Food Chemical Reassessment Act of 2021 This bill establishes the Office of Food Safety Reassessment within the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and addresses related issues. The office must conduct reassessments of additives, food contact substances, and other related substances to ensure that such substances are safe. Specifically, every three years, the office must reassess the safety of at least 10 substances or classes of substances, including those that are generally recognized as safe for use in food. The office must issue final regulations relating to the safety of each reassessed substance. The bill also specifies 10 substances that the office must assess in its first review. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must reestablish the Food Advisory Committee to advise the FDA on issues related to the substance assessments required by this bill.
Middle Mile Broadband Deployment Act This bill requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to award grants to state or tribal governments, utility providers, or other eligible entities for projects to construct, improve, or acquire middle mile infrastructure (i.e., broadband infrastructure that does not connect directly to an end-user location).
Fair Sugar Policy Act of 20 21 This bill makes several modifications to the Department of Agriculture's sugar program. Among other modifications, the bill decreases the rate for price support loans, repeals the marketing allotments, revises the administration of import quotas, and repeals the Feedstock Flexibility Program.
This bill authorizes the Office of the National Cyber Director to accept officers or employees of the United States or members of the Armed Forces on a detail from an element of the intelligence community or from another element of the federal government on a nonreimbursable basis for up to three years. The Office of the National Cyber Director is the principal advisor to the President on cybersecurity policy and strategy and, among other duties, leads the coordination and implementation of national cyber policy and strategy.
Ensuring Survivor Benefits during COVID-19 Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to obtain a medical opinion that determines whether a service-connected disability was the principal or contributory cause of death for a veteran who died from COVID-19. Specifically, the VA must obtain this determination before notifying a claimant for survivor benefits of the final decision regarding such benefits in any case where a dependency and indemnity compensation claim is filed in relation to a veteran with one or more service-connected disabilities who dies, the death certificate for the veteran identifies COVID-19 as the principal or contributory cause of death, the death certificate does not clearly identify any of the service-connected disabilities as the principal or contributory cause of death, the veteran's service-connected disability includes a condition more likely to cause severe illness from COVID-19, the claimant is not entitled to certain dependency and indemnity compensation benefits, and the evidence to support the claim does not result in a preliminary finding in favor of the claimant. The VA must provide information to veterans, their dependents, and veterans service organizations about applying for dependency and indemnity compensation when a veteran dies from COVID-19. Such information must be available through the VA's website and via other outreach mechanisms.
Solving an Overlooked Loophole in Votes for Executives (SOLVE) Act This bill establishes the Twentieth Amendment Section Four Panel, which must recommend to Congress model legislation to resolve any vacancy created by the death of a candidate in a contingent presidential or vice-presidential election. Such panel terminates 90 days after submitting its final report. (The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution requires that presidential and vice-presidential candidates gain a majority of electoral votes to win an election. In the event that no candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the Twelfth Amendment requires the House of Representatives to elect the President and the Senate to elect the Vice President, which is known as a contingent election. The Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution allows Congress to establish a process in the case of the death of a candidate in a contingent presidential or vice-presidential election.)
Resources to Prevent Youth Vaping Act This bill directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to collect user fees on products that it deems by regulation to be tobacco products, including electronic nicotine delivery systems, and addresses related issues. Currently, the FDA is authorized to collect user fees only on specified classes of tobacco products. The bill increases the total amount of such fees to be collected for FY2022. For each fiscal year after, the total amount of such fees shall be adjusted according to changes in a price index. Starting in FY2024, the FDA must assess user fees on classes of products that it has deemed by regulation to be tobacco products, unless the FDA fails to finalize a formula for assessing such fees on time. Once it is finalized, the FDA may only revise this formula by regulation. The bill also requires each tobacco manufacturer and importer to periodically submit certain information related to the tobacco products that it sells or distributes in the United States. The FDA must annually report to Congress about its use of such tobacco product fees.
This bill directs the Department of Agriculture to convene a blue ribbon panel to review the forest inventory and analysis program (a program that accounts for public and private forests and their resources in the United States). The panel shall conduct a review of the past progress, current priorities, and future needs of such program with respect to forest carbon, climate change, forest health, and sustainable wood products.
Promoting the Launch of Aviation's Next Era Act of 2021 or the PLANE Act of 2021 This bill revises provisions related to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including provisions for air traffic controllers and protections for the aviation community. Among other things, the bill expands pilot protection to include that pilot facing an investigation by the FAA can appeal to a federal district court for de novo review, establishes a five-year public-private partnership for general aviation airports to attract private sector investments, designates certain general aviation airports as disaster relief airports, directs employees and staff of the FAA Academy responsible for training air traffic controllers to remain open during a government shutdown, provides practical experience for trainee air traffic control operators, and requires that all tax receipts from aviation fuel sources are deposited in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund.
Certainty for General Aviation Pilots Act of 2021 This bill deems that individuals who provide flight instruction or testing (including phased testing of experimental aircraft) are not operating an aircraft carrying persons or property for hire. Under current law, individuals must generally obtain a regulatory exemption or other authority to deviate from regulatory requirements to provide compensated flight training or testing.
Worker Relief and Credit Reform Act of 2021 or the WRCR Act of 2021 This bill modifies the earned income tax credit to (1) make the credit available to certain students, (2) modify the age requirement for the credit, (3) include care-giving and learning as compensated work for purposes of the credit, (4) revise the definition of qualifying dependents eligible for the credit, (5) increase the credit for certain unmarried individuals with two or more qualifying children, and (6) require the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to establish a program for making direct advance monthly payments of the credit to eligible taxpayers. The bill directs the IRS to establish a program to educate taxpayers about the availability of the earned income tax credit and the advance monthly payments of such credit.
Wastewater Infrastructure Pollution Prevention and Environmental Safety Act or the WIPPES Act This bill requires the Federal Trade Commission to issue regulations requiring entities responsible for the labeling or retail packaging of certain premoistened, nonwoven wipes (e.g., baby wipes, cleaning wipes, or personal care wipes) to label such products clearly and conspicuously with the phrase Do Not Flush and accompanying symbol as depicted under specified industry guidelines. The commission is authorized to enforce this requirement.
