Sen. John Thune

China Trade Cheating Restitution Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to deposit into special accounts certain interest earned on antidumping and countervailing duties collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on or after October 1, 2000. Currently, the applicable date is October 1, 2014. Amounts in special accounts are distributed to affected domestic producers.

This resolution designates March 24, 2022, as National Women in Agriculture Day. It also recognizes the important role of women in agriculture as producers, educators, leaders, mentors, and more

Home-Based Telemental Health Care Act of 2022 This bill establishes a grant program to fund demonstration projects to provide mental health services to medically underserved individuals in rural areas or in the farming, fishing, and forestry industries. Specifically, the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth within the Health Resources and Services Administration must award grants to public or nonprofit telemental health provider networks to deliver, and evaluate the impact of, home-based telemental services for such individuals. The office must coordinate activities with the Rural Health Liaison of the Department of Agriculture.

Housing Supply Expansion Act This bill modifies the federal prevailing wage rates that apply to federally assisted housing and requires the Department of Labor to review and revise its process for determining prevailing wage rates. Specifically, the bill applies the prevailing wage rate for residential construction to all housing projects that receive assistance under specified federal statutes. (Under current law, the residential construction prevailing wage rate applies to the construction, alteration, or repair of single-family homes or apartment buildings up to four floors in height.)

Pretrial Release Reporting Act This bill requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics to submit a report to Congress on individuals who are granted bail or pretrial release from state courts and are charged with violent felony offenses (e.g., murder or rape).

This joint resolution nullifies the rule titled Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Updating Payment Parameters, Section 1332 Waiver Implementing Regulations, and Improving Health Insurance Markets for 2022 and Beyond , which was issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Department of the Treasury on September 27, 2021. The rule expands the open enrollment period for individual health coverage and rescinds the previous interpretation of certain requirements relating to Section 1332 waivers (also known as State Innovation Waivers or State Relief and Empowerment Waivers).

Conservation Reserve Program Improvement Act of 2022 This bill revises the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) of the Farm Service Agency. The CRP is a land conservation program that provides an annual rental payment to farmers in exchange for farmers removing environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and planting species that will improve environmental health and quality. Specifically, the bill establishes a continuous enrollment procedure for the conservation reserve of land that will be enrolled under the state acres for wildlife enhancement initiative; provides federal cost sharing payments for the establishment of grazing infrastructure on all CRP contracts and practices, if grazing is included in the conservation plan and addresses a resource concern; and increases the CRP annual rental payment limitation from $50,000 to $125,000.

Employee Rights Act This bill makes various changes with respect to the collective bargaining process and labor relations. For example, the bill permits an employer to refuse to collectively bargain with a union within 90 days prior to the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement if the employer receives evidence that the majority of the employees in the bargaining unit do not support the union. The bill requires support from a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit (not just a majority of the employees voting) when electing union representation. The bill also requires unions to provide bargaining unit employees with the right to vote by secret ballot, including when voting whether to engage in a strike or refusal to work. Further, union dues, fees, assessments, and other contributions may be used for only collective bargaining or contract administrative functions. Additionally, the bill establishes a process for nullifying executive orders that the Office of Management and Budget determines are likely to result in an employer ordering a plant closure or mass layoff.

CHIP School Behavioral Health Incentive Act This bill excludes expenditures relating to initiatives for school behavioral health services from the administrative spending cap under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Currently, states may use up to 10% of their total federal CHIP expenditures on outreach, health services initiatives, and certain other activities (i.e., nonbenefit expenditures). The bill excludes health services initiatives relating to school behavioral health services from this limitation; expenditures for these and other nonbenefit expenditures may not exceed 15% of total expenditures.

Maddy summarySRES 545 is a symbolic Senate resolution designating the week beginning March 13, 2022, as "National Tribal Colleges and Universities Week." It directly recognizes 35 accredited Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) serving over 230 federally recognized tribes across 15 states. The resolution calls on the public and organizations to observe the week with activities supporting TCUs, which provide culturally grounded education, open enrollment, and workforce preparation in underserved communities. This is a non-binding commemorative measure with no new policy or funding changes.