Tribal Tax and Investment Reform Act of 2021 This bill treats Indian tribal governments as states for purposes of the annual allocation of the tax-exempt bond volume cap. It also repeals provisions that limit an Indian tribal government's eligibility to issue tax-exempt bonds or to be exempt from specified excise taxes to transactions involving the exercise of an essential government function customarily performed by state and local governments. The bill (1) treats employee benefit or pension plans maintained by Indian tribes and domestic relations orders issued pursuant to tribal law in the same manner as plans maintained by states and domestic relations orders issued pursuant to state law; and (2) treats tribal charities and foundations in the same manner as charities and foundations funded and controlled by other governmental entities for purposes of the tax-exempt status of, and deduction for contributions to, such organizations. The bill gives Indian tribes or tribal organizations access to the Federal Parent Locator Service if they are eligible for a grant to operate a child support enforcement program. It makes those tribes and tribal organizations eligible to participate in the program that collects past-due support from individual tax refunds. An Indian tribal government may determine whether a child has special needs for the purpose of the tax credit for the adoption of a child with special needs.
Retain Skilled Veterans Act This bill modifies the restriction related to the appointment of retired members of the Armed Forces to certain civil service positions in the Department of Defense. Under the bill, the 180-day waiting period before a retired member may be appointed to a position only applies to those positions in the excepted or competitive service classified at or above GS-14 of the General Schedule (or equivalent).
Cell-Site Simulator Warrant Act of 2021 This bill establishes a federal statutory framework to regulate the use of cell-site simulators. Cell-site simulators (commonly known as Stingrays) are devices that function as or simulate a cell-phone tower to identify, locate, or intercept transmissions from a cell phone for purposes other than providing ordinary commercial mobile services or private mobile services. The framework generally prohibits the knowing use of a cell-site simulator domestically by an individual or entity or the use of a cell-site simulator by an element of the intelligence community outside the United States to conduct surveillance of a U.S. person. It imposes a civil fine on an individual or entity that violates the prohibition and restricts the use of unlawfully acquired information as evidence in a legal proceeding or official proceeding. The framework contains exceptions to permit the use of a cell-site simulator in certain circumstances, such as by a law enforcement agency pursuant to a warrant or by an element of the intelligence community to conduct surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. Finally, an individual who is the subject of unlawful use of a cell-site simulator may bring a private right of action.
Bolstering Long-term Understanding and Exploration of the Great Lakes, Oceans, Bays, and Estuaries Act or the BLUE GLOBE Act This bill addresses data collection and monitoring of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts. The bill increases domestic and international coordination to enhance data management and monitoring of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts. It adds programs for the application and development of innovative technology to the list of technology programs used to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. It also modifies requirements related to the scientific workforce in areas of oceanic and atmospheric research and development to include investigating whether there is a workforce shortage, workforce diversity, actions the federal government can take to increase diversity in the scientific workforce, and actions it can take to shorten the hiring backlog for such workforce. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must (1) ensure that a goal of its cooperative institutes is to advance or apply emerging technologies, (2) create an ocean innovation prize to catalyze the rapid development and deployment of data collection and monitoring technology, and (3) seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to assess the potential for an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Oceans. The bill also reauthorizes through FY2024 various NOAA hydrographic programs, including nautical mapping and charting. Additionally, relevant federal agencies must measure the value and impact of industries related to the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts on the U.S. economy.
Marine Mammal Climate Change Protection Act This bill establishes requirements to protect marine mammals adversely affected by climate change, including by establishing a program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to monitor the adverse impacts of climate change on marine mammals. In addition, it also requires NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to issue regulations that list marine mammal species in waters under U.S. jurisdiction for which climate change is more likely than not to result in a decline in population abundance, an impeded population recovery, or a reduced carrying capacity (i.e., the maximum population of a marine mammal species that an area will support without undergoing deterioration). The NMFS and the USFWS must update the list at least once every five years and issue regulations that include climate impact management plans for species on such list. The bill also directs the NMFS and the USFWS to review agreements with foreign governments concerning the management of marine mammals that are or may be affected by climate change. The Department of State must initiate amendments to such agreements or negotiate the development of such agreements in a manner consistent with the goals of the bill.
Keep America's Waterfronts Working Act This bill addresses the preservation and accessibility of waterfronts in coastal states. The bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a Working Waterfront Task Force that will be designed to identify and address critical working waterfront needs with respect to cultural and economic importance, environmental threats, and market conditions for water-dependent businesses. NOAA must also establish a Working Waterfront Grant Program. Under the program, NOAA may award grants to coastal states with approved working waterfront plans in place to preserve and expand access to coastal waters for people engaged in fishing, aquaculture, boat building, and other water-dependent businesses. In addition, NOAA is authorized to award grants to coastal states for the purpose of developing or revising working waterfront plans. States are allowed to allocate any grant money received to eligible Indian tribes, local governments, and other entities. Each state that is awarded a grant must contribute at least 25% of matching funds towards the total cost of the project carried out with the grant, subject to certain exceptions. The bill establishes the Working Waterfronts Preservation Loan Fund to provide loans to coastal states for the purpose of implementing working waterfront plans.
Blue Carbon for Our Planet Act This bill addresses the protection and restoration of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, which are vegetated coastal habitats and include mangroves, tidal marshes, and other tidal or salt water wetland that have the ability to sequester and store carbon. Specifically, the bill establishes the Interagency Working Group on Coastal Blue Carbon to (1) develop and maintain a map of these ecosystems, (2) assess the impediments to the protection and restoration of these ecosystems, and (3) establish national protection and restoration priorities regarding these ecosystems. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must chair the group and establish a national goal for conserving ocean and coastal blue carbon ecosystems within the territory of the United States and set targets to restore degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems as appropriate. NOAA must also (1) establish integrated pilot programs to restore degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems, and (2) enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to assess the long-term effects of geologic stores of carbon dioxide in a deep seafloor environment. Finally, the bill establishes requirements concerning the stewardship and standardization of blue carbon data in the Coastal Carbon Data Clearinghouse.
Conceding Our Veterans' Exposures Now And Necessitating Training Act of 2021 or the COVENANT Act of 2021 This bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for certain illnesses related to exposure to airborne hazards or open burn pits and addresses the care available through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans with illnesses they assert to be related to exposures during their service. Specifically, the bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for certain illnesses becoming manifest in covered veterans to a degree of 10% or more. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded. A covered veteran is any veteran who served on or after August 2, 1990, in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, or the United Arab Emirates; or served on or after September 11, 2001, in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, or other countries the VA determines to be relevant. Among other elements, the bill requires the VA to provide medical examinations for veterans who submit a claim for disability compensation for an illness not listed in the bill but that is asserted to be related to airborne hazard or open burn pit exposure; authorizes the VA to stay pending claims for disability compensation related to the service and illnesses covered by this bill until the implementation of the bill; and provides VA hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to covered veterans.
Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act of 2021 This bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for specified diseases associated with exposure to burn pits (an area used for burning solid waste in open air without equipment) and other toxins by veterans who were awarded specified medals on or after August 2, 1990. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded. Under the bill, if the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) receives a written petition to add a disease to the list, the VA must request a determination by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine with respect to whether there is a positive association between the exposure of humans to a covered toxin and the occurrence of the disease in humans. The bill makes disability or death of certain employees from specified diseases compensable as a work injury. Specifically, such employees are those who were employees of the Department of State, the Department of Defense, or an element of the intelligence community on or after August 2, 1990, and carried out job responsibilities for at least 30 days during a contingency operation.
Keeping Our Promises Act This bill expands the list of diseases that are provided a presumption of service-connection for veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. The bill extends through September 30, 2030, the requirement for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to make determinations and submissions related to the connection between herbicide exposure and occurrence of disease. Additionally, the VA is prohibited from taking the costs of compensation into account when determining the association between exposure to an herbicide agent and occurrence of a disease. The bill requires the VA to determine within 120 days (currently 60) whether a presumption of service-connection is warranted for diseases covered by a National Academy of Sciences report.
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that, if it creates a presumption of service-connection between the occurrence of a disease and exposure to an herbicide agent while serving in the Armed Forces between January 9, 1962, and June 30, 1976, at a military base in Thailand, such presumption must also apply to exposure at any military base in Thailand, regardless of where on the base the veteran was located or what military job specialty the veteran performed.
Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2021 This bill addresses water infrastructure and the discharge of pollution (e.g., wastewater or stormwater) into waters of the United States, including by reauthorizing through FY2026 and revising the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program. The clean water SRF program provides communities low-cost financing for water quality infrastructure projects.
