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).
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.
Build More Housing Near Transit Act of 2021 This bill revises requirements for the fixed guideway capital investment grant program. Specifically, the bill revises how the Department of Transportation evaluates and rates fixed guideway capital projects under the program to include affordable housing incentives.
Keep Americans Safe Act This bill establishes a new criminal offense for the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The bill does not prohibit certain conduct with respect to an LCAFD, including the following: importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification and the date of manufacture. Additionally, the bill allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender an LCAFD under a buy-back program.
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.
Report and Educate About Campus Hazing Act or the REACH Act This bill requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student-aid programs to report hazing incidents and implement hazing education programs. Specifically, the bill requires each IHE to disclose hazing incidents that were reported to campus security authorities or local police agencies in its annual security report. The bill defines the term hazing to mean any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a student, or a former student, of an IHE against another student (regardless of that student's willingness to participate), that (1) is connected with an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in an organization that is affiliated with the IHE (e.g., an athletic team); and (2) contributes to a substantial risk of physical injury, mental harm, or degradation or causes physical injury, mental harm, or personal degradation. In addition, each IHE must implement a comprehensive program to prevent hazing, which must include information on hazing awareness, hazing prevention, and the IHE's policies on hazing.
Martha Wright Prison Phone Justice Act This bill establishes requirements related to certain charges, practices, classifications, or regulations in connection with confinement facility (i.e., jail or prison) communications services. Specifically, the bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish maximum rates and charges that a provider of prison communications services may charge for such services. The bill provides interim rate caps until the FCC establishes such rates and charges. The bill requires a provider of prison communications services to assess all charges for communications on a per-minute basis for the actual duration of the communication, and it prohibits a provider from charging a per-communication or per-connection charge. A provider also may not charge an ancillary service charge except in certain circumstances. Further, the bill prohibits a provider from assessing a site commission, which is a payment or donation made to certain entities that operate or oversee a confinement facility.
Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act This bill establishes the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans. The commission shall examine slavery and discrimination in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present and recommend appropriate remedies. The commission shall identify (1) the role of the federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery, (2) forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed slaves and their descendants, and (3) lingering negative effects of slavery on living African Americans and society.
This resolution honors the memory of U.S. Capitol Police Officer William Francis "Billy" Evans for the selfless acts of heroism he displayed on April 2, 2021.
Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the troops from the United States and the Philippines who defended Bataan and Corregidor, in recognition of their personal sacrifice and service during World War II.
