Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act of 2021 This bill provides funds for the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide assistance to address historical discrimination and disparities in the agriculture sector. For example, USDA must provide debt forgiveness to help socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers pay off outstanding farm loan debts and address issues relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Additionally, USDA must provide a competitive grant to a school of law or legal research entity to establish the National Center for Minority Farmer Agricultural Law Research and Information. It must also provide grants and loans to resolve property issues relating to ownership and succession on farmland. The bill provides financial assistance to cooperative development centers, individual cooperatives, or groups of cooperatives that serve socially disadvantaged groups. It also provides financial assistance and technical assistance to certain nonprofit organizations that provide services to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. USDA must provide support for research, education, and extension at historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions. It must also provide grants to land-grant colleges and universities for student scholarships, including for students who are members of Indian tribes and pursuing an agricultural field of study. The bill also requires USDA to establish an equity commission to address and mitigate discrimination across its agency.
Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act of 2021 This bill modifies the tax credit for employment-related expenses incurred for the care of a taxpayer's dependent to (1) increase to $400,000, the adjusted gross income threshold level above which the credit is incrementally reduced; (2) increase the dollar limits on the allowable amount of the credit; (3) specify rules for married couples filing separate returns; (4) allow an inflation adjustment to the adjusted gross income threshold and the maximum credit amounts, beginning after 2022; and (5) make the credit refundable.
Stop the Attack on Local Taxpayers Act of 2021 or the SALT Act This bill repeals the limitation on the deductibility of state and local taxes during 2018-2025. It also increases from $250 to $1,000 the tax deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers and allows a deduction from gross income (above-the-line) for certain training and uniform expenses of first responders (i.e., individuals who are law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics, or emergency medical technicians for at least 1,000 hours during a taxable year). The bill expands individual income tax brackets and increases the top income tax rate for individual taxpayers to 39.6%.
This bill suspends for 2020 the recapture of any overpayment of the tax credit for coverage under a qualified health care plan.
American Family Act of 2021 This bill modifies the child tax credit to (1) make the credit fully refundable, (2) increase the amount of the credit and allow an additional credit for children who are under six years of age, (3) require the amount of the credit to be adjusted annually for inflation, and (4) require the Department of the Treasury to establish a program for making advance payments of the credit on a monthly basis.
Education for New Dispositions on Stigma Act or the END Stigma Act This bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to institutions of higher education to educate students about substance use disorders.
Essential Worker Pandemic Compensation Act of 2021 This bill compensates specified essential workers who die or are hospitalized as a result of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) or related complications. Specifically, the bill provides death benefits to survivors of essential workers equal to the amount available under the public safety officer benefits program. Essential workers include those identified in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency guidance or by a Special Master appointed by the Department of Health and Human Services. Such death benefits include additional payments to a surviving spouse or child enrolled in qualified postsecondary education. Further, essential workers who are hospitalized as a result of COVID-19 receive one half of the base death benefit amount.
Alerting Localities of Environmental Risks and Threats Act of 2021 This bill requires the owner or operator of a facility where hazardous chemicals are produced, used, or stored to hold a public meeting within 72 hours of the release of an extremely hazardous substance. The owner or operator must publish a notice in a local newspaper, giving at least 24 hours of notice before the public meeting. Such notice must be posted at a local library, other local government buildings, and on the facility's public website. The bill also requires the owner or operator of a facility to hold an annual public meeting, where specified information regarding the extremely hazardous substances at the facility must be disclosed. Notice for such meeting must be published in a local newspaper at least a week in advance of the meeting. The bill provides for a civil penalty if such public meeting and notice requirements are not met.
You Must Be Alive To Vote Act of 2021 This bill requires each state, in order to receive certain education and transportation funds, to annually certify that the state has an agreement with the Social Security Administration to share death information for the purpose of removing the names of ineligible voters from the official list of eligible voters.
This bill requires the Surgeon General to report annually to Congress on the public health effects of gun violence and the status of actions taken to address those effects.
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service should continue door delivery for all customers.
COVID-19 Diaper Assistance Act This bill provides additional funding for FY2021 for the Social Services Block Grant to provide diapers, wipes, and other diapering supplies to families in need. This grant is a flexible funding stream used by states and territories to support a wide range of social services.
