21st Century Workforce Partnerships Act This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to establish grant programs for educational or career training programs for students. First, ED must establish a career pathways innovation grant program. Under the program, ED must award grants to address the specialized skill needs of business and industry by carrying out programs that support career pathways in high school or career exploration in the middle grades. Second, ED must award grants for partnerships—between certain educational entities and employers—that provide educational or career training programs leading to recognized postsecondary credentials.
Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021 This bill modifies and expands the schedule for graduated merger filing fees and requires that such fees be adjusted each year based on the Consumer Price Index.
21st Century Workforce Partnerships Act This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to establish grant programs for educational or career training programs for students. First, ED must establish a career pathways innovation grant program. Under the program, ED must award grants to address the specialized skill needs of business and industry by carrying out programs that support career pathways in high school or career exploration in the middle grades. Second, ED must award grants for partnerships—between certain educational entities and employers—that provide educational or career training programs leading to recognized postsecondary credentials.
Save Local Business Act This bill provides that a person may be considered a joint employer in relation to an employee under federal labor law only if such person directly, actually, and immediately (and not in a limited and routine manner) exercises significant control over the essential terms and conditions of employment. Such control may by demonstrated by hiring and discharging employees, determining individual employee rates of pay and benefits, day-to-day supervision of employees, assigning individual work schedules, positions, and tasks, and administering employee discipline.
Providing Resources for Emergency Preparedness And Resilient Enterprises Act or the PREPARE Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2026 a pre-disaster mitigation program, administered by the Small Business Administration, for disbursing economic injury disaster loans to small businesses for protection of real estate, equipment, inventory, supplies, and materials. The bill also increases the amount for loans to take mitigating actions to protect damaged or destroyed property from possible future disasters.
Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act This bill expedites payment of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and eligibility for Medicare coverage for those with metastatic breast cancer (i.e., breast cancer that has spread to other sites in the body). Specifically, the bill eliminates the 5-month waiting period for SSDI benefits and the subsequent 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage for individuals with metastatic breast cancer. Under current law, individuals generally must wait five months after the onset of disability to begin receiving SSDI benefits and an additional 24 months to become eligible for Medicare.
Demilitarizing Local Law Enforcement Act of 2021 This bill eliminates the authority of the Department of Defense to transfer surplus military property to federal and state agencies for law enforcement activities.
I am Vanessa Guillén Act of 2021 This bill addresses the policies and procedures of the Department of Defense (DOD) for cases or allegations of sex-related offenses.
Homes for Every Local Protector, Educator, and Responder Act of 2021 or the HELPER Act of 2021 This bill establishes a program administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide mortgage assistance to law enforcement officers, elementary and secondary school teachers, firefighters, or other first responders. Specifically, these individuals may be eligible for a one-time mortgage on a primary family residence with no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance premium.
EIDL Oversight Act of 2021 This bill establishes oversight requirements for economic injury disaster loans and advances made on those loans. Such requirements include directing the Small Business Administration (SBA) to (1) ensure that loan and advance proceeds are deposited in a legitimate account of a borrower, (2) ensure that any modification of a request for a loan or an advance is reviewed by an SBA employee, and (3) verify the legitimacy of loan or advance applicants through tax returns or other documentation.
Assistance Needed for Great Losses Experienced in Isolated Northern Lakes Economic Territory Act or the ANGLE Act This bill requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish a program to make forgivable loans to certain remote recreational businesses that are impacted by border closures due to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Eligible remote recreational businesses must (1) have experienced a loss in revenue that is greater than 50% between March 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020, as compared with the same period in the previous year; and (2) show that the closure of the U.S.-Canada border restricted the ability of American customers to access the location of such businesses. The maximum loan amount shall be equal to 75% of the business's FY2019 revenue, and the SBA shall forgive 100% of the value of such loan, less the amount the borrower received from (1) any other loan forgiveness program, or (2) any emergency advance under the economic impact disaster loan program.
Disaster Assistance for Rural Communities Act This bill authorizes the Small Business Administration (SBA) to declare a disaster in rural areas where significant damage has been incurred for the purpose of providing certain assistance. A rural area is a geographic area with a population of less than 200,000 outside an urbanized area. Significant damage means uninsured losses of not less than 40% of the fair replacement value or pre-disaster fair market value of the damaged property (whichever is less). For a rural area where the President has declared a major disaster, the SBA may declare a disaster for the purpose of providing economic injury disaster loans if (1) the state wherein the rural area is located requests the declaration; and (2) any home, small business, private nonprofit organization, or small agricultural cooperative has incurred significant damage. The Government Accountability Office must report on (1) any unique challenges to communities in rural areas compared to communities in urbanized areas when seeking economic injury disaster assistance, and (2) any legislative recommendations for improving access to disaster assistance for communities in rural areas.
