMS employers of the employees' labor organization, agreement to bargain with the organization, and reduction of any agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum of understanding; the right to bargain over hours, wages, and terms and conditions of employment; and arbitration or other mechanisms to resolve an impasse in collective bargaining negotiations. The bill makes the authority responsible for (1) determining the appropriateness of units for labor representation; (2) supervising elections; (3) conducting hearings and resolving complaints of unfair labor practices; and (4) protecting the right of employees to form, join, or assist any labor organization, or to refrain from doing so. An employer, fire and EMS personnel, or labor organization may not engage in a lockout, sickout, work slowdown, strike, or any other organized job action that will measurably disrupt the delivery of emergency services and is designed to compel an employer, fire and EMS personnel, or labor organization to agree to the terms of a proposed contract.
Tax Fairness for Workers Act This bill allows an above-the-line tax deduction for union dues and expenses. (An above-the-line deduction is subtracted from gross income and is available whether or not a taxpayer itemizes other deductions.) The bill also reinstates the miscellaneous itemized tax deduction for unreimbursed expenses attributable to the performance of services as an employee (Under current law, all miscellaneous itemized deductions are suspended through 2025).
No TikTok on Government Devices Act This bill requires the social media video application TikTok to be removed from the information technology of federal agencies. Specifically, the bill requires the Office of Management and Budget to develop standards for executive agencies that require TikTok and any successor application from the developer to be removed from agency information technology (e.g., devices). Such standards must include exceptions for law enforcement activities, national security interests, and security researchers.
Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act This bill limits U.S. assistance to Israel and establishes reporting requirements related to Israel's activities in the West Bank and its expenditures for offshore procurement. Specifically, the bill prohibits the use of any funds that are made available for assistance to Israel in support of (1) military detention, interrogation, abuse, or ill treatment of Palestinian children; (2) seizure, appropriation, or destruction of Palestinian property and forcible transfer of civilians in the West Bank; or (3) unilateral annexation by Israel of West Bank territory. The Department of State must report on the nature and extent of such activities carried out by Israel. Further, the Government Accountability Office must submit a report identifying and analyzing Israel's expenditures for offshore procurement, including (1) specific programs and items to which funds for offshore procurement in Israel have been allocated, and (2) identifying all end-use monitoring to which Israel is subject with respect to U.S.-origin defense articles.
Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2021 This bill revises provisions of the low-income housing tax credit and renames it as the affordable housing credit . The bill increases the per capita dollar amount of the credit and its minimum ceiling amount beginning in 2021 and extends the inflation adjustment for such amounts. The bill modifies tenant income eligibility requirements and the average income formula for determining such income. It also revises rules for student occupancy of rental units and tenant voucher payments, and prohibits any refusal to rent to victims of domestic abuse. The bill further modifies the credit to increase state allocations of the credit; repeal the qualified census tract population cap; prohibit local approval and contribution requirements; increase the credit for certain projects designated to serve extremely low-income households; increase the credit for certain bond-financed projects designated by state agencies; eliminate the basis reduction for properties that receive certain energy-related tax benefits; and increase the population cap for difficult development areas (i.e., areas with high construction, land, and utility costs relative to area median gross income). The bill also includes Indian and rural areas as difficult development areas and modifies other requirements relating to casualty losses, acquisition credits, and foreclosures.
Community Access, Resources, and Education for Families Act or the CARE for Families Act This bill sets out a grant program and other requirements to facilitate collaboration between the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and various social services. Specifically, the bill establishes a grant program to promote and support linkages between WIC agencies and health care providers, early childhood care providers, and other social services providers. Additionally, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) must undertake an initiative to improve communication between state and local WIC agencies and medical providers regarding WIC participants' health information. As part of the initiative, USDA must support the development of software or systems to facilitate such communication and promote bidirectional interoperability between WIC information systems and electronic health records. USDA must also ensure that any disclosure of health information is consistent with federal privacy standards for personal health information.
Accelerate Long-term Investment Growth Now Act or the ALIGN Act This bill makes permanent the expensing of certain new business equipment. Expensing allows the deduction of the full amount of an expense item in the same taxable year.
Paris Transparency and Accountability Act This bill restricts the President's authority to unilaterally establish or revise actions the United States plans to take to meet its obligations under the Paris Agreement (a climate change treaty adopted in 2015) and increases congressional oversight of those actions. The bill also prohibits any legal cause of action in U.S. courts pursuant to the Paris Agreement. Specifically, the President must report to Congress before proposing new or revised actions under the agreement. The report must describe the proposed actions, including their impact on global emissions, and outline a detailed plan to address economic effects and related considerations of the actions. If a proposed action results in increased energy or manufacturing costs, the report must include specific policy measures (and timelines for implementing the measures) to prevent (1) job displacement, (2) reduced global competitiveness of U.S. goods, and (3) leaked emissions that may occur as a result of the proposed action. After the President submits a report, the bill provides Congress with a 60-day period to review it. During the review period, Congress may block the actions proposed in the report by enacting a joint resolution of disapproval. The bill also outlines procedures for the introduction and consideration of this type of joint resolution.
Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer's Act This bill allows the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to test a Dementia Care Management Model that provides comprehensive care to Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia. Under the model, participating health care providers receive payment under Medicare for comprehensive care management services that are provided to individuals with diagnosed dementia, excluding Medicare Advantage enrollees, hospice care recipients, and nursing home residents. Required services include medication management, care coordination, and health, financial, and environmental monitoring, as well as trainings and other support services for unpaid caregivers. Providers must furnish services through interdisciplinary teams and must ensure access to a team member or primary care provider 24-7. The CMMI must set payments and determine quality measures for the model in accordance with specified requirements. The bill also allows the CMMI to design a similar model under Medicaid.
