United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2022
International Violence Against Women Act of 2022 This bill requires a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. The bill establishes in the Department of State an Office of Global Women's Issues, which shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues. The Ambassador-at-Large shall (1) coordinate U.S. government efforts regarding gender equality and the advancement of women and girls in foreign policy, and (2) develop or update periodically a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. The bill establishes in the U.S. Agency for International Development the position of Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment who shall coordinate policies, programs, and funding regarding gender equality and women's empowerment.
United States · United States Congress · 2 September 2022
Expanding the Voluntary Opportunities for Translations in Elections Act or the Expanding the VOTE Act This bill expands access to voting materials for individuals with limited proficiency in the English language, including by establishing incentive grants for states and political subdivisions to provide translated voting materials. Additionally, the bill directs the Government Accountability Office to study the impact of (1) reducing the threshold requirement under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and (2) expanding the definition of language minorities to include native speakers of additional languages.
United States · United States Congress · 9 August 2022
Afghan Adjustment Act This bill expands eligibility for special immigrant visas to certain Afghan nationals (and accompanying spouse and children) and addresses related issues. The Department of Homeland Security may provide such visas to Afghan nationals who provided qualifying service as a member of the Afghan Air Force or other specified entities and meet eligibility requirements, such as passing a background check. Currently, special immigrant visas for Afghan nationals are generally only available to those who were employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Afghanistan. Such visas shall also be available to an Afghan national who is a qualifying relative of a veteran or member of the U.S. Armed Forces. The bill also modifies procedures for providing lawful permanent resident status to certain classes of Afghan nationals, such as by (1) providing a streamlined process with specified vetting requirements for certain individuals, including those who provided support to the U.S. government in Afghanistan; and (2) preserving the eligibility of certain battered spouses whose eligibility for such status stemmed from a marriage that has terminated. Furthermore, the Department of State (1) must respond to inquiries from Members of Congress about specific applications from Afghan nationals seeking special immigrant or refugee status; and (2) establish an office in Afghanistan to perform certain tasks, such as issuing visas, if no U.S. embassies are operational in Afghanistan. The President must establish a task force to develop and implement a strategy to assist Afghan nationals who qualify for admission to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2022
Bicameral Congressional Trade Authority Act of 2022 This bill requires congressional approval for a presidential import adjustment due to a national security threat from an import related to military equipment, energy resources, or critical infrastructure essential to national security. Specifically, the bill requires the President to submit a proposal to Congress, which Congress may approve by a joint resolution. Under current law, the President determines whether any adjustment of an import is necessary and must submit to Congress the reasons for any action taken or not taken. The Department of Defense (currently, the Department of Commerce) must investigate the effect of these imports on national security. The bill retroactively applies to any proposed action made four years before enactment of this bill. In general, any rate of duty modification occurring in the time period beginning six years before and ending the day before enactment of this bill must revert to the previous rate unless it receives congressional approval.
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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · 17 June 2022
This resolution recognizes the exemplary service of the soldiers of the 30th Infantry Division of the Army, known as "Old Hickory," during World War II.
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 · 15 June 2022
This resolution expresses that the House of Representatives supports the designation of National Tire Safety Week; expresses strong support for the goals and ideals of National Tire Safety Week and efforts to reduce tire-related accidents, fatalities, and injuries; and encourages the people of the United States to participate in National Tire Safety Week events and activities and educate themselves and others on the importance of regularly inspecting and maintaining a vehicle's tires.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2022
This resolution declares gun violence to be a public health crisis. It also urges the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expand research and data collection on preventing gun violence and the Surgeon General to report on firearm injuries and violence prevention.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2022
This bill modifies the definition of water heater , otherwise revises energy conservation standards, and sets forth labeling requirements for water heaters. In addition, it directs the Department of Energy to determine whether electric storage water heaters should possess demand response capabilities.
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
Keep Infant Formula Safe and On the Shelves Act of 2022 This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to periodically inspect infant formula manufacturing facilities and addresses related issues. The FDA must periodically conduct inspections, including unannounced inspections, of infant formula manufacturer facilities. If the FDA makes a notable regulatory finding at such a facility, the manufacturer must undergo a comprehensive food safety audit that includes a root cause analysis, enhanced testing, and comprehensive environmental samples. A manufacturer of infant formula or essential medical food must notify the FDA no later than five business days after becoming aware of circumstances that could lead to a shortage of the relevant product in the United States. Further, the FDA must create and annually update a list of U.S. manufacturing facilities that could be converted to manufacture infant formula during a shortage. In the event of a shortage, the FDA may require infant formula manufacturers to provide certain information, such as the quantity of formula in a manufacturer's inventory. The bill also establishes under statute that food, including infant formula, is a critical material essential to the national defense and therefore subject to authorities under the Defense Production Act of 1950. (Such authorities authorize the President to take various actions, such as requiring businesses to prioritize certain government contracts and incentivizing the domestic industrial base to expand the production of critical materials.) The Occupational Safety and Health Administration must issue a fact sheet and provide technical assistance to infant formula manufacturers to promote compliance with occupational health and safety standards.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2022
Military Access to Reproductive Care and Health for Military Servicemembers Act or the MARCH for Military Servicemembers Act This bill repeals the restriction on utilizing Department of Defense funds and facilities for performing abortions. The restriction only allows such funds and facilities to be used for abortions in cases of rape, incest, or where the mother's life is endangered.
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 · 27 May 2022
Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail Act This bill designates the Benton MacKaye Trail as the Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail and adds the trail to the National Trails System. This trail extends approximately 287 miles across Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2022
Pride in Mental Health Act This bill expands programs that prevent and treat child abuse and neglect to address issues facing youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, nonbinary, or gender-variant members of indigenous communities (e.g., Two Spirit). Specifically, these programs include (1) research and reporting requirements, (2) providing technical assistance, (3) grants to states and local agencies to train child-welfare personnel, and (4) community-based prevention-service grants. The bill also establishes a grant program to provide mental and behavioral health resources for such youth, including trauma-informed care.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2022
Sexual Harassment Independent Investigations and Prosecution Act This bill provides for the inclusion of sexual harassment as an offense subject to the authority of special trial counsel under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and sets forth requirements related to independent investigations of sexual harassment under the UCMJ.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2022
This resolution recognizes that Black women are experiencing high, disproportionate rates of maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States and that Black Maternal Health Week is an opportunity to deepen the national conversation about Black maternal health.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2022
Prohibit Wildlife Killing Contests Act of 2022 This bill makes it unlawful for any persons, except as provided below, to organize, sponsor, conduct, or participate in wildlife killing contests on public lands. This bill shall not apply to field trials, wildlife killing contests that exclusively target ungulates (e.g., deer) or birds of the orders Galliformes (e.g., turkeys) or Anatidae (e.g., ducks), or lethal control actions by state or federal agencies that target wildlife classified as invasive by the National Invasive Species Information Center.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2022
Supply Chain Disruptions Relief Act This bill modifies the treatment of liquidations of new motor vehicle inventory as qualified LIFO (last in first out accounting method) inventory. It allows new motor vehicle dealers to elect to wait until the end of 2025 to replace their inventory for purposes of determining income attributable to the sale of such inventory during 2020 and 2021.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2022
Access for Veterans to Records Act This bill directs the Office of the Archivist of the United States to submit to Congress a plan for reducing the backlog of requests for records from the National Personnel Records Center. Such plan must include (1) target time frames to reduce the backlog, (2) a detailed plan for improving the information technology infrastructure to prevent future backlogs, and (3) actions to improve customer service for requesters.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2022
Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Reauthorization Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2027 multiple suicide prevention programs and related activities with a particular focus on youth and young adults. Specifically, the bill reauthorizes grants for statewide or tribal youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies and for mental health and substance use disorder services for college students, a working group tasked with developing a plan to carry out a public education campaign concerning access to and reducing stigma associated with mental health services at institutions of higher education, and a suicide prevention resource center that provides training and other resources regarding suicide prevention among all ages.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2022
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to prohibit the Constitution from being construed to forbid Congress or the states from (1) imposing reasonable viewpoint-neutral limitations on private campaign contributions or independent election expenditures; or (2) enacting systems of public campaign financing, including those designed to restrict the influence of private wealth by offsetting campaign spending or independent expenditures with increased public funding.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2022
Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act This bill expands Medicare coverage to permanently include services provided by a pharmacist, including incidental services and supplies, related to testing, drug regimens, and vaccines for COVID-19, influenza, and certain other illnesses. Specifically, the bill provides for continued coverage of pharmacist services relating to testing and vaccines for COVID-19 and influenza, as well as coverage of testing for respiratory syncytial virus and streptococcal pharyngitis (i.e., strep throat) and the initiation of drug regimens that are used to treat COVID-19, influenza, or strep throat. It also generally provides for coverage of pharmacist services during a public health emergency or to address health equity. A pharmacist, or the facility with which the pharmacist is contracted or employed, may present a claim for reimbursement of 85% (or 100% during a declared emergency) of the applicable amount. A pharmacist may not bill an individual for such a service other than for the applicable deductible or coinsurance amounts.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2022
Federal Contracting for Peace and Security Act This bill requires executive agencies to terminate their contracts with companies conducting business operations in Russia. This requirement ends when Russia takes steps to restore the safety, sovereignty, and condition of Ukraine. The bill shall not apply to the procurement of products or services for (1) the benefit, either directly or through the efforts of regional allies, of Ukraine; or (2) humanitarian purposes to meet basic human needs. The bill provides for a waiver where in the national interest of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2022
This resolution expresses that the House of Representatives declares its gratitude on behalf of the people of the United States to the journalists and news staff who continue to put themselves in harm's way to report on the humanitarian crisis and ongoing war on the ground in Ukraine following Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine; and honors the contributions of journalists and news staff reporting from the war in Ukraine as essential in the ongoing struggle for the rights of a free press and free speech internationally, pivotal in pushing back against false propaganda by tyrants, and crucial to informing Americans and the world of the horrors being wrought against the Ukrainian people.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2022
Honoring Harriet Tubman Act This bill requires the Joint Committee on the Library to obtain a statue of Harriet Tubman and place the statue in a suitable permanent location in National Statuary Hall.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2022
Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act of 2022 This bill expands the scope of the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant to include research and activities to prevent stillbirths.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2022
Green Postal Service Fleet Act of 2022 This bill prohibits the U.S. Postal Service from carrying out the contract with Oshkosh Defense for the procurement of postal delivery vehicles unless each purchase is at least 75% electric or zero-emission vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2022
Stopping Harmful Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution Act of 2022 or the SHIELD Act of 2022 This bill establishes a new criminal offense related to the distribution of intimate visual depictions. Specifically, it makes it a crime to knowingly distribute (or intentionally threaten to distribute) an intimate visual depiction of an individual (1) with knowledge of or reckless disregard for the individual's lack of consent and reasonable expectation of privacy, and (2) without a reasonable belief that distributing the depiction touches a matter of public concern. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to two years for each individual victim depicted, or both.
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
Election Worker and Polling Place Protection Act This bill addresses certain protections for election workers and polling places. In particular, the bill prohibits, with enhanced penalties for certain types of threats and harms (1) intimidation of poll watchers, election officials, and election agents, vendors, and contractors involving violence or threats of harm; and (2) physical damage to or threats to physically damage a polling place, tabulation center, or other election infrastructure.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2022
Nonprofit Security Grant Program Improvement Act of 2022 This bill modifies the Nonprofit Security Grant Program of the Department of Homeland Security and reauthorizes appropriations for such program through FY2028. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must establish an office, headed by a senior FEMA official, to administer the program. Office responsibilities include those related to outreach, engagement, education, and technical assistance. FEMA must also publish grant guidelines and may prohibit states from closing application processes prior to the publication of the guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2022
Original Black History Month Resolution of 2022 This resolution recognizes the importance of commemorating Black History Month to acknowledge the achievements of Black Americans throughout history.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2022
This bill authorizes the Thomas Paine Memorial Association to establish a commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia in honor of the philosopher and patriot, Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine is best known for writing Common Sense , a pamphlet that helped to inspire the Revolutionary War. The establishment of the commemorative work shall be in accordance with the Commemorative Works Act. Federal funds may not be used to pay any expense to establish the commemorative work.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2022
America's Call To Improve Opportunities Now for National Service Act or the ACTION for National Service Act This bill (1) converts the Corporation for National and Community Service into the AmeriCorps Administration and revises its membership, leadership, and authority; (2) reauthorizes programs carried out by the administration; (3) establishes a National Service Foundation to accept and administer gifts on behalf of the administration; (4) modifies the calculation of national service educational awards; and (5) otherwise modifies provisions related to national and volunteer service programs. Additionally, the bill creates an interagency Civilian Climate Corps, operated by the administration, to conduct service projects addressing climate change.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2022
This resolution calls on the Senate to remove the name of Richard B. Russell from the Russell Senate Office Building and revert to the building's original name—the Old Senate Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2022
This concurrent resolution condemns violence and threats of violence against historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and reaffirms the federal government's commitment to combating violence against HBCU students, faculty, and staff. The concurrent resolution also recognizes Black History Month.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2022
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the proposed constitutional amendment known as the Equal Rights Amendment has been duly proposed by Congress and ratified by the states and is therefore valid as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. (The proposed amendment prohibits the United States or any state from denying or abridging equal rights under the law on account of sex.)
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2022
Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2022 This bill addresses federal information security management, notification and remediation of cybersecurity incidents, and the roles of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). CISA must perform, on an ongoing and continuous basis, assessments of federal risk posture. The bill requires evaluation by each agency of whether additional cybersecurity procedures are appropriate at least once every three years. An agency, as expeditiously as practicable and without unreasonable delay, and within 45 days after it has a reasonable basis to conclude that a breach has occurred, must (1) determine whether notice to any individual potentially affected by the breach is appropriate based on a risk assessment; and (2) as appropriate, provide written notice to each individual potentially affected. Notification may be delayed under specified circumstances. Each agency must provide any information relating to a major incident to CISA, the OMB, the Office of the National Cyber Director, the agency's office of inspector general, the Government Accountability Office, and Congress. An agency's contractors and grant recipients must notify the agency of an incident involving federal information within a specified time frame. Each agency shall develop training for individuals at the agency with access to federal information or information systems on how to identify and respond to an incident. CISA must establish a program to provide ongoing, hypothesis-driven threat-hunting services on the network of each agency. The bill establishes specified pilot programs to enhance federal cybersecurity.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2022
Women's Business Centers Improvement Act of 2022 This bill reauthorizes the Women's Business Center Program through FY2025, raises the cap on individual center grants, establishes an accreditation program for grant recipients, and revises the duties of the Office of Women's Business Ownership. Specifically, the bill modifies the Women's Business Center Program to enable the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide initial and continuation grants to eligible entities to operate women's business centers for the benefit of women-owned small businesses. The SBA must also publish standards for a program to accredit entities that receive grants from the Women's Business Center Program, and such entities' receipt of continuation grants shall be contingent upon their obtaining accreditation.
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 · 12 January 2022
Comprehensive Resources for Entrepreneurs in the Arts to Transform the Economy Act of 2022 or the CREATE Act of 2022 This bill expands financial assistance for, and establishes measures to support, the creative economy and art entrepreneurs. Specifically, the bill requires (1) the Small Business Administration to develop loan criteria, evaluation procedures, and technical assistance programs for small business concerns that are owned by artists and support the creative economy; and (2) the Department of Commerce to ensure that traditional economic development tools, such as business incubators and grant programs, support the arts industry and creative economy.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2022
Masks for All Act of 2022 This bill directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to manufacture and distribute N-95 respirator masks to every individual in the United States and to provide N-95 masks to all individuals working in health care settings in the United States that are experiencing a shortage of such masks. FEMA must provide the masks at no cost to individuals and deliver them, to the greatest extent possible, using the U.S. Postal Service. Additionally, FEMA shall designate mask pickup sites in each community and shall provide masks to each site, allocated according to population; consider new designs for masks to improve comfort, fit, and size options; and submit to Congress a strategic plan that includes monthly, measurable targets to eliminate shortages and increase domestic production of N-95 masks and to fulfill all other requirements of this bill. The President shall make use of any and all available authorities (including emergency authorities) at the disposal of the federal government to procure and domestically manufacture N-95 masks and support the domestic manufacturing of N-95 masks.
