United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2022
Technology Assessment for Air Quality Management Act of 2022 This bill addresses air quality monitoring technology, including by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to update its Air Sensor Toolbox with specified information and establish an Air Quality Technology Working Group to report on air quality monitoring systems. The Government Accountability Office must inventory national air quality monitoring infrastructure by documenting specified elements, such as locations and populations near such monitors.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2022
Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act of 2022 This bill expressly classifies broadband internet as a telecommunications service rather than an information service for purposes of regulation by the Federal Communications Commission. (Current law treats providers of telecommunications services as common carriers and subjects them to more stringent requirements.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2022
National Plan to End Parkinson's Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to carry out a project to prevent and cure Parkinson's disease (a progressive brain disorder that causes unintended or uncontrollable movements) and related conditions. Among other components of the project, HHS must (1) implement and periodically update a national plan to coordinate and guide efforts to prevent and cure the disease; (2) improve diagnosis, treatment, and care of those with the disease; and (3) address health and other disparities related to the disease. HHS must also conduct annual assessments on the preparation for and response to the increased burden of Parkinson's disease. In addition, the bill establishes a council, comprised of federal and nonfederal stakeholders, to advise HHS on and make recommendations concerning the prevention and cure of Parkinson's disease. The bill's provisions terminate at the end of calendar year 2035.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2022
Restoring Artistic Protection Act of 2022 This bill limits the admissibility of evidence of a defendant's creative or artistic expression against the defendant in a federal criminal case. The term creative or artistic expression means the expression or application of creativity or imagination in the production or arrangement of forms, sounds, words, movements, or symbols, including music, dance, performance art, visual art, poetry, literature, film, and other such objects or media.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2022
Shirley Chisholm Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of Shirley Chisholm, in recognition of her activism, independence, and groundbreaking achievements in politics, election as the first African American woman in Congress, and campaign to be the first African American to gain the nomination of a major political party for President of the United States. Following its award, the gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution where it shall be available for display and research.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2022
Behavioral Health Coverage Transparency Act of 2022 This bill increases oversight of the insurance coverage parity requirements for mental health and substance use disorder, including providing a process for auditing insurance providers and filing formal complaints for violations of the requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2022
No Shame at School Act of 20 22 This bill establishes requirements for the treatment of a child who is participating in the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program and owes unpaid school meal fees. It also requires local educational agencies to certify certain children (e.g., homeless children) as categorically eligible for free lunches or breakfasts without an application.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2022
Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929 This bill expands eligibility for a program that authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to, at its discretion, provide lawful permanent resident status to certain long-term residents of the United States, including individuals who are unlawfully present. Currently, this program, sometimes referred to as the Registry program, is only available to eligible non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) who entered the United States before January 1, 1972. The bill removes this entry cutoff date and opens up the program to eligible individuals who have resided in the United States for at least seven years. Existing requirements (e.g., the individual must not be inadmissible or deportable due to certain grounds related to crime or terrorism) continue to apply.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2022
Reproductive Health Travel Fund Act of 2022 This bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to pay for travel, childcare, and other expenses of an individual seeking access to abortion services. Eligible grant recipients must be nonprofit or community-based organizations that assist individuals seeking abortion services through programs that are unbiased and medically and factually accurate. The grants may not be used to pay for abortion procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2022
No Tax Breaks for Union Busting (NTBUB) Act This bill denies employers a tax deduction for any expenditures incurred for attempting to influence their employees with respect to labor organizations or labor organization activities, such as elections, labor disputes, and collective actions. The bill requires employers to report on their attempts to influence their employees with respect to labor organizations and their activities.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2022
Tipped Worker Protection Act This bill increases the minimum wage for tipped employees over a phase-in period and provides a process for employers to pool and distribute tips.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2022
Respect for Marriage Act This bill provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages. Specifically, the bill replaces provisions that define, for purposes of federal law, marriage as between a man and a woman and spouse as a person of the opposite sex with provisions that recognize any marriage that is valid under state law. (The Supreme Court held that the current provisions were unconstitutional in United States v. Windsor in 2013.) The bill also replaces provisions that do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states with provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. (The Supreme Court held that state laws barring same-sex marriages were unconstitutional in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015; the Court held that state laws barring interracial marriages were unconstitutional in Loving v. Virginia in 1967.) The bill allows the Department of Justice to bring a civil action and establishes a private right of action for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2022
EPA Regulatory Authority Act of 2022 This bill provides that in identifying the best system of emission reduction for purposes of a standard performance under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency may include measures that apply beyond an individual stationary source or category of stationary sources. Additionally, the bill provides that each determination in the Clean Power Plan (i.e., the final rule titled Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units published in the Federal Register on October 23, 2015) with respect to a best system of emission reduction is deemed as authorized.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2022
Right to Contraception Act This bill sets out statutory protections for an individual's right to access and a health care provider's right to provide contraception and related information. Contraception refers to an action taken to prevent pregnancy, including the use of contraceptives (i.e., a device or medication used to prevent pregnancy), fertility-awareness based methods, and sterilization procedures. Generally, the bill prohibits measures that single out and impede access to contraception and related information. However, a party may defend against a claim that a measure violates the bill's prohibitions by demonstrating, through clear and convincing evidence, that the measure significantly advances access to contraception and cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. The Department of Justice, individuals, or health care providers may bring a lawsuit to enforce this bill, and states are not immune from suits for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2022
Preventing Suicide Through Voluntary Firearm Purchase Delay Act This bill directs the Department of Justice to establish and maintain the Voluntary Purchase Delay Database. In particular, the bill (1) allows individuals to voluntarily place their names to (or request removal from) the database established by this bill, and (2) makes it unlawful to sell or otherwise dispose of any firearm or ammunition to individuals listed in this database.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2022
Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act This bill addresses issues relating to Tibet, including by establishing a statutory definition of Tibet that includes areas in Chinese provinces outside the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). For the purposes of U.S. policies and activities relating to Tibet, this bill defines Tibet to include the TAR and the Tibetan areas of the Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan provinces. (Generally, when China's government refers to Tibet, it means only the TAR, while Tibetan exile groups consider historical Tibet to include the TAR as well as areas in the provinces included in this bill's definition. China's government formally established the TAR in 1965.) Furthermore, the objectives of the Office of the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues shall include working to ensure that U.S. government statements and documents counter disinformation about Tibet by China's government and the Chinese Communist Party, including disinformation about Tibet's history and institutions. The bill also authorizes the office to take other actions to counter such disinformation. This bill also states that it is U.S. policy that the conflict between Tibet and China is unresolved and that Tibet's legal status remains to be determined in accordance with international law.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2022
Public Health Air Quality Act of 2022 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to take specified actions related to monitoring and improving air quality, including by implementing a program to administer or conduct emissions measurement and quantification, promulgating regulations related to specified source categories, and deploying not fewer than 1,000 air quality sensors.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2022
Tax Filing Simplification Act of 2022 This bill directs the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to establish a free on-line tax preparation and filing service and allows taxpayers to access third-party provided tax return information and information held by the IRS. The bill prohibits the IRS from entering into any agreement that restricts its legal right to provide tax return preparation services or to provide tax return filing services. The bill requires the IRS to establish and operate programs to (1) facilitate claims for the child care and the earned income tax credits, (2) provide software for the preparation and filing of individual income tax returns for taxable years beginning after 2022, (3) allow taxpayers to download third-party provided return information and IRS-held information to their tax returns, and (4) allow taxpayers to elect to have their tax returns prepared by the IRS. The bill also requires verification of taxpayer identity and requires the IRS to conduct an outreach campaign to provide the public with information about this bill's programs and software.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2022
Assuring Medicare’s Promise Act This bill increases net investment income tax revenues by applying such tax to the trade or business income of certain high income taxpayers and includes the increased tax revenues in the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2022
Ensuring Access to Abortion Act of 2022 This bill prohibits anyone acting under state law from interfering with a person's ability to access out-of-state abortion services. ( Abortion services includes the use of any drugs that are approved to terminate pregnancies and any health care services related to an abortion, whether or not provided at the same time or on the same day.) Specifically, the bill prohibits any person acting under state law from preventing, restricting, impeding, or retaliating against health care providers who provide legal abortion services to out-of-state residents, any person or entity who helps health care providers to provide such services, any person who travels to another state to obtain such services, any person or entity who helps another person travel to another state to obtain such services, or the movement in interstate commerce of drugs that are approved to terminate pregnancies. The Department of Justice may enforce this bill through civil actions; the bill also establishes a private right of action for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2022
This bill bars state or local officials from prohibiting or restricting the possession, sale, purchase, transportation, or use of contraceptives (i.e., drugs or devices that are primarily used to prevent pregnancy). Individuals or the Department of Justice may bring civil actions for violations of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 5 July 2022
This resolution condemns the Supreme Court's holding in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (that there is no constitutional right to abortion) and expresses a commitment to instituting judicial reform and supporting access to abortion and the communities affected by the Court's ruling. It also urges the executive branch to advance reproductive justice.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2022
Backlog Justice Act of 2022 This bill requires certain actions to address the backlog of untested sexual assault kits. For example, the bill (1) directs the Bureau of Justice Assistance to establish a publicly accessible online database regarding untested kits, and (2) requires the Department of Justice to provide an increased amount of certain grant funding for states that have in place electronic evidence tracking systems for these kits.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2022
This resolution expresses support for implementing a Transgender Bill of Rights that guarantees certain rights for transgender and nonbinary people with respect to public services and accommodations, employment, housing, health care, and other specified areas.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2022
Emergency Grant Aid for College Students Act This bill directs the Department of Education to establish a grant program for institutions of higher education to provide emergency financial-aid grants to students.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2022
Speak Out Act This bill prohibits the judicial enforceability of a predispute nondisclosure clause or predispute nondisparagement clause in a sexual assault dispute or sexual harassment dispute involving conduct that allegedly violates federal, tribal, or state law.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2022
Telemental Health Parity Act of 2022 This bill requires private health insurance plans to apply benefits for mental health or substance use disorder services that are furnished via telehealth in the same manner as those services that are furnished in person. Under current mental health parity rules, insurance plans that provide benefits for mental health or substance use disorder services are generally required to make those benefits comparable to the benefits the plan provides for medical and surgical care.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2022
This resolution recognizes the significance of the 40th anniversary of Vincent Chin's death and mourns those of have lost their lives to anti-Asian hate. Vincent Chin was killed in a racially motivated assault.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2022
Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act or the SAD Act This bill prohibits advertisements that use deceptive or misleading statements related to the provision of abortion services. Abortion services include (1) surgical and non-surgical procedures to terminate a pregnancy, or (2) providing referrals for such procedures. The Federal Trade Commission must promulgate rules to implement the prohibition, and the bill provides for enforcement by the commission.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2022
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that (1) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) rights are human rights and protected by the U.S. Constitution; (2) LGBTQIA+ Pride Month should be celebrated; and (3) all Americans should be treated equally regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2022
This resolution reaffirms the goals of World Refugee Day and the commitment of the United States to promote the safety and well-being of refugees and asylum seekers.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2022
This resolution celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Federal Pell Grant program and expresses support for the designation of National Federal Pell Grant Day.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2022
My Body, My Data Act of 2022 This bill establishes protections, subject to certain limits, for personal reproductive or sexual health information. This includes information relating to past, present, or future surgeries or procedures, such as the termination of a pregnancy. Specifically, commercial entities, including individuals, nonprofits, and common carriers, may not collect, retain, use, or disclose personal reproductive or sexual health information except (1) with the express written consent of the individual to whom such information relates, or (2) as is strictly necessary to provide a requested product or service. Commercial entities also must provide individuals with access to, and a reasonable mechanism to delete, any of their reproductive or sexual health information upon request. Further, commercial entities must maintain and publish a privacy policy describing their practices with respect to such information. The bill's provisions do not apply to entities that are subject to certain existing health-related privacy regulations, such as the privacy regulations issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Additionally, the provisions do not apply to the disclosure of personal reproductive or sexual health information for the publication of newsworthy information of legitimate public concern. The bill provides for enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission and by private civil actions.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2022
Good Jobs for Good Airports Act This bill addresses pay, benefits, and labor standards for certain airport service workers. Airport service workers include security officers, food service workers, cleaning staff, ticketing agents, and retail service workers. Specifically, the bill establishes a minimum wage and benefit standard for such airport service workers at large, medium, and small hub airports. It also prohibits small, medium, and large hub airports from accessing federal funds for airport development projects unless the airports certify that such airport service workers are paid no less than the higher of $15 per hour, the applicable state or local minimum wage and fringe benefits, or the prevailing wage and fringe benefits required under the Service Contract Act as established by the Department of Labor.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2022
This resolution calls on the President to embrace the goals and provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and make nuclear disarmament the centerpiece of U.S. national security policy. It also calls on the United States to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2022
This resolution recognizes the historical significance to the nation of Juneteenth Independence Day (commemorating the end of slavery in the United States).
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2022
Assault Weapons Excise Act This bill imposes an additional 1000% excise tax on large capacity ammunition feeding devices and semiautomatic assault weapons. It exempts from such additional tax devices and weapons acquired by the United States or by a state or local government.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2022
Social Security Expansion Act This bill increases benefits and certain taxes related to the Social Security program. Changes to benefits include (1) increasing the primary insurance amount for certain beneficiaries; (2) revising the method of calculating cost-of-living adjustments; (3) establishing a new minimum benefit for certain low earners; and (4) allowing certain children of retired, deceased, or disabled workers to receive benefits until age 22 if they are a full-time student. Changes to taxes include (1) increasing the net investment income tax and making active trade or business income subject to this tax; and (2) extending payroll taxes on wages, salaries, and self-employment earnings to income above $250,000 (the maximum amount subject to the Social Security payroll tax is currently $147,000 for 2022). The bill also combines the existing Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund into a single Social Security Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2022
Enhanced Pay for Election Workers Act This bill directs the Election Assistance Commission to establish a program to make payments to states to provide enhanced pay for election workers, including individuals serving as election officials or poll workers on a temporary or unpaid basis.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2022
Ruthie and Connie LGBTQ Elder Americans Act of 2022 This bill addresses matters related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals in certain federal programs serving older Americans, particularly by including an individual's LGBTQ status within the scope of the greatest social needs served by such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2022
This resolution supports access to contraception and related reproductive health services, including by affirming the substantive due process rights that protect such access.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2022
This resolution condemns in the strongest terms the great replacement theory, which it describes as a white supremacist conspiracy theory that has been used to falsely justify racially motivated, violent acts of terrorism domestically and internationally.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2022
Veteran Service Recognition Act of 2022 This bill addresses immigration-related issues pertaining to noncitizen (or non-U.S. national) military veterans, including by authorizing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide lawful permanent resident status to a veteran subject to removal. If a noncitizen veteran appears to be eligible for lawful permanent resident status under this bill, that veteran must receive a reasonable opportunity to apply for such status and may not be removed until there is a final administrative decision on the veteran's eligibility. For the purposes of providing such status under this bill, DHS may waive any applicable grounds of inadmissibility, except for certain crime- or security-related grounds. The bill also extends certain deadlines relating to obtaining citizenship after serving in the Armed Forces. DHS must create a system for identifying noncitizens who are or may be veterans. Before initiating removal proceedings against a noncitizen, DHS must attempt to determine whether the noncitizen is a veteran. DHS must ensure that veteran status is considered in immigration proceedings. The bill also requires U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Defense to take certain actions to facilitate opportunities for military recruits and veterans to obtain U.S. citizenship, such as by training Judge Advocate General Corps members to act as liaisons between the Armed Forces and USCIS on servicemember citizenship applications. The bill also establishes the Military Family Immigration Advisory Committee to provide recommendations on cases involving the removal of a servicemember, veteran, or certain family members of such an individual.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2022
Stay Cool Act This bill addresses risks associated with extreme heat, including through grants and activities that support (1) public preparedness and response to heat emergencies, (2) community-based interventions (e.g., cooling centers), (3) air conditioning and other cooling mechanisms in federally assisted housing, and (4) urban green spaces and vegetation.
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 2022
Protecting Our Kids Act This bill makes various changes to federal firearms laws, including to establish new criminal offenses and to expand the types of weapons and devices that are subject to regulation. Among the changes, the bill generally prohibits the sale or transfer of certain semiautomatic firearms to individuals who are under 21 years of age; establishes new federal criminal offenses for gun trafficking and related conduct; establishes a federal statutory framework to regulate ghost guns (i.e., guns without serial numbers); establishes a framework to regulate the storage of firearms on residential premises at the federal, state, and tribal levels; subjects bump stocks to regulation under federal firearms laws; and generally prohibits the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, and possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices.
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 2022
This joint resolution directs the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities against the Houthis in Yemen within 30 days of the enactment of this joint resolution unless Congress authorizes a later withdrawal date, issues a declaration of war, or specifically authorizes the use of the Armed Forces. Prohibited activities include sharing intelligence or providing logistical support to enable offensive strikes by the coalition led by Saudi Arabia. This joint resolution shall not affect any military operations directed at Al Qaeda or associated forces.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 2022
Affordability is Access Act This bill establishes several requirements relating to health insurance coverage of, and access to, over-the-counter contraceptives. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury to specify that private health insurance plans must cover over-the-counter contraceptives that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), even without a prescription. Under current law, private health insurance plans (with some exceptions) must cover FDA-approved prescription contraceptives, without cost-sharing requirements. The bill also prohibits retailers from interfering with an individual's access to oral contraceptives that are meant for routine, daily use and are FDA-approved for use without a prescription.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2022
Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act This bill limits certain large digital advertising companies from owning multiple types of advertising exchanges or brokerages and imposes certain duties with respect to the interests of the customers of such brokerages. Advertising exchanges and brokerages generally facilitate advertisers and publishers in buying and selling advertising inventory through an automated bidding process. Specifically, companies with more than $20 billion in annual digital advertising revenue are prohibited from owning more than one type of service within the digital advertising marketplace. For example, a company, such as Google, may not own a digital advertising exchange and provide software that assists publishers of online advertisements in selling advertising space on their websites. Additionally, companies with more than $5 billion in annual digital advertising revenue that provide brokerage services to buyers or sellers of digital advertisements must act in the best interest of their brokerage customers. The bill also establishes transparency and privacy requirements for such brokerages. The bill provides for enforcement of these requirements by the Department of Justice, state attorneys general, and private right of action.