COVID-19 Memorial Quilt Act of 2021 This bill directs the Smithsonian Institution and the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to jointly carry out a project to be known as the "COVID-19 Pandemic Memorial Quilt Project" to honor and remember Americans who have lost their lives to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. The bill establishes the Congressional Advisory Panel on Honoring Victims of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The panel shall develop and submit a plan to carry out the memorial quilt project.
Access for Rural Communities Act or the ARC Act This bill allows sole community hospitals and Medicare-dependent small rural hospitals to have the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recalculate certain payment adjustments that were initially determined by Medicare administrative contractors. Specifically, if a hospital received a volume decrease adjustment from an administrative contractor prior to FY2018, the hospital may elect to have the CMS recalculate the adjustment using methodology that took effect in FY2018, as specified. The bill's provisions do not apply to final determinations made by administrative contractors more than three years before the date of enactment of this bill.
Preventing Foreign Attempts to Erode Healthcare Innovation Act This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to support, allow, or facilitate the negotiation or approval of any measure at the World Trade Organization to waive intellectual property rights, including the petition titled Waiver from Certain Provisions of the TRIPS Agreement for the Prevention, Containment, and Treatment of COVID-19 . (The petition was submitted by India and South Africa to suspend all intellectual property rights associated with COVID-19 innovations, such as vaccines.)
Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of 2021 This bill makes the tax credit for adoption expenses refundable.
Convening Operations Assistance for Childcare Heroes Act or the COACH Act This bill requires the Small Business Administration to maintain a resource guide for small businesses operating as child care providers that includes guidance on topics such as operations, finances, and compliance with relevant laws.
Zero-Percent Student Loan Refinancing Act This bill establishes a temporary program through which the Department of Education (ED) must make interest-free refinancing loans to borrowers of federal student loans from August 1, 2021, through December 31, 2024. The bill requires ED to automatically refinance Federal Direct Loans and notify each borrower of the refinancing. Borrowers who have other types of eligible loans (i.e., Federal Family Education Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, and certain health profession and nursing loans) must apply for refinancing. ED and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must carry out a campaign to notify borrowers of these types of loans that they are eligible to apply for refinancing under the program.
Putting Our First Responders First Act of 2021 This bill modifies the requirements for calculating taxable income to allow first responders to exclude from gross income certain service-connected disability payments received as part of a pension or annuity after reaching the age of retirement. The bill applies to law enforcement officers, employees in fire protection activities, and individuals who provide out-of-hospital emergency medical care.
Pandemic Leave Extension Act This bill extends until the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency the availability of emergency paid sick leave and emergency family and medical leave.
Inspector General Access Act of 2021 This bill transfers responsibility for investigating certain allegations of misconduct from the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Professional Responsibility to the DOJ Office of the Inspector General. Specifically, the bill transfers responsibility for allegations relating to a DOJ attorney's authority to investigate, litigate, or provide legal advice.
Secure E-Waste Export and Recycling Act This bill prohibits the export or reexport of electronic waste, such as computers, televisions, and consumer electronics, subject to certain exemptions (e.g., items that meet specific criteria designed to ensure they do not become the source of counterfeit products).
Coronavirus Frontline Workers Fair Pay Act This bill provides hazard pay, in addition to regular pay, to health care and essential workers for specified periods during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Health care workers, which include physicians and support staff, among others, are eligible for a maximum of $35,000 in aggregate hazard pay. Essential workers, as determined by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, are eligible for a maximum of $25,000 in aggregate hazard pay. The Department of the Treasury must make payments to employers based on an employer's quarterly projections of the number of hours worked by eligible employees, including specified hours worked prior to the enactment of this bill. Employers must issue hazard payments to eligible employees not later than 14 days after receiving payments from Treasury. The bill establishes and provides funding for the Coronavirus Essential and High-Risk Health Care Workers Hazard Payment Fund to implement this program.
Crash Avoidance System Evaluation Act This bill requires the Department of Transportation to evaluate the performance of crash avoidance systems at detecting and classifying pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users, including those with different skin tones that represent different racial and ethnic groups. Crash avoidance system is defined as a system in a motor vehicle used to prevent or mitigate a crash, including a system using cameras, lidar, or radar.
