This bill prohibits a state, territorial, tribal, or local government from obligating any COVID-19 relief funds provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 until such government obligates all its relief funds made available by the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act).
Future in Logging Careers Act This bill allows individuals who are 16 or 17 years old to work at certain timber harvesting operations that are owned or operated by at least one parent or a person standing in place of a parent. The bill, therefore, exempts such employees from child labor laws.
Natural Gas Export Expansion Act This bill revises requirements regarding natural gas imports or exports to expand the expedited application and approval process to any nation, even if not a party to a free trade agreement with the United States, that is not specifically excluded by this bill. The bill excludes any nation subject to sanctions or trade restrictions imposed by the United States or excluded by the President or Congress for national security reasons.
Countering Russian and Other Overseas Kleptocracy Act or the CROOK Act This bill requires various actions designed to combat public corruption in foreign countries. The bill establishes within the Department of the Treasury the Anti-Corruption Action Fund to help foreign states fight public corruption and develop rule-of-law-based governance structures. For certain fines and penalties imposed under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, an additional fine shall be imposed and deposited into the fund. The Department of State must (1) manage U.S. government efforts to fight foreign public corruption, and (2) establish an interagency task force to assist in coordinating such efforts. Each U.S. embassy must have a point of contact responsible for coordinating the embassy's anti-corruption efforts. The State Department must report to Congress on its anti-corruption activities and make various reports publicly available online.
This resolution states that the August 9, 2020, election in Belarus was neither free nor fair and, as such, the House of Representatives does not recognize Alyaksandr Lukashenka as the country's legitimate president. The resolution also states that the people of Belarus have the right to determine the country's future without unwelcome intervention from outside actors and condemns the human rights violations committed by Belarusian authorities.
Combating Chinese Purloining of Trade Secrets Act or the CCP Trade Secrets Act This bill increases relevant criminal penalties, imposes visa and immigration-related restrictions, and sets out other provisions to deter espionage, theft of trade secrets, and improper interference with U.S. elections by foreign persons, with a particular focus on China.
American Workforce Empowerment Act This bill allows tax-preferred college savings plans (529 plans) to fund certain postsecondary certificate programs and apprenticeship programs.
Working Families Childcare Access Act of 2021 or the WFCA Act of 2021 This bill allows certain additional expenses in a dependent care flexible spending arrangement (FSA), specifically qualified sports, tutoring, and music or art expenses. It also increases the eligibility age for dependent care benefits to 15, allows a carry forward of unused benefits to the next plan year, and increases to $15,000 the maximum amount of dependent care benefits excludible from employee gross income.
Saving Hypodermic Injections and Offering vaccines to Taxpayers Swiftly Act of 2021 or the SHOTS Act of 2021 This bill prohibits any alien who is not a lawful permanent resident from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine until the earlier of (1) the date when all U.S. nationals and lawful permanent residents who wish to receive a vaccine have been fully vaccinated, or (2) December 31, 2021.
Withstanding Attempts to Encroach on our Resources Act of 2021 or the WATER Act This bill specifies which bodies of water fall under the scope of the Clean Water Act and are thereby under federal jurisdiction. Specifically, the bill provides statutory authority for the definition of waters of the United States , commonly known as WOTUS, included in the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of "Waters of the United States." The 2020 rule replaced a 2015 rule that included a more expansive definition of WOTUS.
Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act of 2021 This bill expands Medicare coverage of chiropractic services to include all services provided by chiropractors, rather than only subluxation corrections through manual manipulation of the spine.
Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2021 or the SAFE Banking Act of 2021 This bill generally prohibits a federal banking regulator from penalizing a depository institution for providing banking services to a legitimate cannabis-related business. Prohibited penalties include terminating or limiting the deposit insurance or share insurance of a depository institution solely because the institution provides financial services to a legitimate cannabis-related business and prohibiting or otherwise discouraging a depository institution from offering financial services to such a business. Additionally, proceeds from a transaction involving activities of a legitimate cannabis-related business are not considered proceeds from unlawful activity. Proceeds from unlawful activity are subject to anti-money laundering laws. Furthermore, a depository institution is not, under federal law, liable or subject to asset forfeiture for providing a loan or other financial services to a legitimate cannabis-related business. The bill also provides that a federal banking agency may not request or order a depository institution to terminate a customer account unless (1) the agency has a valid reason for doing so, and (2) that reason is not based solely on reputation risk. Valid reasons for terminating an account include threats to national security and involvement in terrorist financing, including state sponsorship of terrorism. Finally, the bill decreases the cap on the surplus funds of the Federal Reserve banks. (Amounts exceeding this cap are deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.)
