Social Security Disability Insurance Return to Work Act This bill makes various changes to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), with a particular focus on returning individuals who receive SSDI to employment. Among other changes, the bill limits the amount of time an individual with a disability for which medical improvement is likely or expected may receive SSDI benefits, and it requires the Social Security Administration to establish a process to allow such individuals who return to employment before their benefits expire and whose earnings exceed a specified limit to receive an adjusted SSDI benefit.
Affordable EVs for Working Families Act This bill allows an income-based tax credit for the purchase of a previously-owned qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle. The credit is limited to 30% of the sales price of such a vehicle. The bill defines previously-owned qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle to mean a motor vehicle the model year of which is at least two years earlier than the calendar year in which the vehicle is acquired and that meets certain requirements under the Clean Air Act.
Assisting School Mental Health Professionals Through Work Study Act of 2021 This bill adds assisting school-based mental health professionals to the list of community services in which undergraduate, graduate, and professional students may participate under the Federal Work-Study Program. Specifically, the bill revises the definition of community services to include activities in which the student assists a mental health professional with appropriate tasks (e.g., administrative assistance) so long as the professional is (1) a school-based mental health services provider, or (2) an overseer of a school-based mental health services provider.
This bill requires the Joint Committee on the Library to obtain, and the Architect of the Capitol to permanently install in the U.S. Capitol or on the U.S. Capitol Grounds, statues honoring Associate Justices of the Supreme Court Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2021 This bill excludes Indian tribes and tribal enterprises and institutions on tribal land from requirements for employers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). (Currently under the NLRA, employers may not engage in unfair labor practices and must allow employees to form unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take collective action.)
Creating Opportunities to Advance Shoreline Treatments Act or the COAST Act This bill authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expand the use of allotted resources for flood control on stream banks and shorelines to include erosion control. Additionally, these resources may be used to prevent damage to areas such as nonhighway roadways, public recreational assets, public lands, and parks.
Diversity and Inclusion at the Department of State Act This bill establishes a new position and requires other activities to promote diversity and inclusion in the Department of State. The bill creates the presidentially-appointed position of Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer in the Office of the Deputy Secretary of State to, among other activities, develop a strategic plan to guide implementation of diversity and inclusion efforts and support State Department personnel from traditionally underrepresented groups. The officer reports directly to the Secretary of State. Additionally, the State Department must establish a Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council to coordinate applicable strategic plans, initiatives, and policies. The bill also modifies merit selection processes for promotions, performance pay, and related matters to promote diversity and inclusion in the Foreign Service. Specifically, it adds factors (e.g., testimony from peers and subordinates or demonstrated support for diversity and inclusion) that may be considered in recommendations and rankings related to a Foreign Service officer's performance. The State Department must also establish a mentorship program for entry- and mid-level members of the Foreign Service and periodically offer a Senior Executive Service development program to members of the civil service in the top two pay grades. Senior Executive Service members serve as high-level managers within federal agencies. The bill requires the State Department to report on its diversity and inclusion efforts, as well as demographic information about members of boards that make personnel decisions and candidates for the Senior Executive Service.
Removing Federal Barriers to Offering of Mobile Wagers on Indian Lands Act This bill establishes provisions related to the regulation of certain online wagers (i.e., bets) as Indian gaming. The bill deems an online wager as occurring exclusively on Indian lands, and therefore subject to the jurisdictional framework that governs Indian gaming, if (1) the person placing the wager and the server that accepts the wager are located in the same state, and (2) the applicable state and Indian tribe have entered into a gaming compact. For the purposes of regulation as Indian gaming, an online wager is deemed to be made at the physical location of the server or other computer equipment used to accept the wager, unless otherwise agreed to by the state and Indian tribe.
Extinction Prevention Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of the Interior to provide financial assistance for the conservation of butterflies and moths in North America; plant species in Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands; freshwater mussels in the United States; and bony fish found in desert ecosystems in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Among other things, the bill establishes the North America Butterfly Conservation Fund, the Pacific Islands Plant Conservation Fund, the Freshwater Mussels Conservation Fund, and the Southwest Desert Fish Conservation Fund. In selecting projects for assistance, Interior must prioritize projects that conserve threatened and endangered species.
Captive Primate Safety Act This bill limits the trade and possession of nonhuman primates. For example, the bill prohibits most individuals from owning a nonhuman primate as a pet.
Bear Protection Act of 2021 This bill prohibits the import, export, and commerce of bear viscera or related products except for limited acts carried out solely to enforce wildlife protection laws.
Monarch Action, Recovery, and Conservation of Habitat Act of 2021 or the MONARCH Act of 2021 This bill provides support for the conservation of western monarch butterflies (the monarch butterfly population that overwinters along the coast of California and breeds across California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah). Specifically, the bill establishes the Western Monarch Butterfly Rescue Fund. The Department of the Interior must use amounts in the fund to provide grants for the conservation of such butterflies. In addition, Interior must enter into an agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to facilitate the implementation of the Western Monarch Butterfly Conservation Plan, which was prepared by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
