Department of Veterans Affairs Provider Accountability Act This bill prescribes oversight requirements for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regarding health care professionals at VA medical centers. Specifically, the bill requires the VA to ensure each VA medical center consistently compiles, verifies, and reviews specified documentation for each VA health care professional (including contractors). The VA shall ensure that specified health care professionals hold an active Drug Enforcement Administration registration. Each VA medical center must implement (1) monitoring of the performance and quality of the health care delivered by each health care professional at the center, and (2) reviews of such care if an individual notifies the VA of any potential concerns relating to a failure to meet generally accepted standards of clinical practice. The bill imposes notification requirements in situations where the VA substantiates a concern relating to the clinical competency of, or quality of care delivered by, a current or former VA health care professional. The VA is prohibited from entering into a settlement agreement relating to an adverse action against a VA health care professional if such agreement includes terms that require the VA to conceal certain information from the employee's personnel file. Such prohibition does not apply to adverse actions determined to be prohibited personnel practices. The VA must provide mandatory training, at least annually, to employees who are responsible for specified tasks (e.g., those who are responsible for compiling, validating, or reviewing the credentials of VA health care professionals).
United States Cadet Nurse Corps Service Recognition Act of 2021 This bill recognizes service as a member of the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps between July 1, 1943, and December 31, 1948, as active duty service. The active duty designation entitles qualifying individuals to certain benefits afforded to veterans, such as burial benefits (not including interment at Arlington National Cemetery) and honorary veteran status. Under the bill, the Department of Defense (DOD) must issue individuals who served in the corps during the specified period a discharge from their service under honorable conditions if such a discharge is warranted based on the duration and nature of the service. Such individuals are not entitled to Department of Veterans Affairs benefits aside from those related to burials and memorials. The bill also authorizes DOD to produce a service medal or other commendation, memorial plaque, or grave marker to honor the individuals.
This bill expands eligibility for Department of Veterans Affairs hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to include veterans of World War II who are not already covered.
Onward to Opportunity Act This bill requires the Department of Defense to implement a pilot grant program at five military installations to provide enhanced support and funding to eligible entities to supplement the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) in providing job opportunities for industry-recognized certifications, job placement assistance, and related employment services to service members participating in TAP and their spouses.
Performing Artist Tax Parity Act of 2021 This bill modifies the tax deduction for the expenses of performing artists (including commissions paid to managers or agents) to provide for a phaseout of such deduction for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000 ($200,000 for joint return filers). The $100,000 phaseout threshold is adjusted for inflation annually for taxable years beginning after 2021.
Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget to establish a separate category within the Standard Occupational Classification system for direct support professionals (i.e., individuals who provide services to promote independence in individuals with a disability) for data reporting purposes.
Saving America's Pollinators Act of 2021 This bill addresses the use of certain pesticides and the health and status of native bees and other pollinators. First, the bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a Pollinator Protection Board to develop an independent review process for pesticides that pose a threat to pollinators and their habitats. All active ingredients and pesticide products that contain one or more specified neonicotinoid pesticides must be deemed to generally cause unreasonable adverse effects to the environment. Under the bill, the registration of all uses of neonicotinoid pesticides must be immediately and permanently canceled. The EPA must revoke any tolerance or exemption that allows the presence of a neonicotinoid pesticide, or any pesticide chemical residue that results from neonicotinoid pesticide use, in or on food. The continued sale or use of existing stocks of neonicotinoid pesticides is prohibited, and the EPA may not register any such pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. The bill requires the Department of the Interior, the EPA, and the Department of Agriculture to coordinate monitoring activities and report on the health and population status of native bees and other pollinators. Finally, a state or federal agency may be granted an exemption to use neonicotinoid pesticides if the board votes that use of the pesticide is warranted (1) in an emergency situation to avert significant risk to threatened or endangered species, (2) to quarantine invasive species, or (3) to protect public health.
Closing the Meal Gap Act of 202 1 This bill revises the requirements for calculating Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The bill increases the minimum SNAP benefit and requires benefits to be calculated using the value of a low-cost food plan. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must determine the requirements for the low-cost food plan, which is the diet required to feed a family of four, consisting of a man and a woman 19-50 years of age, a child 6-8 years of age, and a child 9-11 years of age. USDA must (1) reevaluate and publish the market baskets of the plan by January 1, 2027, and every five years thereafter, based on current food prices, food composition data, consumption patterns, and dietary guidance; and (2) make adjustments to the plan to account for household size, changes in the cost of the diet, and the costs of food in specified areas. The bill modifies the requirements for calculating household income to determine SNAP eligibility by (1) authorizing a standard medical expense deduction for households containing an elderly or disabled member, and (2) eliminating the cap on the excess shelter expense deduction. The bill eliminates certain work requirements for SNAP. The requirements apply to able-bodied adults who are ages 18-49 and have no dependent children. The bill allows Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands to participate in SNAP. Currently, the three territories receive block grants instead of participating in SNAP.
This resolution designates July 30, 2021, as National Whistleblower Appreciation Day.
This resolution (1) commits to advancing policies that will end roadway fatalities by 2050, and (2) calls on Congress and the Department of Transportation to commit to working together to achieve zero roadway fatalities by the year 2050.
UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act This bill makes changes to U.S. foreign policy in matters concerning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). For purposes of this policy, the bill defines Palestinian refugee as a person who (1) resided from June 1946 to May 1948 in Mandatory Palestine (a region controlled by Britain until 1948), (2) was personally displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, and (3) has not accepted citizenship or other permanent adjustment in status in another country. The bill withholds U.S. funding for the UNRWA unless the Department of State makes certifications concerning the UNRWA's staff, partners, and funding. Specifically, the State Department must certify that neither UNRWA staff and partners nor its funding and facilities are affiliated with terrorism or engaged in the dissemination of anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic ideologies. Additionally, the State Department must certify that the UNRWA is subject to comprehensive financial audits by an independent auditing firm and is unaffiliated with any financial institutions that the United States considers to be complicit in money laundering or terror financing. The bill also requires the State Department to implement a plan to encourage other countries to align their activities and efforts regarding the UNRWA with U.S. policy objectives, including the phase out of the UNRWA by resettling Palestinian refugees in countries other than Israel and in territories not controlled by Israel. The State Department must report to Congress on this plan.
Strengthening Loan Forgiveness for Public Servants Act This bill revises the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to provide for partial loan cancellation based on the length of public service employment. Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to cancel 15%, 15%, 20%, 20%, and 30% of the amount a borrower owes after 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 years of public service employment, respectively, on Federal Direct Loans made after the bill's enactment. Under the current PSLF program, ED must cancel the balance of interest and principal due on a borrower's Federal Direct Loans after the borrower makes 120 monthly loan payments while employed in a public service job.
