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Work Patterns Will Never Be the Same Again - Long Term Planning & Preparation is Key

Despite the death grip COVID-19 has had, the global economy is on the threshold of a burst of growth driven by technology. If long-gestating technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation fulfill their potential, we ll have the chance to escape the current stagnation, and will be much more insulated against the employment impact of future pandemics - which there will surely be. Largely hidden by the pandemic s human suffering, 2020 saw some remarkable breakthroughs, including the COVID vaccine and advances in AI language generation, as well as the growth in affordable solar power and remote work. A new term has emerged - total factor productivity (TFP) - which takes into account the effect of technological and strategic progress. In 2021, the TFP will be remarkably high - perhaps the highest ever. The United States has been suffering from a certain stagnation for years - even as the Internet transformed our daily lives. This prolonged period of little or no growth in our economy has been highlighted by periods of high unemployment and involuntary part-time employment. In October 2020, the World Economic Forum found more than 80% of global firms plan to accelerate the digitization of business processes and increase remote work. Half plan to accelerate automation and 43% expect to reduce the overall size of their workforces, which implies an expected increase in productivity. However, there is a catch. If those gains don t filter down to workers - or worse, end up eliminating jobs without replacing them with better ones - even a faster, more productive economy will not ease America s inequality; it could actually worsen it. A closer look at some of the World Economic Forum findings is worthwhile. The workforce is automating faster than expected, displacing 85 million jobs worldwide in the next five years. This disruption will occur in medium and large businesses across 15 industries and 26 economies. Roles in areas such as data entry, accounting, and administrative support are decreasing in demand as automation and digitization in the workplace increase. More than 80% of business executives are accelerating plans to digitize work processes and deploy new technologies, and 50% of employers are expecting to accelerate the automation of some roles in their companies.In contrast to previous years, job creation is now slowing while job destruction is accelerating.The robot revolution will create 97 million new jobs, but communities most at risk from disruption will need support from businesses and governments.In 2025, analytical thinking, creativity, and flexibility will be among the top skills needed; with data and AI, content creation, and cloud computing the top emerging professions.The most competitive businesses will be those that choose to reskill and upskill current employees. Due to COVID-19, the changes have come faster than expected. What used to be considered the "future of work" has already arrived. By 2025, work between humans and machines will be divided equally. Roles that leverage human skills will rise in demand, while machines will be primarily focused on information and data processing, administrative tasks, and routine manual jobs. The Need for Reskilling is Urgent As the economy and job markets evolve, 97 million new roles will emerge across the care economy, in industrial revolution technologies such as AI, and in content creation fields. The tasks where humans are set to retain their comparative advantage include managing, advising, decision-making, reasoning, communicating, and interacting. There will be a surge in demand for workers who can fill green economy jobs, roles at the forefront of the data and AI economy, as well as new roles in engineering, cloud computing, and product development. For those workers set to remain in their roles in the next five years, nearly 50% will need reskilling for their core skills. Despite the current economic downturn, most employers recognize the value of reskilling their workforce. An average of 66% of employers surveyed expect to see a return on investment in upskilling and reskilling of current employees within one year. They also expect to successfully redeploy 46% of workers within their organization. It is almost certain that going forward, the most competitive businesses will be those that invest heavily in their human capital - the skills and competencies of their employees. Those At Highest Risk The individuals and communities most negatively impacted by the unprecedented changes brought about by COVID-19 are likely to be those that are already the most disadvantaged. In the absence of proactive efforts, both by industry and government, inequality is likely to be exacerbated by the dual impact of technology and the pandemic recession. The ADP Research Institute found that between February and May 2020, displaced workers in the United States were, on average, mostly female, younger, and had a lower wage. Comparing the impact of the 2008-09 global financial crisis on individuals with lower education levels to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, the impact today is far more significant and more likely to deepen existing inequalities. Any recovery must include a coordinated reskilling effort by institutions to provide accessible and job-relevant learning that individuals can take from anywhere in order to return to the workforce. The Role of the Public Sector Currently, less than a quarter of businesses are able to make use of public funds for reskilling and upskilling programs. The public sector will need a three-tiered approach to help workers. This includes (1) stronger safety nets for displaced workers, (2) improving education and training systems, and (3) creating incentives for investments and markets for these new jobs. Remote Working is Here to Stay but Requires Adaptation Approximately 84% of employers are set to rapidly digitize working processes, including a significant expansion of remote working. Employers say there is the potential to move 44% of their workforce to remote operations. The downside to this is that 78% of businesses expect some negative impact on worker productivity. This suggests that some industries and companies are struggling to adapt quickly enough to the shift to remote working caused by COVID-19. This will be addressed through AI advances relating to remote workers and employers will work to create a sense of community, connection, and belonging among their employees. Career pivots are also becoming more common. More people than ever are making career changes to entirely new occupations. Based on LinkedIn data gathered since 2015, about 50% of career shifts into data and AI are from different fields. The figure is even higher for sales roles (75%), content creation and production positions, such as social media managers and content writers (72%), and engineering roles (67%). LinkedIn research shows that the majority of transitions into future jobs come from non-emerging jobs, demonstrating that many of these new jobs are more accessible than workers may think. Leaders who are directing workforce funding and investment need to identify the small clusters of skills that will have an outsized impact on opening up more sustainable career paths. This will make a significant difference in addressing the unprecedented levels of unemployment that we are now seeing. 2021 will be the test of whether the systemic changes we saw in the workplace in 2020 will continue. It will be instructive when we get to the end of 2021 to see which companies call their employees back to the office and which ones embrace remote work for the long haul.

Fixed Four Percent Credit - When Does it Apply?

The COVID-19 relief legislation that was recently signed into law included a provision fixing the four percent LIHTC at an actual four percent rate. This floor applies both to properties with tax-exempt bonds and acquisition credits.  However, there are transition rules and some properties that are in development and under construction will not be able to use the 4% floor. In order to use the 4% fixed-credit, a building has to: Be placed in service after 2020, and - if the building has tax-exempt bondsThe bonds must be issued after December 31, 2020. One issue is whether a project with bonds issued in 2020 but not fully disbursed until 2021 can use the 4% floor. The truest answer is we don t know. Guidance from the IRS or a Congressional Committee would be helpful in this area. Until such guidance is received, using the 4% credit for 2020 bond issues that have not been fully used until 2021 is risky. Some tax attorneys may be willing to provide a legal opinion stating that the 4% floor may be used when a project has 2020 bonds, but some or all of the bond proceeds are not used until after 2020. This is an aggressive position, but some years ago the IRS took the position that they would define "issuance" as the date when the proceeds are drawn down. However, many tax professionals believe the IRS took this position to prevent taxpayers from avoiding new tax rules relating to bonds issued after a certain date. There is no way of knowing whether the Service will take the same position with regard to the 4% floor. In other words, will the IRS permit the date the bond funds are drawn-down to be considered the "issue" date? It is very possible that the IRS will apply a traditional reading (i.e., literal) of the law and apply the fixed rate only to bonds actually "issued" after December 31, 2020. Ultimately, investors will have to make the choice with regard to the risk level to be accepted. At this point, I am not advising my clients to use the 4% floor unless the bonds are actually issued after 2020. However, I am not a tax attorney, and I recommend reliance on opinions from tax counsel in these cases. One other element to keep in mind is that Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) may only allocate the amount of credit necessary for deal feasibility. If a deal is closed with an applicable percentage of less than 4% - and the deal works - claiming a 4% floor would very likely result in some deal adjustments. The agency could require additional amenities, reject some secondary ("soft") financing source, earlier payoff off a deferred developer fee, etc. My recommendation in this area is that if a deal works at the "floating 4% level," just stick with it and don t get too adventurous. Another scenario is a "split" bond issue - where some bonds are issued in 2020 and there is another issue in 2021. In this case, because the project has bonds issued after 2020, it seems clear that the 4% floor may be used. My confidence here is based on the wording in the Code. The rule applies to any building if any portion is financed by tax-exempt bonds, provided any such building is financed by any such obligation issued after 2020. This language indicates that as long as any bonds are issued after 2020 for a project, the taxpayer is entitled to use the 4% floor. Be aware though that this applies only to an "issuance" of bonds - not a "refunding" of bonds. In other words, this would have to be a fresh bond issue, in addition to the amount received under a 2020 issue. The most interesting aspect of this 2020/2021 concept relates to acquisition/rehab projects. If a project was acquired in 2020 and the buildings were either occupied or occupiable as of the date of acquisition, the acquisition date is the placed-in-service date and even if bonds are issued for the project in 2021, the acquisition credit would have to be a floating credit (the building fails the first test noted above by not being placed in service after 2020). However, for purposes of Section 42, the rehab expenditures are treated as a separate new building. Therefore, assuming the bonds are issued in 2021, and the rehab is completed in 2021 (i.e., the rehab expenditure placed-in-service date would be in 2021), the rehab credit may be based on the 4% floor. In summary, until and unless favorable guidance is forthcoming either from Congress or the IRS, I recommend a conservative approach to using the 4% floor with tax-exempt bonds. In other words, unless a building is placed in service after 2020 and the bond issue is also after 2020, the 4% floor should not be used.

Virginia Landlord Settles Sexual Harassment Case

On September 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Gary T. Price, a manager of rental properties in and around Harrisonburg, VA, together with owners of the properties, Alberta Lowery and GTP Investment Properties, LLC, will pay $335,000 to resolve allegations that Price sexually harassed multiple female tenants and discriminated in housing on the basis of race in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. The case is U.S. v. Gary Price, GTP Properties, and Alberta Lowery. The federal government alleged that Price made unwelcome sexual comments and advances toward female tenants, offering housing benefits in exchange for sexual acts, and took or threatened to take adverse action against women who refused his sexual demands. The complaint also alleged that Price violated the Act by using racial slurs with respect to tenants and tenants guests, and by prohibiting or attempting to prohibit tenants from entertaining African-American guests in their homes because of the guests race. Alberta Lowery and GTP Investment Properties, LLC were named as defendants in the case because they own the properties at which the discriminatory conduct took place and Price was acting on their behalf as their agent when he engaged in the illegal acts. The properties involved were single-family homes and mobile homes. Under the Consent Decree, the defendants will pay $330,000 to compensate eight victims of discrimination already identified by the DOJ, together with any additional individuals who have been harmed by the defendants discriminatory conduct. In addition, the defendants must pay a $5,000 civil penalty. The decree also bars Gary Price from participating in the management of rental properties in the future and requires the defendants to take other steps to prevent future discrimination. Among the actions required of the owners it that all properties they own must be managed by a professional, independent property manager, and the owner and all employees of the owner will attend professional fair housing training. This case makes it clear that owners of rental properties may not escape liability for discrimination even when the discriminatory acts are perpetrated by an Agent of the owner. This is why only professional property management companies should be used for management, and all employees of both owners and management companies should receive regular, professional fair housing training and proper supervision.

New York Passes Comprehensive Anti-Eviction Law

The New York State Legislature convened an unusual special session just after Christmas to pass one of the nation s most comprehensive anti-eviction laws, which will ban landlords from evicting most tenants for at least another 60 days. Some studies show that as many as 1.2 million New Yorkers are currently at risk of losing their homes. In addition to protecting renters, the law will also protect some small landlords from foreclosure and automatically renew tax exemptions for homeowners who are elderly or disabled. Nationally, up to 14 million households are at risk of eviction and owe anywhere from $11 to $20 billion in rent. It is very possible that other states will follow New York s lead and pass similar laws in the weeks ahead. In order to use the protections of the law, tenants will have to submit documents outlining their financial hardships, and the hardship must be related to COVID-19. For eviction cases that are already working their way through the courts, the law will halt proceedings for at least 60 days. Landlords will not be allowed to begin new eviction proceedings until at least May 1. Some New York landlords opposed the measure, arguing that the law does not adequately distinguish between tenants with resources and those without. Also, the law provides little relief for landlords who are suffering from diminished financial resources, as tenants fall farther behind on rent and ground-floor retail tenants go out of business. The legislation tries to address those concerns by making it harder for banks to foreclose on smaller landlords who are themselves struggling to pay bills. This emergency action follows the $900 billion relief package enacted at the federal level, which included $1.3 billion in rental relief for New Yorkers and extended the CDC eviction moratorium until the end of January.

Trump Finally Signs Funding and Relief Bills

On December 27, 2020, President Trump finally signed the FY 2021 Omnibus Spending and COVID-19 Relief Bills. Passage of these two pieces of legislation will impact the affordable housing industry in some significant ways, primarily by setting the 4% LIHTC at a floor of 4 percent and providing $25 billion in emergency rental assistance. Highlights of the COVID-19 relief relating to housing include: $25 billion in emergency rental assistance;Extension of the CDC eviction moratorium to January 31, 2021 (it was set to expire on December 31, 2020);$600 stimulus checks for income-qualified single taxpayers and $1,200 for joint filers and an additional $600 per qualifying child (this should not be counted as income for affordable housing purposes); and$300 per week in enhanced unemployment insurance benefits starting after December 26 and ending March 14, 2021 (since this is temporary income, it should not be counted as income for affordable housing purposes). Rental Assistance The $25 billion in emergency rental assistance will be split among the states and territories, with no state receiving less than $200 million. Current estimates for unpaid rent are as high as $70 billion. The CDC eviction moratorium only delays the payment of rent - it provides no relief to renters or landlords. The only solution is actual money to assist with the payment of rent. The funds will be distributed to states, tribes, territories, the District of Columbia and local governments with population in excess of 200,000. Agencies that receive the funds must expend at least 90% to pay Rent;Rental arrears;Utilities and home energy costs;Utilities and home energy costs arrears; andOther housing expenses caused by the pandemic. The assistance may last up to 12 months, plus an additional three months if needed to ensure housing stability. The remaining ten percent of the funds may be used for other services relating to the pandemic (e.g., case management) and/or agencies administrative costs. To be eligible, tenant households must meet each of the following criteria: One or more individuals has -Qualified for unemployment benefits, orExperienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship due, directly or indirectly, to the pandemic (the applicant must attest to this in writing).One or more individuals must demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability, which may include -A past due utility or rent or eviction notice,Unsafe or unhealthy living conditions, orAny other evidence of such risk.The household income may not exceed 80% of the Area Median Income based on either -Total income for calendar year 2020, orConfirmation of monthly income at the time of application. When documented by tenant confirmation, the administering agency must re-determine eligibility every three months. This assistance will not count as income for purposes of determining eligibility under any federally funded program. Among eligible households, priority will be given as follows: Incomes less than 50% of AMI, orAt least one member of the household is unemployed as of the date of the application and has not been employed for the preceding 90 days. Agencies may add their own criteria. Agencies will make payments directly to landlords or utility providers on behalf of eligible households. Payments may be made directly to the household only if a landlord or utility provider refuses to participate. Landlords may either assist renters in applying for assistance or apply on behalf of the renters. If applying on behalf of the renters, the landlord must - Obtain the signature (wet or electronic),Provide a copy of the application to the tenant, andUse any payments received to satisfy the tenant s rental obligation. Agencies will be required to collect - and submit to Treasury - the following information: Eligible households receiving assistance,Acceptance rate of applicants,Type of assistance provided to each household,Average amount of funding provided per household,Household income level categorized as (1) less than 30% of AMI, (2) 30% to 50% of AMI, and (3) 50% to 80% of AMI, andThe average number of monthly rental or utility payments covered. Before beginning the collection process, agencies will need to establish data privacy procedures that provide - All information is used only for the purpose of submitting reports, andConfidentiality protections for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Agencies will also have to provide documentation of payments to households. 4% Credit After pushing for a floor to the four percent credit for many years, the passage of the spending bill makes a 4% credit a reality. This set 4% will apply to both acquisition credits and credits allocated with tax-exempt bond financing. This will make as many as 130,000 additional tax credit units feasible between 2021 and 2030 that would not otherwise have been built. The provision is effective for acquisition tax credits allocated after December 31, 2020, and for bond-financed properties placed in service and receiving allocations from private activity tax-exempt bonds issued after December 31, 2020. Guidance from the IRS will be needed to determine if properties that receive allocations or bond drawdowns prior to December 31 but receive subsequent allocations or drawdowns after December 31 will be eligible for the 4% credit. Disaster Relief The COVID-19 relief also includes $1.2 billion in ten-year credits in disaster LIHTCs for 11 states and Puerto Rico. These credits will be available for non-COVID-19 related disasters. Congress also granted LIHTC properties in disaster zones an additional 12 months to satisfy the 10% spending test and placed-in-service deadline, as well as providing more flexibility to allocating agencies by allowing disaster credits to be carried over to 2022. States and territories to receive the additional credit are: Alabama;California;Florida;Iowa;Louisiana;Michigan;Mississippi;Oregon;Puerto Rico;South Carolina;Tennessee; andUtah As noted above, the rental assistance component of the legislation will be the most complex. States and localities will have to designate the agencies to receive the funds. In most cases, this is likely to be state Housing Finance Agencies and large Public Housing Agencies. These agencies will already have the mechanisms in place for distributing the money and providing the required tracking and reporting. Landlords experiencing rent delinquencies should be proactive and reach out to state and local agencies to begin the process of obtaining the relief. There is not going to be nearly enough money to go around, so landlords who move quickly are likely to be those who benefit from the emergency funds. Landlords should also notify residents who may qualify for the relief and determine whether the residents will apply themselves or if landlords will make application on behalf of the residents. Again, moving quickly may be a key to obtaining relief under the bill.

HUD Takes Hard Line on Local "Nuisance" Policies that Target Affordable Housing

A recent compliance agreement entered into between the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and a California city demonstrates the aggressive approach HUD will take against localities that develop policies that penalize residents for excessive 911 calls or properties with frequent police responses. HUD and the City of Hemet, California have entered into a Voluntary Compliance Agreement relating to the City s "Rental Registration and Crime Free Rental Housing Program," and "Abatement of Chronic Nuisance Program." The agreement is the result of a compliance review of the City s CDBG program that was conducted by HUD s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO). HUD s preliminary review identified potential non-compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This Agreement clearly demonstrates HUD opposition to a trend among cities to create local ordinances that penalize property owners and residents based on the crime rate in an area or the number of 911 calls for assistance. The Agreement requires that the City of Hemet eliminate the "Rental Registration and Crime Free Rental Housing Program," and "Abatement of Chronic Nuisance Program." The Hemet ordinances required owners of rental properties to submit a "Crime Free Certification," utilize the City s "Crime Free Lease Addendum," pass special inspections, attend Crime Free Rental Housing training, and undergo annual code inspections. The lease addendum required owners to evict or non-renew the lease of tenants based on the number of 911 calls they placed and to evict tenants based on arrest records. By entering into the Agreement, the City will - Notify residents of the City that the two ordinances are no longer in effect;Not implement any future program that has the effect of replacing the two programs that are being eliminated;Submit to HUD for review any new programs relating to code enforcement;No longer limit the number of calls for law enforcement or code enforcement generated by or to a property without further inquiry into the nature, cause, or severity of the alleged nuisance or criminal activity;Notify all rental property owners and known occupants of rental property that the programs have been discontinued;Publish a Notice of Termination of the ordinances in at least two newspapers in the Hemet regional area, including a Spanish language newspaper;Provide $200,000 in financial assistance to property owners who rent to low or moderate-income households to proactively address or remediate potential code enforcement violations or otherwise improve housing conditions;Report to HUD every six-months on program compliance, including marketing materials and activities; andRequire all City employees involved with the enforcement of the programs (including Code Enforcement, Police Officers, and all members of City Council) to attend fair housing training. Local policies such as those that were implemented by the City of Hemet are popping up all over the United States. If you are the owner of a property in a locality that is imposing similar requirements on your property, you should contact the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at HUD (https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/online-complaint).

HUD Publishes Operating Cost Adjustment Factors (OCAF) for 2021

On November 27, 2020, HUD published in the Federal Register a Notice of Certain Operating Cost Adjustment Factors for 2021. These OCAFs may be used for eligible project-based assistance properties that have an anniversary date on or after February 11, 2021. OCAFs are annual factors used to adjust Section 8 rents for most Section 8 projects. HUD has used a single methodology for establishing OCAFs. These OCAFs vary among states and territories. Contract rents are adjusted by applying the OCAF to that portion of the rent attributable to operating expenses exclusive of debt service. OCAFs are calculated as the sum of weighted component cost changes for wages, employee benefits, property taxes, insurance, supplies and equipment, fuel oil, electricity, natural gas, and water/sewer/trash, using publicly available indices. To calculate the OCAFs, state-level cost component weights developed from state-wide data are multiplied by the selected inflation factors. For instance, if wages in Virginia comprised 50% of total operating cost expenses and increased by 4% from 2019 to 2020, the wage increase component of the Virginia OCAF for 2021 would be 2% (50% times 4%). This 2% would then be added to the increases for the other eight expense categories to calculate the 2021 OCAF for Virginia. For states where the calculated OCAF is less than zero, the OCAF is floored at zero. Examples of the 2021 OCAFs: New Jersey, Texas, and Wisconsin have the highest OCAFs, at 2.8%.Vermont has the lowest OCAF at 1.8%.The mean OCAF is 2.4% and the median is 2.5%. Owners of affected properties should review the November 27 notice for the OCAF applicable to their state or territory.

HIghlights of COVID-19 Relief Bill

President Trump is expected to sign the massive, year-end catchall bill Congress passed that combines $900 billion in COVID-19 aid with a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill and reams of other unfinished legislation on taxes, energy, education, and health care. Here are highlights of the measure with overall funding amounts and specific amounts for some but not necessarily all initiatives. COVID-19 RELIEF Unemployment insurance ($120 billion). Revives supplemental federal pandemic unemployment benefits but at $300 per week through March 14 instead of the $600 per week benefit that expired in July. This is considered temporary income and should be excluded for purposes of affordable housing programs. Extends special pandemic benefits for "gig" workers and extends the maximum period for state-paid jobless benefits to 50 weeks. Unless guidance from HUD states otherwise, this pandemic benefit should be counted as income and treated in the same manner as regular unemployment. Direct payments ($166 billion). Provides $600 direct payments to individuals making up to $75,000 per year and couples making up to $150,000 per year with payments phased out for higher incomes - with $600 additional payments per dependent child. Since this is a one-time, lump sum payment, this should not be counted as income for affordable housing programs. Paycheck Protection Program ($284 billion). Revives the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans to qualified businesses. Especially hard-hit businesses that received PPP grants would be eligible for a second round. Ensures that PPP subsidies are not taxed. Vaccines, testing, health providers ($69 billion). Delivers more than $30 billion for procurement of vaccines and treatments, distribution funds for states, and a strategic stockpile. Adds $22 billion for testing, tracing and mitigation, $9 billion for health care providers, and $4.5 billion for mental health. Schools and universities ($82 billion). Delivers $54 billion to public K-12 schools affected by the pandemic and $23 billion for colleges and universities; $4 billion would be awarded to a Governors Emergency Education Relief Fund; nearly $1 billion for Native American schools. Rental assistance ($25 billion). Provides money for a first-ever federal rental assistance program; funds to be distributed by state and local governments to help people who have fallen behind on their rent and may be facing eviction. This will be temporary (probably lump sum) and should not be counted as income. Food/farm aid ($26 billion). Increases stamp benefits by 15% for six months and provides funding to food banks, Meals on Wheels and other food aid. Provides an equal amount ($13 billion) to farmers and ranchers. Child Care ($10 billion). Provides $10 billion to the Child Care Development Block Grant to help families with child care costs and help providers cover increased operating costs. Postal Service ($10 billion). Forgives a $10 billion loan to the Postal Service provided in earlier relief legislation. ___ OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS ($1.4 TRILLION) The omnibus measure wraps 12 spending bills into one and funds agency operating budgets through Sept. 30 of next year. It combines Democratic priorities such as a $12.5 billion increase over existing budget limits for domestic programs while cutting Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention and removal costs by $431 million. COVID-19 has contributed to sharply lower costs. Republicans supported sustained defense spending, energy provisions and longstanding bans on federal funding of abortion. The measure also provides President Donald Trump with a last, $1.4 billion installment for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. ___ MISCELLANEOUS The measure also contains more than 3,000 pages of miscellaneous legislation, such as: Surprise medical billing. Includes bipartisan legislation to protect consumers from huge surprise medical bills after receiving treatment from out-of-network providers. Community health centers. Reauthorizes, for three years, funding for community health centers and extends a variety of expiring health care policies, including reimbursement rates for various health care providers and procedures under Medicare and Medicaid Tax extenders. Extends a variety of expiring tax breaks, including lower excise taxes on craft brewers and distillers. Renewable energy sources would see tax breaks extended, as would motorsport facilities, and people making charitable contributions. Business meals would be 100% deductible through 2022 and out-of-pocket health care costs would be deductible after they reach 7.5% of income. It would also extend favorable tax treatment for "look through" entities of offshore subsidiaries of U.S. corporations. One interesting benefit for the LIHTC program is that it appears that a permanent minimum 4% low-income housing tax credit rate will be included in the final bill, as will a $1.1 billion allocation of additional LIHTCs for 11 states and Puerto Rico. Water projects. Includes an almost 400-page water resources bill that targets $10 billion for 46 Army Corps of Engineers flood control, environmental and coastal protection projects. Clean energy. Boosts "clean energy" programs like research and development, efficiency incentives and tax credits. Phases out "superpollutant" hydrochlorofluorocarbons. Education. Includes a bipartisan agreement to forgive about $1.3 billion in federal loans to historically Black colleges and universities and simplify college financial aid forms. Boosts the maximum Pell Grant for low-income college students by $150 to $6,495. Offers "second chance" Pell Grants to incarcerated prisoners. Horse racing "doping." Adds bipartisan legislation by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to create national medication and safety standards for the horse racing industry as lawmakers move to clamp down on the use of performance-enhancing drugs that can lead to horse injuries and deaths. New Smithsonian museums. Establishes the Women s History Museum and the National Museum of the American Latino as new Smithsonian museums located near the National Mall. Pipeline safety. Folds in pipeline safety legislation reauthorizing operating grants and safety standards for oil and gas pipelines. Aircraft safety. Adds, after the scandal involving Boeing 737 MAX crashes, legislation to beef up the Federal Aviation Administration s aircraft certification process. Addresses human factors, automation in the cockpit, and international pilot training while authorizing nearly $275 million over the next five years to carry out the legislation. Intelligence programs. Reauthorizes intelligence programs for 2021. It is expected that the one-time payments and unemployment benefits will begin shortly after the New Year.