Reopening America by Supporting Workers and Businesses Act of 2021 This bill permits states to provide a one-time lump sum payment, through July 1, 2021, to individuals who (1) were eligible for COVID-19 pandemic unemployment compensation during any week after enactment of this bill, and (2) are no longer eligible as a result of becoming thereafter reemployed. Payments of $1,200 shall be paid to individuals who work at least 30 hours and $600 to individuals who work at least 20 hours but less than 30. The payments are available for claimants (1) who are not employed by a government entity, (2) who return to work for at least four consecutive weeks, and (3) whose annual salary does not exceed $75,000. Before receipt of a payment, the individuals' employers must verify their hours and earnings. Additionally, the bill (1) accelerates a scheduled increase in funding for reemployment services and eligibility assessments (RESEA), (2) allows states to use RESEA funds to serve all workers receiving unemployment benefits, and not just those most likely to exhaust their benefits; and (3) allows states to provide reemployment services to individuals receiving pandemic unemployment assistance and pandemic emergency unemployment compensation. Finally, the bill reinstates the requirement that unemployment claimants certify they are able, available, and actively seeking work.
Remove the Stain Act This bill rescinds each Medal of Honor awarded for acts that occurred on December 29, 1890, at Wounded Knee Creek, Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota. The bill requires the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard to remove the names of those award recipients from the Medal of Honor Roll.
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021 This bill provides for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley. After the award the medal shall be given to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
This resolution expresses the sense of the Senate that access to reliable and clean drinking water is critically important to the health and welfare of American Indians and Alaska Natives. Further, the resolution calls upon the federal government to provide water access to tribal members and communities.
This resolution congratulates the people of Greece as they celebrate the 200th anniversary of Greece's independence. The resolution also expresses support for the principles of democratic governance to which the people of Greece are committed.
This resolution declares that decreasing the spread of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) in Africa is in the national interest of the United States, commends the work of Africa's frontline health workers, and calls on the United States and the international community to support African countries' responses to the pandemic.
Flexible Financing for Rural America Act of 202 1 This bill allows rural utility service providers to submit to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) a request to adjust the interest rate or modify the terms of certain loans. The request shall include a report summarizing how the adjustment or modification will assist the borrower in providing critical utility services to a rural community. Specifically, on receipt of a request, USDA or the Department of the Treasury (in the case of a loan owned by the Federal Financing Bank) must adjust the interest rate on the loan to match certain interest rates for obligations of comparable maturity to the term remaining on the loan (or a higher rate requested by the borrower), and make modifications to the loan terms as necessary to address changes in the financial position of the borrower due to the COVID-19 public health emergency and to promote the financial sustainability of the borrower. In carrying out the adjustments or modifications, USDA or Treasury shall not impose or collect any fee from, or impose any penalty on, a borrower. The bill also provides funding to implement the adjustments and modifications and for the liquidation of residual intragovernmental amounts owed by the Federal Financing Bank in connection with certain loans.
Financing Our Energy Future Act The bill extends the tax treatment of certain publicly traded partnerships as corporations to renewable and alternative energy projects, transportation fuels, and nuclear-generated electricity facilities. Under current law the tax treatment of such partnerships is only available to investors in energy portfolios for oil, natural gas, coal extraction, and pipeline projects.
Improving Minority Participation And Careers in Telecommunications Act or the IMPACT Act This bill establishes a grant program to assist certain institutions of higher education with setting up a program that prepares minority students to participate in the telecommunications workforce. Specifically, the bill requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, acting through the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives, to establish the Telecommunications Workforce Training Grant Program. This grant program shall provide funds to historically Black colleges or universities, tribal colleges or universities, or minority-serving institutions to facilitate the creation of programs that (1) educate and train students to participate in the telecommunications workforce, and (2) include both a curriculum and apprenticeship or internship opportunities.
Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act This bill makes previously unused immigrant visas available to nurses and physicians who petition for such a visa before the date that is 90 days after the end of the declared national emergency relating to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak. The number of visas available shall be the total number of unused employment-based immigrant visas from FY1992-FY2020, up to 40,000. Of such visas, 25,000 shall be reserved for nurses and 15,000 for physicians. Certain family members may accompany the principal beneficiary of a visa provided under this bill, and visas for such family members shall (1) be made available from the unused visas from FY1992-FY2020, and (2) not be counted against the 40,000 cap. Visas provided under this bill shall be exempt from per-country limitations.
Forest Information Reform Act or the FIR Act This bill specifies that neither the Department of Agriculture nor the Department of the Interior may be required to reinitiate consultation on a land management plan when a species is listed as threatened or endangered, critical habitat is designated, or new information concerning a listed species or critical habitat becomes available.
This bill directs the Department of State to include additional information in its annual reports concerning Taiwan's participation at the World Health Organization's World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer. The report shall describe changes and improvements to the State Department's plan to support Taiwan's observer status at the WHA, following any meetings at which Taiwan did not participate under such status. (China has opposed Taiwan's participation in the WHA.)
