Retain Skilled Veterans Act This bill modifies the restriction related to the appointment of retired members of the Armed Forces to certain civil service positions in the Department of Defense. Under the bill, the 180-day waiting period before a retired member may be appointed to a position only applies to those positions in the excepted or competitive service classified at or above GS-14 of the General Schedule (or equivalent).
Stop the Outlay of Payments Act This bill prohibits the award of federal funds to entities that have had prior awards suspended or terminated due to certain legal violations and that have failed to take necessary remedial action. Specifically, the bill requires federal agencies to notify the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within 120 days of suspending or terminating any portion of a federal award to a recipient for failure to comply with (1) the terms and conditions of the award, (2) a federal law or regulation, or (3) a request by the agency making the award for information or materials relating to that award. The OMB must maintain an up-to-date list of suspended entities on its website. An agency may not make a federal award or disburse funds under an award to a suspended entity until that entity remedies the reason for the suspension or termination, with specified exceptions.
Tribal Tax and Investment Reform Act of 2021 This bill treats Indian tribal governments as states for purposes of the annual allocation of the tax-exempt bond volume cap. It also repeals provisions that limit an Indian tribal government's eligibility to issue tax-exempt bonds or to be exempt from specified excise taxes to transactions involving the exercise of an essential government function customarily performed by state and local governments. The bill (1) treats employee benefit or pension plans maintained by Indian tribes and domestic relations orders issued pursuant to tribal law in the same manner as plans maintained by states and domestic relations orders issued pursuant to state law; and (2) treats tribal charities and foundations in the same manner as charities and foundations funded and controlled by other governmental entities for purposes of the tax-exempt status of, and deduction for contributions to, such organizations. The bill gives Indian tribes or tribal organizations access to the Federal Parent Locator Service if they are eligible for a grant to operate a child support enforcement program. It makes those tribes and tribal organizations eligible to participate in the program that collects past-due support from individual tax refunds. An Indian tribal government may determine whether a child has special needs for the purpose of the tax credit for the adoption of a child with special needs.
Retain Skilled Veterans Act This bill modifies the restriction related to the appointment of retired members of the Armed Forces to certain civil service positions in the Department of Defense. Under the bill, the 180-day waiting period before a retired member may be appointed to a position only applies to those positions in the excepted or competitive service classified at or above GS-14 of the General Schedule (or equivalent).
Trade Preferences and American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2021 This bill reauthorizes and revises specified U.S. trade programs and provisions. Specifically, the bill extends through January 1, 2027, the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which provides duty-free treatment to products imported from designated beneficiary countries. The bill makes various changes to the GSP, including by (1) adding human rights, environmental, and other criteria for designation as a beneficiary developing country; (2) requiring an assessment of how the GSP supports worker and gender rights; and (3) requiring a study on rules of origin and GSP utilization rates. Additionally, the bill provides through December 31, 2023, and retroactively applies to 120 days before this bill's enactment, temporary duty suspensions or reductions to eligible imported products. This authorization is commonly known as the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB). The last version of the MTB was enacted in September 2018 and the temporary treatment for those products listed in the MTB expired on December 31, 2020. The bill also extends the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016 for two future MTB cycles (one in 2022 and one in 2025). This extension allows the U.S. International Trade Commission to conduct the MTB petition, review, and recommendation process for those additional cycles. The bill extends customs user fees through June 21, 2031.
Blue Carbon Protection Act This bill establishes programs, grants, and requirements to protect and restore marine and blue carbon ecosystems, which are vegetated coastal habitats and include mangroves, tidal marshes, and other tidal or salt-water wetlands that have the capacity to sequester and store carbon.
Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act of 2021 This bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for specified diseases associated with exposure to burn pits (an area used for burning solid waste in open air without equipment) and other toxins by veterans who were awarded specified medals on or after August 2, 1990. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded. Under the bill, if the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) receives a written petition to add a disease to the list, the VA must request a determination by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine with respect to whether there is a positive association between the exposure of humans to a covered toxin and the occurrence of the disease in humans. The bill makes disability or death of certain employees from specified diseases compensable as a work injury. Specifically, such employees are those who were employees of the Department of State, the Department of Defense, or an element of the intelligence community on or after August 2, 1990, and carried out job responsibilities for at least 30 days during a contingency operation.
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that, if it creates a presumption of service-connection between the occurrence of a disease and exposure to an herbicide agent while serving in the Armed Forces between January 9, 1962, and June 30, 1976, at a military base in Thailand, such presumption must also apply to exposure at any military base in Thailand, regardless of where on the base the veteran was located or what military job specialty the veteran performed.
Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2021 This bill addresses water infrastructure and the discharge of pollution (e.g., wastewater or stormwater) into waters of the United States, including by reauthorizing through FY2026 and revising the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program. The clean water SRF program provides communities low-cost financing for water quality infrastructure projects.
Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act of 2021 This bill requires the notice of a proposed rule by a federal agency to include the internet address of a summary of the rule. The summary must be 100 words or fewer, written in plain language, and posted on regulations.gov.
Repealing Existing Substandard Provisions Encouraging Conciliation with Tribes Act This bill repeals certain provisions related to the treatment of Indians, including provisions on hostile tribes, alcohol, work requirements, penalties for truancy, and placement of youth in reform school without the consent of a parent or guardian.
Puppy Protection Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Agriculture to expand standards that govern the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of animals to include new requirements for commercial dog dealers. Specifically, the standards must require dog dealers to provide to dogs adequate housing, exercise, and veterinary care; appropriate and nutritious food; continuous access to potable water; and meaningful socialization with humans and compatible dogs for at least 30 minutes each day. The standards must also include requirements for breeders to use safe breeding practices and make all reasonable efforts to find humane placement for retired breeding dogs.
