Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act of 2022 This bill increases by .5% the excise tax on firearms, including pistols, revolvers, and shells and cartridges. The bill establishes the Gun Violence Prevention Trust Fund into which the increased tax revenues are deposited to fund gun violence prevention programs. The Trust Fund creates separate accounts for violence prevention, gun violence research, hate crimes data collection and enforcement, and firearm forensics. The bill also requires an inflation adjustment to the amount of the special tax on importers, manufacturers, and dealers in firearms and the transfer tax on firearms.
Protect Pregnancy Care Centers Act of 2022 This bill directs the Inspectors General of the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to report to Congress on domestic violent extremism against pregnancy centers. Such report shall include criteria for opening, managing, and closing investigations related to domestic violent extremism; information sharing relating to domestic violent extremism within and between the federal government, state, local, tribal, territorial, and foreign governments, specified congressional committees, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector; all incidents of domestic violent extremism against pregnancy centers from May 1, 2022, through the date of this bill's enactment; and a recommendation as to criteria to be utilized in establishing a potential program to make grants to pregnancy centers for purposes of enabling grantees to prevent, prepare for, protect against, and respond to domestic violent extremism, and a report on current federal programs and federal funding streams available to pregnancy centers for such purposes.
Protecting Kids from Candy-Flavored Drugs Act This bill establishes enhanced criminal penalties for certain federal drug offenses involving the manufacture or distribution of candy-flavored controlled substances or similar products for minors. Specifically, the bill imposes enhanced criminal penalties for a federal drug offense that involves manufacturing, creating, distributing, dispensing, or possessing with intent to distribute a controlled substance listed in schedule I or II that is combined with a candy or drink, marketed to appear similar to a candy or drink, or modified by flavoring or coloring to appear similar to a candy or drink. To be subject to an enhanced penalty, the individual must have knowledge or reasonable cause to believe that the controlled substance will be distributed, dispensed, or sold to an individual who is under 18 years of age.
Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act This bill establishes a new criminal offense for performing or attempting to perform an abortion if the probable gestational age of the fetus is 15 weeks or more. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both. The bill provides exceptions for an abortion (1) that is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, or (2) when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. A physician who performs or attempts to perform an abortion under an exception must comply with specified requirements. A woman who undergoes a prohibited abortion may not be prosecuted for violating or conspiring to violate the provisions of this bill.
Bureaucrats to the Border Act This bill renames the DHS Volunteer Force of the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security as the DHS Mission Support Force. It also requires new employees of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to serve in a 30-day detail with U.S. Customs and Border Protection or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to assist with immigration proceedings at the southern border; the bill applies to new IRS employees who are hired as a result of recent funding increases for IRS enforcement activities.
Protect Children's Innocence Act This bill places restrictions on the provision of gender affirming care. Gender affirming care includes performing surgery, administering medication, or performing other procedures for the purpose of changing the body of an individual to correspond to a sex that differs from the individual's biological sex. Specifically, the bill makes it a felony to perform any gender affirming care on a minor and it permits a minor on whom such care is performed to bring a civil action against each individual who provided the care. Additionally, the bill prohibits the use of federal funds for gender affirming care or for health insurance that covers such care. Such care may not be provided in a federal health care facility or by a federal employee. The bill also prohibits qualified health plans from including coverage for gender affirming care. Further, plans that include coverage for such care are not eligible for federal subsidies. Finally, the bill prohibits institutions of higher education from offering instruction in gender affirming care. It also makes any non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) who performs gender affirming care on a minor deportable and inadmissible to the United States. The restrictions under this bill do not apply to the provision of care under certain circumstances such as when an individual does not have normal sex chromosome structure, sex steroid hormone production, or sex steroid hormone action.
Securing American Classrooms Act of 2022 This bill makes certain funds available to the Department of Justice for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program. It requires a portion of these grants to be made to grant recipients that (1) certify they will use such funds to establish school-based partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and local school systems for school resource officers, and (2) will hire at least one veteran as a school resource officer.
American Confidence in Elections Act or the ACE Act This bill addresses election administration and security, campaign finance, and other related provisions. Among other provisions, the bill reduces certain election assistance payments for states and local jurisdictions that allow noncitizens to vote in state and local elections, establishes certain requirements related to election and political mail, prohibits foreign nationals from making contributions or donations in connection with state or local ballot initiatives or referenda, repeals certain limits on coordinated party expenditures and aggregate contributions by individuals, terminates the Presidential Election Campaign Fund and requires remaining funds to be transferred to the 10-Year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund, and prohibits the use of federal funds to establish a Disinformation Governance Board.
Shall Not Be Infringed Act This bill repeals the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was signed into law on June 25, 2022. The act makes various changes to federal firearms laws, including to expand background check requirements, broaden the scope of existing restrictions, and establish new criminal offenses. The act also reauthorizes, funds, and supports various programs, grants, and activities to promote access to behavioral and mental health services, enhance school safety and security initiatives, and address gun violence in communities.
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.
Justice for American Victims Of Terrorism Act of 2022 This bill requires certain funds seized from Da Afghanistan Bank pursuant to a February 11, 2022, executive order to be transferred to the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund, which provides compensation to certain U.S. persons injured in acts of international state-sponsored terrorism.
Sanctioning Supporters of Slave Labor Act This bill expands existing sanctions on foreign individuals and entities responsible for human rights abuses (e.g., such as torture or forced labor) against members of Muslim minority groups or other persons in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. Specifically, this bill requires sanctions on foreign individuals and entities that knowingly (1) provide material support to the parties subject to the existing sanctions for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, or (2) engage in a significant transaction relating to such human rights abuses.
