United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2022
This joint resolution nullifies the interim final rule issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) titled Reproductive Health Services and published on September 9, 2022. The rule authorizes the VA to provide certain abortion-related care to veterans. The rule also applies to such care provided to beneficiaries covered under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA).
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2022
American Safety And Fairness through Expedited Removal Act of 2022 or the American SAFER Act of 2022 This bill expands the classes of non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) who are subject to expedited removal (i.e., removal from the United States without further hearing or review). Specifically, the bill nullifies a 2004 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that generally limits expedited removal to certain situations, such as for non-U.S. nationals encountered within 14 days of entry into the United States without inspection and within 100 miles of a U.S. international land border. The bill also (1) prohibits DHS from implementing a rule that limits expedited removal based on how far a non-U.S. national was from the border when encountered or apprehended, and (2) modifies the relevant statute to state that expedited removal authority applies regardless of where the non-U.S. national was encountered or apprehended.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2022
250th Anniversary of the United States Marine Corps Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the 250th anniversary of the United States Marine Corps. All surcharges received by Treasury from the sale of such coins must be paid to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation and shall only be used for the purposes of supporting the mission of the Marine Corps Heritage Center.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2022
This resolution calls on President Biden to stop the sale of petroleum products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves and instead prioritize the replenishment of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2022
Stop the Sexualization of Children Act This bill prohibits the presentation of sexually oriented materials to children under the age of 10. The bill defines sexually oriented material as any (1) depiction or description of sexual activity; (2) lewd or lascivious depiction or description of human genitals; or (3) topic involving gender identity, gender dysphoria, transgenderism, sexual orientation, or related subjects. Specifically, the bill prohibits (1) the use of federal funds to develop, implement, facilitate, or fund any sexually oriented program, event, or literature for children under the age of 10; and (2) the use of federal facilities or properties to host or promote such programs, events, or literature. The bill grants a parent or guardian a private right of action against a government official, government agency, or private entity that violates this bill. Additionally, the bill prohibits federal agencies from disbursing federal funds to a government agency or private entity for three fiscal years if the agency or entity has received two or more injunctions for violations of the bill in a five-year period.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2022
Healthcare Freedom Act of 2022 This bill expands the availability of health savings accounts. It renames such accounts as health freedom accounts and allows all individuals to receive increased tax deductions for contributions to such accounts. The term qualified medical expenses is expanded to include costs associated with direct primary care, health care sharing ministries, and medical cost sharing organizations. The bill also excludes employer contributions to health freedom accounts from employee gross income for income tax purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2022
This bill creates a safe harbor for certain perpetual trust funds. It excludes from the definition of investment property under arbitrage provisions any fund created and controlled by a state and established pursuant to its constitution or state law if on a specified date, substantially all of the assets of the fund consist of nonfinancial assets and the assets are used only to support specifically designated essential governmental functions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2022
Preventing Underhanded and Nefarious Iranian Supported Homicides Act of 2022 or the PUNISH Act of 2022 This bill extends sanctions and national emergencies related to Iran established by specified executive orders and limits the authority of the President to waive sanctions related to Iran. The bill requires the Department of State to periodically report whether Iran or any foreign person has supported specified activities, including murder or politically motivated detention in Iran of a U.S. citizen.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2022
TCJA Permanency Act 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 reductions in 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 for 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 limits the deduction for moving expenses to active duty members of the Armed Forces. Additionally, the bill expands the types of elementary and secondary school expenses eligible for payment from qualified tuition programs (529 programs); lowers to $750,000 the amount of mortgage debt eligible for an interest expense tax deduction; reinstates after 2023 the exclusion of income from the gross income of student loan borrowers for loan debt discharged due to death or total and permanent 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 · 9 September 2022
Securing American Acquisitions, Readiness, and Military Stockpiles Act of 2022 or the Securing American ARMS Act of 2022 This bill provides that acquisition procedures other than competitive procedures may be used to (1) replenish United States stockpiles with like defense articles when stockpiles are diminished as a result of the response to an armed attack by a foreign adversary against a U.S. ally or partner, or (2) contract for the movement or delivery of defense articles transferred to such ally or partner through the President's drawdown authorities in connection with such response, provided that the United States is not a party to the hostilities. The head of the applicable agency must provide the congressional defense committees written notification of the use of such procedures within one week after such use.
United States · United States Congress · 26 August 2022
Protecting the Permian Basin Act of 2022 This bill eliminates a program administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that provides incentives for petroleum and natural gas systems to reduce their emissions of methane and other greenhouse gases. It also repeals a charge on methane emissions from specific types of facilities that are required to report their greenhouse gas emissions to the EPA's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Program.
United States · United States Congress · 19 August 2022
Debt Cancellation Accountability Act of 2022 This bill prohibits the Department of Education from providing class-based loan forgiveness unless funds have been specifically requested and appropriated for this purpose. Class-based loan forgiveness refers to the cancellation, waiver, assumption, discharge, reduction, or other forgiveness of any obligation due on Federal Family Education Loans, Federal Direct Loans, or Federal Perkins Loans (1) on a class-wide basis and for a class of two or more loan borrowers, and (2) that totals more than $1 million. The prohibition does not apply to targeted loan forgiveness programs established under the Higher Education Act of 1965 and in effect before the enactment of this bill if the loan forgiveness is granted for a single borrower on a case-by-case basis.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 2022
This resolution remembers the 80th anniversary of the Solomon Islands campaign, including the battles of Guadalcanal and Ironbottom Sound during World War II. The resolution honors the sailors, soldiers, marines, and airmen that made the ultimate sacrifice for the United States and Allies in the Solomon Islands and the Pacific theater. The resolution also recognizes the results of their sacrifice, including over three generations of a democratic Indo-Pacific. Finally, the resolution affirms the critical importance of the U.S. relationship with the Pacific Islands and of U.S.-Pacific Island partnerships to promote democracy, peace, security, and prosperity.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2022
Protecting an Alien child's Reasonable Expectation of No Trafficking Act of 2022 or the PARENT Act of 2022 This bill requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection to transfer custody of an unaccompanied alien child only to the Department of Health and Human Services or the child's parent or legal guardian.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2022
Flores Settlement Update and Establishment Act of 2022 This bill modifies and provides statutory authority for certain policies pertaining to the treatment of minors without lawful immigration status under the Flores settlement and revises certain human trafficking laws. For example, the bill requires each member of a family unit seeking asylum to take a DNA test to verify familial relationships within 72 hours of the family encountering U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2022
Closing Loopholes and Ending Asylum Abuse Act of 2022 This bill imposes restrictions on noncitizens ( aliens under federal law) applying for asylum, authorizes asylum seekers to apply for asylum abroad, and requires applicants to apply abroad in certain instances. For example, the bill requires a refugee's persecution or well-founded fear of persecution to stem from a government (or affiliated entity), whereas currently the persecution does not have to stem from a government. The bill also requires an applicant who passes through another country with a U.S. diplomatic mission that processes asylum claims to apply for asylum while physically in that country.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2022
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 651 Business Interstate Highway 35 North Suite 420 in New Braunfels, Texas, as the "Bob Krueger Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2022
RETURN (Repealing Excise Tax on Unalienable Rights Now) our Constitutional Rights Act of 2022 or the RETURN our Constitutional Rights Act of 2022 This bill repeals the excise taxes on firearms and ammunition and on bows and arrows. It also repeals the excise tax on transferring and making firearms under the National Firearm Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2022
Ensuring Children Receive Support Act This bill requires the Department of State to revoke passports for certain individuals who fail to make child support payments. Under current law, if the Department of Health and Human Services certifies that an individual owes more than $2,500 in child support, the Department of State must refuse to issue the individual a passport and may revoke a previously issued passport. Under the bill, State must revoke the previously issued passport.
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 · 3 May 2022
Emergency Rental Assistance Accountability and Transparency Act of 2022 This bill requires the Office of Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury to conduct monitoring and oversight of the receipt, disbursement, and use of funds made available under the emergency rental assistance program pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and recoup misused funds. The bill provides funding for these activities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2022
Aviator Cancer Examination Study Act or the ACES Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study the incidence and mortality of cancer among individuals who served in the regular or reserve components of the Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps as air crew members of a fixed-wing aircraft or personnel supporting generation of such an aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2022
Gerald's Law Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide a burial and funeral allowance for a veteran who dies from a non-service-connected disability in a home or other setting at which the veteran was receiving VA hospice care (if such care was directly preceded by VA hospital or nursing home care).
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 2022
Protecting Federal Funds from Human Trafficking and Smuggling Act of 2022 This bill prohibits a nonprofit entity from receiving federal funds (and denies a tax exemption) unless the entity certifies compliance with certain federal laws (e.g., laws with respect to human trafficking and smuggling). It also establishes reporting requirements, including that the Government Accountability Office must annually report to Congress on those nonprofit entities that do not certify their compliance with these laws.
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 · 18 February 2022
Integrating New Technologies to Empower Law Enforcement at Our Borders Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to report to Congress a plan to identify and deploy emerging and advanced technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, automation, and optical radar) to achieve greater situational awareness along the northern and southern U.S. borders between ports of entry. The report shall contain information including assessments of (1) how Customs and Border Protection is currently using such technologies, (2) how such technologies can address border security capability gaps, and (3) the cost of acquiring such technologies.
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 · 7 February 2022
This bill requires the military departments to reinstate individuals (upon their request) who were involuntarily separated from the Armed Forces solely based on their refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Such individuals must be reinstated in the grade they held prior to the separation.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2022
Protecting Federal Funds from Human Trafficking and Smuggling Act of 2022 This bill prohibits a nonprofit entity from receiving federal funds unless the entity certifies compliance with certain federal laws (e.g., laws with respect to human trafficking and smuggling). It also establishes reporting requirements, including that the Government Accountability Office must annually report to Congress on those nonprofit entities that do not certify their compliance with these laws.
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
VA Same-Day Scheduling Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that when a veteran enrolled in the VA health care system contacts the VA by telephone to schedule an appointment for care or services at a VA facility, the scheduling for the appointment occurs during that telephone call.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2022
Rescue Endangered SIVs and Citizens and Urgently Evacuate to Safety Act of 2022 or the RESCUES Act of 2022 This bill requires reports on issues related to the evacuation of Afghanistan, specifically the evacuation of (1) U.S. nationals and lawful permanent residents, (2) nationals of Afghanistan who have received or applied for a special immigrant visa, and (3) nationals of Afghanistan who are eligible for certain levels of priority under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The Department of State must report to Congress on State Department funding provided to nongovernmental entities for evacuating such individuals. The report must include funding provided from August 15, 2021, to the date that is 180 days after this bill's enactment. The State Department must also report to Congress on the State Department's methods to prevent waste, fraud, abuse, or diversion to unintended beneficiaries of funding provided to a nongovernmental entity for evacuating such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2021
Providing Our Law Enforcement with Adequate Resources for a Response Act or the POLAR Response Act This bill includes a polar vortex as a major disaster for which a declaration of a state of emergency can be made and provides a definition for a disaster-related emergency for purposes of the Department of Defense (DOD) excess personal property program (therefore authorizing DOD to transfer certain personal property for a polar vortex emergency).
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2021
Answer COVID FOIAs Now Act This bill addresses pending Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests related to COVID-19. Specifically, the bill requires each federal agency, within 100 calendar days, to complete all pending FOIA requests related to a drug or medical device to prevent, diagnose, mitigate, or treat COVID-19; gain-of-function or potential pandemic pathogen research; or a policy, rule, or standard requiring COVID-19 vaccination of individuals. For each calendar day on which any applicable FOIA request remains pending, the Department of the Treasury must transfer $1 million from the appropriations account of the office of the head of the agency to the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program of the Health Resources and Services Administration. A person submitting such a request shall be deemed to have demonstrated a compelling need for expedited processing.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2021
Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2021 This bill modifies definitions relating to homeless individuals and homeless children or youth as used by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to verify eligibility for HUD homeless assistance programs, including the Continuum of Care program. Specifically, the bill aligns these terms with the definitions of homeless used to verify eligibility for other federal assistance programs. The definitions are also amended to increase access to federal homeless programs by homeless children, youth, and families. Additionally, the community-wide homeless management information system shall be made available to the public on HUD's website.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2021
FDIC Board Accountability Act This bill revises provisions related to the board of directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Specifically, the bill removes the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from the board as a voting member and requires the appointment of an individual with demonstrated primary experience working in or supervising small depository institutions. Further, the bill limits the term length of a board member to twelve years.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2021
Continuing Robust and Uninhibited Drilling and Exporting Act or the CRUDE Act This bill limits the President's authority to restrict the export of crude oil from the United States. Currently, the President may restrict the export of oil for up to a year if the President declares a national emergency; the restrictions apply to countries, persons, or organizations for reasons of national security; or the Department of Commerce finds and reports to the President that the export of crude oil has caused sustained material oil supply shortages or sustained oil prices significantly above world market levels and those shortages or price increases have caused or are likely to cause sustained material adverse employment effects. However, this bill only allows the President to make such restrictions if the restrictions apply to countries, persons, or organizations for reasons of national security; or the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and Commerce jointly make those findings and report them to the President and Congress.
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 · 7 December 2021
Common Sense Standards for Visa Applicants Act This bill provides statutory authority for a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) final rule published August 14, 2019, that made it more likely that an alien will not qualify for lawful permanent resident status due to their potential future use of public benefits. (DHS rescinded the rule in 2021.)
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.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2021
Parents Bill of Rights Act This bill outlines various rights of parents and guardians regarding the elementary or secondary school education of their children. Among other requirements, the bill (1) directs local educational agencies to publicly post the curriculum for each elementary and secondary school grade level; and (2) requires schools to notify parents and guardians of their rights, including the right to review the school's curriculum and budget.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2021
Fairness for Federal Contractors Act of 2021 This bill prohibits executive agencies from requiring contractors to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to study the degree to which Executive Order 14042 (Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors) caused disruptions to federal contracts, supply chains, and transportation systems.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2021
This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Labor emergency temporary standard for preventing the transmission of COVID-19 in employment settings. Under the standard issued on November 5, 2021, employers with 100 or more employees must require their onsite employees to either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2021
Dual Credit Innovation Act This bill directs the Department of Education to annually recognize with a Dual Credit Innovation Award eligible partnerships between an institution of higher education (IHE) that provides a dual credit program and a local educational agency or high school. The bill defines dual credit program as a program offered by such a partnership through which a secondary school student who has not graduated from high school with a regular high school diploma is able to enroll in one or more postsecondary courses and earn postsecondary credit that (1) is transferable to the IHE in the partnership, and (2) applies toward completion of a degree or recognized educational credential.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2021
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1304 4th Avenue in Canyon, Texas, as the "Gary James Fletcher Post Office Building."
