Peace Corps Reauthorization Act of 2022 This bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and modifies operations of the Peace Corps. Changes include increasing the readjustment allowance paid to volunteers when their service terminates and providing statutory authority for an executive order that grants returned volunteers noncompetitive eligibility for federal civil-service positions. Additionally, the bill entitles returned volunteers to sixty days of health care benefits. The Peace Corps must also provide volunteers with information about enrolling in U.S. health plans before service termination and mental health care during and after service. The bill also includes provisions to address involuntary termination of Peace Corps service in emergencies, including by expediting re-enrollment of involuntarily terminated volunteers. The Peace Corps must also adequately insure volunteers' safety and must coordinate with the Department of State to periodically update agreements concerning the security of Peace Corps volunteers and staff abroad. The bill also authorizes Peace Corps to recruit domestically based volunteers to serve in the United States at the request of another agency or to provide services in a host country virtually, modifies the Peace Corps National Advisory Council's membership and functions, expands whistleblower protections for volunteers, increases the rate of pay that applies to a volunteer's workers compensation claim, requires Peace Corps to implement a zero tolerance drug use policy regarding volunteer involvement with illegal drugs, and emphasizes the use of the internet in Peace Corps programs. Furthermore, the bill requires reporting, including on the provision of mental health services to volunteers.
Continued Rapid Ohia Death Response Act of 2022 This bill establishes requirements to research and control the fungus Ceratocystis, known as Rapid Ohia Death, which has killed more than a million native trees in Hawaii.
Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Enhancement Act This bill directs the Transportation Security Administration to issue or update guidance to minimize the risk for contamination of breast milk, baby formula, purified deionized water for infants, and juice (as well as ice packs, freezer packs, frozen gel packs and other accessories required to cool breast milk, baby formula, and juice) that is subject to re-screening or additional screening, including by ensuring adherence to hygienic standards.
Agricultural Management Assistance Modernization Act of 2022 This bill revises the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's education and agricultural risk management assistance program. The bill expands the targets of the program to include crop insurance providers, allows nonprofit organizations to receive grants, and allows grantees to use financial assistance for soil health improvements, among other uses.
Whistleblower Protection Improvement Act of 2021 This bill establishes, modifies, and expands certain whistleblower protections for federal employees, including with respect to petitions to Congress, whistleblower identity, and protected disclosures. For example, the bill prohibits personnel action against employees who exercise their right to petition or furnish information to Congress and specifically precludes the President, Members of Congress, members of the uniformed services, and other federal employees from interfering with this right. It also generally prohibits employees from disclosing the identity of whistleblowers to individuals outside of the government and allows the Inspector General to determine whether to investigate a referral if the referral is found to have been made in retaliation for whistleblowing activity. Employees may request corrective action from the Merit Systems Protection Board with respect to such prohibited practices and may file an action in court if the board does not render a final decision within 180 days of a request. The bill also expands the list of recipients to whom an employee may make a protected disclosure to include a supervisor in the employee's direct chain of command. It also includes personnel actions involving furloughs of more than 14 days but less than 30 days, and furloughs of 13 days or less that are not due to funding lapses, as appealable adverse actions that are subject to certain procedural requirements.
Patient Advocate Tracker Act This act requires the Office of Patient Advocacy within the Veterans Health Administration to establish an information technology system that allows veterans or their representatives to electronically file a complaint with a patient advocate and review the status of a filed complaint.
Women's Business Centers Improvement Act of 2022 This bill reauthorizes the Women's Business Center Program through FY2026, 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.
Impact Aid Infrastructure Act This bill authorizes additional Impact Aid construction grants for FY2022. These grants provide infrastructure assistance to local educational agencies that have lost property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt federal property or to those that have experienced increased expenditures due to enrollment of federally connected children (e.g., children living on Indian lands or military bases).
Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act of 2021 This bill requires certain issuers of securities to disclose the racial, ethnic, and gender composition of their boards of directors and executive officers, as well as the status of any of those directors and officers as a veteran. It also requires the disclosure of any plan to promote racial, ethnic, and gender diversity among these groups. The Securities and Exchange Commission must establish a Diversity Advisory Group to report on strategies to increase gender, racial, and ethnic diversity among board members.
Indo-Pacific Engagement Act This bill requires the Department of State to, in coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development, report annually to Congress an assessment of the resources and activities needed to achieve certain U.S. objectives in the Indo-Pacific region, such as enhancing diplomatic and economic relations with regional allies and partners and countering any malign influence of China's government.
Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2022 This bill establishes several requirements and standards relating to prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Specifically, MA plans must (1) establish an electronic prior authorization program that meets specified standards, including the ability to provide real-time decisions in response to requests for items and services that are routinely approved; (2) annually publish specified prior authorization information, including the percentage of requests approved and the average response time; and (3) meet other standards, as set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, relating to the quality and timeliness of prior authorization determinations.
Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act or the SOS Campus Act This bill requires an institution of higher education receiving federal financial-aid funds to designate an independent advocate for campus sexual assault prevention and response.
