Civics Secures Democracy Act This bill provides resources to expand educational programs in American civics and history, including by establishing grant and fellowship programs, reauthorizing various programs, and creating the Civics Secures Democracy Fund. First, the bill authorizes the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to states, qualified nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education (IHEs), and qualified researchers to support and expand access to civics and history education. Next, the bill establishes a fellowship program to diversify the civics and history education workforce. In addition, the bill reauthorizes through FY2027 and revises the American History for Freedom grant program. The bill renames the program as the American Civics and History Education Program. The bill revises the grant program to authorize ED to award grants to IHEs at least once every three years to establish or strengthen academic programs to promote American political thought and history and the history, achievements, and impact of American representative democracy and constitutional democracies globally. IHEs may use grants to support additional activities, such as collaborating with federal or state humanities programs and using open educational resources. Further, the bill revises the Harry S. Truman Memorial Scholarship Trust Fund and the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Trust Fund. The bill requires the National Assessment of Educational Progress in civics and history to be administered every two years to certain grade levels. The bill also establishes the Civics Secures Democracy Fund, through which funds shall be made available to carry out provisions of the bill. The bill transfers certain unobligated COVID relief funds to the fund.
Military Spouse Hiring Act This bill expands the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to include the hiring of a qualified military spouse. (The WOTC permits employers who hire individuals who are members of a targeted group such as qualified veterans, ex-felons, or long-term unemployment recipients to claim a tax credit equal to a portion of the wages paid to those individuals.) A qualified military spouse is any individual who is certified by the designated local agency as being (as of the hiring date) a spouse of a member of the Armed Forces.
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.
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.
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; generally prohibits the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, and possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices; and requires the Department of Justice to report on the demographic data of persons who are determined to be ineligible to purchase a firearm based on a background check performed by the national instant criminal background check system.
Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2022 This bill authorizes and establishes procedures for federal courts to issue federal extreme risk protection orders. Additionally, the bill establishes grants to support the implementation of extreme risk protection order laws at the state and local levels, extends federal firearms restrictions to individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders, and expands related data collection. Extreme risk protection order laws, or red flag laws, generally allow certain individuals (e.g., law enforcement officers or family members) to petition a court for a temporary order that prohibits an at-risk individual from purchasing and possessing firearms. Among its provisions, the bill authorizes a family or household member, or a law enforcement officer, to petition for a federal extreme risk protection order with respect to an individual who poses a risk to themselves or others; directs the Department of Justice to establish a grant program to help states, local governments, Indian tribes, and other entities implement extreme risk protection order laws; extends federal restrictions on the receipt, possession, shipment, and transportation of firearms and ammunition to individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders; and requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to compile records from federal, tribal, and state courts and other agencies that identify individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders.
This resolution recognizes World Oceans Day and affirms the individual and collective duty, both nationally and internationally, to protect, conserve, maintain, and rebuild our oceans and its resources. It also expresses commitment to increasing the investment of federal funds into scientific research and monitoring to better understand the changing oceans, empower the federal government to address and mitigate the effects of the changing climate, and accomplish the goals of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
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.
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.
This resolution recognizes that increased tensions between the United States and China and the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed severe vulnerabilities attributable to overreliance by the United States and other countries on supply chains based solely or mainly in China. The resolution emphasizes that nearshoring in Latin America and the Caribbean, relative to relying on supply chains in other geographic regions, has the greatest potential to contribute to the economic prosperity and security of the United States while also advancing the post-pandemic economic recovery of countries in the Western Hemisphere. Nearshoring is the practice of transferring a business operation to a nearby country, especially in preference to a more distant one. The resolution encourages the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to strengthen programmatic support for initiatives likely to facilitate the relocation of global supply chains to the Western Hemisphere. The resolution also calls for governments in Latin America and the Caribbean to increase opportunities for nearshoring in the region. Finally, the resolution urges the Department of State to take a leading role in advancing nearshoring in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Clean Competition Act This bill creates a carbon border adjustment mechanism to lower greenhouse gas emissions in high-polluting sectors. This mechanism imposes charges on imports from carbon-intensive (e.g., fossil fuels, refined petroleum products, petrochemicals) manufacturers, encourages decarbonization efforts, and funds future research, development, and deployment efforts to achieve a net-zero carbon future. The bill requires annual calculations of carbon intensity, imposes a carbon intensity charge on imports into the United States beginning after 2023, and allows for rebates for overpayments of charges. The bill also establishes a grant program in FY2025 and subsequent fiscal years for investments in new technology to reduce carbon intensity in existing facilities and ensure best-in-class carbon intensity for proposed facilities.
Making Advances in Mammography and Medical Options for Veterans Act This bill addresses the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provision of mammograms and breast cancer treatment. Among other requirements, the VA must submit a strategic plan for improving breast imaging services for veterans; implement a three-year pilot program to provide telescreening mammography services for veterans who live in locations where access to breast imaging services at a VA facility is difficult or unfeasible; upgrade all mammography services at its facilities to use three-dimensional breast imaging; study the availability of access to testing for the breast cancer gene for veterans diagnosed with breast cancer, as recommended by the guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network; update guidelines to increase the use of molecular testing and genetic counseling for veterans diagnosed with breast cancer; study the accessibility of breast imaging services at VA facilities for veterans with paralysis, spinal cord injury or disorder, or another disability; and update its policies and directives to ensure that it confirms the accessibility of a breast imaging site when referring a veteran with a spinal cord injury or disorder to a non-VA provider. The Inspector General of the VA must report to the VA and to Congress on mammography services furnished by the VA. In addition, the VA must enter into a partnership with at least one cancer center of the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health in each Veterans Integrated Service Network to expand access to high-quality cancer care for women veterans. In implementing such partnerships, the VA must ensure that veterans with breast cancer who reside in rural areas or states without a partner cancer center are able to receive care through telehealth. Finally, the VA must collaborate with the Department of Defense and report on all current research and health care collaborations between the departments on treating veterans and members of the Armed Forces with breast cancer.
