Feed Emergency Enhancement During Disasters with Cover Crops Act of 2021 or the FEEDD Act of 2021 This bill expands relief under the federal crop insurance program for agricultural producers that harvest second crops as a result of a prevented planting. Specifically, a producer may collect 100% of the prevented planting guarantee for the acreage of the first crop if (1) the acres planted are in an area with low hay or forage supplies due to widespread excessive moisture, flood, or drought; (2) the second crop will be planted with an intended use of animal feed that is hayed, gazed, or chopped; and (3) the second crop will be donated or used by the producer. Additionally, the Department of Agriculture may not reduce the amount of a payment collected by a producer that hays, grazes, or chops over crops on prevented planting acres after the harvest date that it establishes for each region of the United States.
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that blood donation policies should be grounded in science, minimize deferral periods, and allow donations by all those who can safely make them.
This resolution recognizes Nowruz (the Iranian New Year) and expresses support for Iranian Americans.
This resolution calls on the government of Azerbaijan to immediately return all Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians. The resolution also urges the Department of State to engage with Azerbaijani authorities to bring about this result.
This resolution supports the vision, mission, and goals of the Global Partnership for Education, and it affirms the role of the United States in improving access to quality public education and improved learning outcomes for children and adolescents (particularly for girls) in the poorest countries.
This resolution condemns Iranian state-sponsored terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens and officials and Iranian dissidents and expresses support for the people of Iran who are engaged in legitimate and peaceful protests against the Iranian regime.
Protecting Tourism in the United States Act This bill requires the Department of Commerce to study and report on the effects of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic on the travel and tourism industry, including considerations of changes in industry employment rates and business revenues during the pandemic. In conducting this study, Commerce must consult with industry representatives and provide an opportunity for public comment and advice, and its report must include policy recommendations for promoting and assisting the travel and tourism industry.
Closing Loopholes for Oil and other Sources of Emissions Act or the CLOSE Act This bill repeals exemptions from the Clean Air Act under which (1) emissions from oil and gas wells and pipeline facilities are excluded from aggregation with emissions from other similar units for purposes of determining major sources, and (2) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) excludes oil and gas production wells from being listed as area sources. Additionally, the bill requires the EPA to issue a final rule adding hydrogen sulfide to the list of hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act and revising such list to include categories and subcategories of major sources and area sources of hydrogen sulfide, including oil and gas wells.
Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2021 This bill imposes a fee on the carbon content of fuels, including crude oil, natural gas, coal, or any other product derived from those fuels that will be used so as to emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The fee is imposed on the producers or importers of the fuels and is equal to the greenhouse gas content of the fuel multiplied by the carbon fee rate. The rate begins at $15 per metric ton of CO2-e in 2021, increases by $10 each year, and is subject to further adjustments based on the progress in meeting specified emissions reduction targets. The bill includes exemptions for fuels used for agricultural or nonemitting purposes, exemptions for fuels used by the Armed Forces, rebates for facilities that capture and sequester carbon dioxide, and border adjustment provisions that require certain fees or refunds for carbon-intensive products that are exported or imported. The fees must be deposited into a Carbon Dividend Trust Fund and used for administrative expenses and dividend payments to U.S. citizens or lawful residents. The fees must be decommissioned when emissions levels and monthly dividend payments fall below specified levels.
International Human Rights Defense Act of 2021 This bill establishes in the Department of State a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex) Peoples who shall serve as the principal State Department advisor regarding human rights for LGBTQI people and represent the United States in diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights of LGBTQI people. The special envoy shall periodically provide Congress with a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI people. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development may provide assistance to prevent and respond to such activities against LGBTQI people. The bill also requires that annual country reports on human rights practices include information on criminalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
This joint resolution nullifies the rule finalized by the Social Security Administration on November 16, 2020, that outlines when its administrative appeals judges may hold hearings and issue decisions on individual cases. Currently, these judges serve an appellate function where they review, at the request of Social Security claimants, the decisions of the administrative law judges who issue decisions in individual cases.
Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act of 2021 This bill establishes an alternative formula to calculate Social Security retirement benefits for those who receive pensions for certain non-covered employment. (The existing formula is known as the windfall elimination provision.) The alternative formula adjusts an individual's total lifetime earnings based on the proportion of covered earnings (i.e., earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes). It applies to individuals who (1) first become eligible for benefits after 2022, (2) have earnings from non-covered service performed after 1977, and (3) have less than 30 years of coverage (i.e., years in which a beneficiary is considered to have contributed a substantial amount into the Social Security trust funds). Beneficiaries receive the higher benefit amount as calculated under the alternative method or the existing formula. In addition, the bill provides rebates for certain beneficiaries currently impacted by the existing formula. The Social Security Administration must include non-covered earnings in Social Security account statements, and the Government Accountability Office must study the availability of certain information related to retirement plans maintained by state and local governments.
