United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2022
Protecting Free Speech Act This bill terminates the Disinformation Governance Board of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and prohibits using DHS funding for the activities of any other entity that is substantially similar to the board.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2022
Veterans First Act of 2022 This bill prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs from obligating or expending any amounts to provide emergency assistance in response to an emergency at the southern border directly resulting from the repeal of certain public health orders from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Specifically, the bill prohibits such emergency assistance in response to the repeal of the order issued on August 2, 2021, titled Public Health Reassessment and Order Suspending the Right To Introduce Certain Persons From Countries Where a Quarantinable Communicable Disease Exists ; the order issued on April 1, 2022, titled Public Health Determination and Order Regarding Suspending the Right To Introduce Certain Persons From Countries Where a Quarantinable Communicable Disease Exists ; and an order relating to the same public health concerns as the listed orders.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2022
Protecting Innocence in Education Act This bill prohibits federally mandated sex education in elementary schools. Specifically, the bill prohibits the Department of Education (ED) from (1) requiring states, local educational agencies, or elementary schools to implement federal policies relating to sex education in elementary schools; or (2) punishing these entities (e.g., withholding federal funds or levying fines) for failing to implement or carry out these federal policies. Additionally, the bill prohibits the Task Force on Sexual Violence in Education from (1) developing recommendations for these entities with respect to sex education in elementary schools; or (2) assessing ED's ability to levy intermediate fines for noncompliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs or activities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2022
This bill requires the Department of State to notify Congress at least 45 days before revoking a designation of an organization as a foreign terrorist organization. Congress may prohibit the revocation by enacting a joint resolution within 45 days of the State Department's notification.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2022
No Timber From Tyrants Act This bill prohibits the importation of wood and related articles from Russia and Belarus. It also directs the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to replace these prohibited imports with timber production on certain lands. Specifically, the bill directs the President to prohibit the importation of all wood and related articles from Russia and Belarus. The President may terminate this prohibition upon certification to Congress that certain conditions have been met, including that Russia or Belarus (or both, as applicable) reached an agreement to withdraw forces in Ukraine. Additionally, the bill directs Interior and USDA to authorize timber harvest in an amount sufficient to equal the volume, with respect to calendar year 2021, of imports of wood and related articles from Russia and Belarus. Interior may authorize timber harvest only on public lands and USDA may authorize timber harvest only on National Forest System lands. The bill generally prohibits Interior and USDA from approving a plan that reduces the allowable sale quantity of timber.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2022
Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2022 This bill addresses freedom of association protections for college students in single-sex social organizations. Specifically, the bill gives students (or groups of students) enrolled at institutions of higher education (IHEs) the right to form or join social organizations, including single-sex social organizations. Additionally, the bill prohibits IHEs that participate in federal student-aid programs from taking adverse actions against single-sex social organizations or students who are members or prospective members of such organizations based solely on the practice of limiting membership to only individuals of one sex; taking actions that require or coerce members or prospective members of such organizations to waive protections provided under the bill, including as a condition of enrolling in the IHE; or imposing a recruitment restriction on a single-sex social organization that is not imposed upon other student organizations, unless the organization and IHE have entered into a written agreement allowing the restriction.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2022
This resolution calls on the Biden administration and its officials to maintain the sanctions on the repressive regimes in Venezuela and Iran. The resolution also expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that American energy independence should be achieved again for the sake of U.S. national security and the security of U.S. allies; and President Biden should immediately rescind his Executive Orders that prohibit the approval of new leases on federal lands and waters, and should immediately take actions to reestablish American energy independence.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2022
Reversing Every Vaccine Emergency Requirement and Stopping Employee OSHA Mandates Act or the REVERSE OSHA Mandates Act This bill limits the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to regulate workplace safety and health matters. Specifically, the bill repeals OSHA's authority to issue emergency temporary standards related to workplace safety and health. The bill further specifies that OSHA may not, under its authority to regulate workplace safety and health, require the administration of any drug, vaccine, or other biological product to an employee.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2022
This resolution supports the preservation of the stepped-up basis tax rule that allows recipients of inherited assets such as land, equipment, or buildings to adjust the cost basis of the assets to reflect their fair market value. The resolution opposes any efforts to impose new taxes on family farms or small businesses and recognizes the importance of generational transfers of farm and family-owned businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2022
This resolution honors the life and legacy of the late Representative Don Young and directs the Sergeant at Arms to designate a Don Young Reserved Seat on the floor of the chamber of the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2022
This joint resolution nullifies the rule titled Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Updating Payment Parameters, Section 1332 Waiver Implementing Regulations, and Improving Health Insurance Markets for 2022 and Beyond , which was issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Department of the Treasury on September 27, 2021. The rule expands the open enrollment period for individual health coverage and rescinds the previous interpretation of certain requirements relating to Section 1332 waivers (also known as State Innovation Waivers or State Relief and Empowerment Waivers).
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2022
COI Elimination Act This bill limits U.S. contributions to the United Nations pertaining to the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. Current law imposes a cap on the annual U.S. contribution to the U.N. budget. The bill lowers that cap by 25% of the amount budgeted for the commission. The bill also states that it shall be U.S. policy to seek the abolition of the commission and combat systemic anti-Israel bias in international bodies.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2022
Human Trafficking Prevention Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Transportation to seek to provide for the posting of contact information of the national human trafficking hotline in the restrooms of each U.S. aircraft, airport, over-the-road bus, bus station, passenger train, and passenger railroad station.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2022
Small Scale LNG Access Act of 2022 This bill expedites the approval of applications for the exportation of natural gas that do not exceed 51.75 billion cubic feet per year. Specifically, the bill deems such applications to be consistent with the public interest and requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to grant the applications without modification or delay. However, applications for exportation of natural gas to any nation subject to sanctions imposed by the United States may not be expedited.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2022
This resolution rejects and opposes engaging Russia as a main intermediary for reviving any nuclear agreement with Iran. The resolution rejects and opposes giving Russia any sanctions exemption or waiver as a condition to any nuclear agreement with Iran. The resolution rejects and opposes any agreement that lifts sanctions on Iran and legitimizes the regime's illicit nuclear program amidst an International Atomic Energy Agency investigation into undeclared sites, facilities, and material in Iran. The resolution also reaffirms that any nuclear deal with Iran reached by the Biden administration without congressional approval or Senate ratification as a treaty is illegitimate; to take every legislative opportunity to overturn such an agreement; to restore every single sanction, restrictive measure, designation, waiver, or general license the Biden administration removes; and to limit the Biden administration's or any future administration's ability to issue waivers and licenses for Iran sanctions, designations, or restrictive measures.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2022
This resolution urges the government of Argentina to bring the perpetrators of the March 17, 1992, terrorist attack on the Embassy of Israel in Buenos Aires to justice (in 1999 the Supreme Court of Argentina found that the transnational terrorist organization Hezbollah was responsible for the attack). The resolution commends the Argentinian government for designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and urges other U.S. allies and partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to do the same. The resolution urges these allies and partners to condemn and counter regional governments in the hemisphere that aid and abet Iran and Hezbollah. The resolution also commends the Argentinian government for adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism and encourages other partners and allies to do the same. Finally, the resolution commends the Secretary General of the Organization of American States for appointing a Commissioner to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism in the Western Hemisphere.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2022
Ukrainian Independence Park Act of 2022 This bill designates specified properties in the District of Columbia within the approximate triangular area formed by 22nd Street Northwest to the east, P Street Northwest to the south, and Florida Avenue Northwest to the west as Ukrainian Independence Park .
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2022
Record of Military Service for Members of the Armed Forces Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to create the Certificate of Military Service. The Certificate of Military service will be a standard record of military service for all members of active and reserve components of the armed forces to encompass all duty, including that of National Guard and Coast Guard duty. Under the bill, the document must (1) be standardized, (2) be the same for all members of the armed forces, and (3) replace and serve the same function as a discharge certificate or certificate of release (DOD Form DD-214). The bill also requires that a current record of service be issued to members of the reserve components upon the occurrence of any of the following events: permanent change to duty status (e.g., retirement or transfer to active duty), discharge or release from temporary active duty orders, specified promotions, and transfer to another state National Guard.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2022
No Retaining Every Gun In a System That Restricts Your Rights Act This bill modifies the retention requirements for firearm transaction records of federal firearms licensees (FFLs) that go out of business. Current law generally requires FFLs that go out of business to deliver their firearm transaction records to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). This bill removes the requirement for FFLs that go out of business to deliver their firearm transaction records to the ATF. Further, the bill requires the ATF to destroy all out-of-business records it has collected from FFLs.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2022
No Energy Revenues for Russian Hostilities Act of 2022 This bill prohibits, with some exceptions, the Department of the Treasury from authorizing certain energy-related transactions that would otherwise be blocked by an executive order barring transactions related to specified harmful foreign activities of the Russian government. The bill also revokes a license issued February 28, 2022, by the Office of Foreign Assets Control within Treasury that authorized certain transactions barred by the executive order. The bill allows a waiver from the limitation on an energy transaction if the transaction involves funds owed to a Russian person and the funds are to be used for the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices. The bill terminates on the earlier of five years after its enactment, or 30 days after the President reports to Congress that Russia has ceased activities destabilizing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2022
This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that the International Criminal Court should immediately proceed with prosecuting Russian President Vladimir Putin with war crimes should any harm befall Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a result of actions taken or directed by any Russian entity or authority.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2022
Credit Union Board Modernization Act This bill revises the frequency of meetings required to be held by a credit union's board of directors. Specifically, the bill requires monthly meetings for new credit unions during their first five years and for credit unions with a low soundness rating. All other credit unions must hold at least six meetings annually, with at least one meeting held during each fiscal quarter. Currently, all credit union boards must meet at least once a month.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2022
American Energy Independence from Russia Act This bill addresses U.S. energy security, the production of oil and gas, and the importation and exportation of oil and gas. Specifically, the President must submit an energy security plan that (1) evaluates U.S. crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas imports and exports; (2) assesses the energy security risks of such imports; and (3) includes strategies to encourage increased domestic production of crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas to offset Russian imports. The bill also approves the TransCanada Keystone Pipeline in Phillips County, Montana for the import of oil from Canada to the United States. In addition, the bill grants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the authority to approve or deny applications for facilities to export natural gas from the United States to foreign countries or import natural gas from foreign countries. The President and federal agencies must obtain congressional approval before (1) prohibiting or substantially delaying certain new energy mineral leases or permits on federal lands, or (2) withdrawing certain federal lands from mineral and geothermal leasing activities. The Department of the Interior must resume issuing oil and gas leases on federal lands and offshore submerged lands in the Outer Continental Shelf as specified under the bill. Finally, the bill limits the drawdown of petroleum in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until the Department of Energy develops a plan to increase the percentage of federal lands leased for oil and gas production.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2022
This resolution expresses that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the energy independence of the United States is critical to national security and should include the production and use of all available energy sources, including coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear energy, and renewables, as well as strategic minerals critical to electric vehicles and other clean energy sources; and President Biden should take immediate action to restore the energy security of the United States and provide U.S. allies with an affordable and secure supply of energy.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 2022
No Backdoor Gun Control Act of 2022 This bill removes the category of any other weapon from the definition of firearm under the National Firearms Act. The bill treats persons who acquire or possess any other weapon as meeting registration or licensing requirements under the National Firearms Act. The bill requires the Department of Justice to destroy any records relating to the registration of any other weapon not later than one year after the enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 2022
This joint resolution nullifies the rule issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on February 3, 2021, that requires the use of face masks on planes, trains, buses, and other public conveyances and at transportation hubs to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2022
Midland Over Moscow Act This bill imposes sanctions related to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and revises the expedited approval process for natural gas imports and exports in or out of the United States. (Nord Stream 2 is a pipeline constructed to increase the export of natural gas from Russia to Europe.) Within 10 days of this bill's enactment, the President must impose sanctions on any entity responsible for the planning, construction, maintenance, financing, or operation of Nord Stream 2, as well as any corporate officer or principal shareholder with a controlling interest in such an entity. The bill also revokes the President's authority to waive certain sanctions related to Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream, another Russian natural gas pipeline project. The bill also allows any nation, with specified exclusions, to use an expedited process to receive approval to import or export natural gas in or out of the United States (currently only a nation with a free trade agreement with the United States may use the expedited process). Specifically, the bill excludes any nation (1) subject to U.S.-imposed sanctions or trade restrictions, or (2) excluded by the President or Congress for national security reasons.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2022
Continuous and Enduring Action to Stop Every Overdose Act of 2022 or the CEASE Overdose Act of 2022 This bill places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2022
Sanctioning Tyrannical and Oppressive People within the Chinese Communist Party Act or the STOP CCP Act This bill imposes visa- and property-blocking sanctions on any person who is or was a member of any National Communist Party Congress of China, as well as any adult family member of such a person. The President may waive the sanctions for renewable periods of 30 days by certifying to Congress that China's government and the Chinese Communist Party have ceased (1) any acts of genocide against the Uyghur Muslim population; (2) all threats, military exercises, and aggression toward Taiwan; (3) undermining the autonomy of Hong Kong; and (4) any efforts to steal the intellectual property of U.S. persons. The certification must also be publicly available on a federal government website.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2022
Protecting Family and Small Business Tax Cuts Act of 2022 This bill makes permanent provisions affecting individual and business taxpayers that were enacted in 2017 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. The bill makes permanent provisions that reduce individual and capital gain tax rates. The bill increases the standard tax deduction for individual taxpayers. It also increases and modifies the child tax credit and raises the contribution base for the tax deduction of charitable contributions. The bill allows additional contributions to ABLE accounts (tax-exempt accounts designed to enable individuals with disabilities to save and pay for disability-related expenses). It exempts from taxation combat zone benefits of members of the Armed Forces serving in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and the moving expenses of servicemembers. Additionally, the bill lowers to $750,000 the amount of mortgage debt eligible for an interest expense tax deduction; excludes from the gross income of student borrowers income attributable to the discharge after 2025 of loan debt due to death or disability; makes permanent the limitation on the tax deduction for state and local taxes and denies a deduction for foreign real property taxes; makes permanent the tax deduction of the income of certain pass-through business entities; repeals the tax deduction for personal tax exemptions and the exclusion of employer-provided bicycle commuter fringe benefits; terminates certain miscellaneous itemized tax deductions; doubles the estate and gift tax exemption amount; and makes permanent the increase of the alternative minimum tax exemption amount for individual taxpayers.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2022
Service Restoration Act This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to require a member of the Armed Forces to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill also prohibits adverse action (e.g., punishment) being taken against a member of the Armed Forces solely on the basis that the member refuses to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Individuals who were involuntarily separated from the Armed Forces solely on the basis of their refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccination must be reinstated in the grade they held prior to the separation. In computing retired or retainer pay, the military department concerned must include the time between the involuntary separation and reinstatement of the individual. The military department concerned must expunge adverse actions or references to involuntary separation related to the refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccination from an individual's service record.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2022
Ethiopia Stabilization, Peace, and Democracy Act This bill imposes sanctions and addresses other issues related to the conflict in Ethiopia. The President must impose property-blocking sanctions (and visa-blocking sanctions in the case of an individual) against a foreign entity or individual that has taken certain actions to expand or extend the civil war or other conflicts in Ethiopia. The bill prohibits assistance, with certain exceptions, to Ethiopia's security forces unless the Department of State certifies to Congress that Ethiopia's government has ceased all military operations associated with the civil war and met other specified conditions. The Department of the Treasury must instruct U.S. representatives at international financial institutions to oppose, with some exceptions, such institutions providing loans or assistance to the governments of Ethiopia or Eritrea. Furthermore, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation may not provide certain support for projects in Ethiopia. These restrictions must terminate after the State Department certifies that certain conditions, such as a cessation of military operations associated with the civil war in Ethiopia, have been met. The President may provide support for activities necessary to preserve evidence of atrocities in Ethiopia and to pursue accountability for such atrocities. Within 90 days of this bill's enactment, the State Department must report to Congress a determination of whether actions in Ethiopia by the armed forces of Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front, and other armed actors constitute genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2022
Immigration Transparency and Transit Notification Act of 2022 This bill requires notifications to certain officials before an unaccompanied alien child or a non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) without lawful immigration status may be placed in or transported to a state or local jurisdiction. The bill also authorizes the office of the governor of the relevant state to prohibit the placement or transportation. At least seven calendar days before taking such an action, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must notify (1) the relevant state governor's office, (2) the state attorney general's office, (3) the county or municipal government, (4) local law enforcement, and (5) federal and state legislators representing the relevant jurisdiction. The action may not take place if the state governor's office objects no later than three calendar days after receiving the notification. This authority to object shall not apply if the action is to place an unaccompanied child with, or transport the child to, a family member.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2022
TSA Security Threat Assessment Application Modernization Act This bill requires the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to standardize the enrollment and renewal system for individuals applying for or renewing multiple TSA Security Threat Assessment programs, including the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, Hazardous Materials Endorsement, and TSA PreCheck programs. The standardization shall permit an individual to (1) enroll at a TSA-designated universal enrollment center once and use the application for one of such programs to enroll in two or more of such programs,with specified exceptions for those applying for or renewing enrollment in more than one program at different times; (2) apply successful, valid clearance results from a TSA Security Threat Assessment to satisfy vetting requirements for participation in any related program without additional cost; and (3) undergo a streamlined and expeditious renewal process. Additionally, the TSA must publish on its website information relating to the standardization of the enrollment system.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2022
Stopping Traffickers and Their Accomplices Act of 2022 This bill requires an abortion provider to notify the National Human Trafficking Hotline if the provider has a reasonable suspicion that the patient is a victim of trafficking. It also requires each abortion provider to complete annual training on how to identify and respond appropriately to individuals who are at risk of or who have experienced trafficking. The bill establishes penalties for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2022
Child Tax Credit for Pregnant Moms Act of 2022 This bill allows a child tax credit for an unborn child who is born alive. It also allows the credit upon certification that a mother's pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage (the involuntary death of an unborn child who was carried in the womb for less than 20 weeks) or that the child was stillborn (the involuntary death of an unborn child who was carried in the womb for 20 weeks or more).
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2022
Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2022 or the PRENDA Act of 2022 This bill creates new federal crimes related to the performance of sex-selection abortions (i.e., abortions based on the sex or gender of an unborn child). It subjects a violator to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both. It also authorizes civil remedies, including damages and injunctive relief. A woman who undergoes a sex-selection abortion may not be prosecuted or held civilly liable.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2022
This resolution condemns the terrorist attack on Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, on January 15, 2022. It also expresses support for the affected community, commends the actions of law enforcement and emergency responders, and reaffirms a commitment to combat hate, bigotry, anti-Semitism, and violence against Jewish Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2022
This resolution expresses support for the goals and ideals of PCOS Awareness Month. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is caused by a hormone imbalance. Symptoms can include infertility, weight gain, excess hair growth, and acne.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2021
Countering Assad's Proliferation Trafficking And Garnering Of Narcotics Act or the CAPTAGON Act This bill requires the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and other appropriate federal agencies to report to Congress a strategy to disrupt and dismantle narcotics production and trafficking networks linked to the regime of Bashar al Asad in Syria.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2021
This bill requires that a discharge or dismissal of a member of the Armed Forces must be characterized as honorable in situations where the individual was discharged or dismissed solely for refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Such individuals may not be denied retired or retainer pay or any benefits through the Department of Defense or Department of Veterans Affairs solely on the basis that they refused to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2021
This joint resolution nullifies the rule titled Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination , which was issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on November 5, 2021. The rule requires health care providers, as a condition of Medicare and Medicaid participation, to ensure that staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2021
Strategic Production Response Act This bill limits the drawdown of petroleum in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until the Department of Energy develops a plan to increase the percentage of federal lands leased for oil and gas production.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2021
This bill prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from taking specified actions against a member of the National Guard based on whether the member has received a COVID-19 vaccine. Specifically, DOD may not (1) involuntarily discharge or discipline the member, (2) withhold pay or benefits from the member, or (3) prohibit the member from participating in training or using equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2021
Conscience Protection Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for certain protections for health care providers that refuse to participate in abortions based on religious beliefs or other convictions. Health care providers include individual professionals, medical facilities, health insurance organizations, and social services providers that refer clients to health care services. The federal government and entities that receive federal funding for health-related activities, including state and local governments, may not discriminate against a health care provider that refuses to be involved in, or provide coverage for, abortions. Currently, similar requirements apply to various related activities, including certain employment or personnel decisions (the Church Amendments), abortion services training (the Coats-Snowe Amendment), qualified health plans offered through health insurance exchanges, and annual appropriations bills for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other federal agencies (the Weldon Amendment). The HHS Office for Civil Rights must investigate complaints of this kind of discrimination. Furthermore, HHS may terminate or reduce HHS funding for health-related activities if a person or entity fails to comply with nondiscrimination requirements. Additionally, the Department of Justice or any entity adversely affected by such discrimination may bring a civil action to obtain appropriate relief. A plaintiff does not need to seek or exhaust administrative remedies before bringing the action. A plaintiff may also bring an action, including one for money damages, against a governmental entity. In many cases, principles of sovereign immunity shield states and some localities from these kinds of actions.