Rep. James A. Himes

This bill authorizes the government of France to establish a commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia to honor the contributions of Jean Monnet in restoring peace between European nations and establishing the European Union. Such government shall be responsible for the acceptance of contributions for, and the payment of the expenses of, the establishment and maintenance of the commemorative work. Federal funds may not be used to pay any expense for the establishment of the commemorative work. The commemorative work shall be established in accordance with the Commemorative Works Act, with exceptions.

VA Employee Fairness Act of 2021 This bill repeals provisions excluding any matter or question concerning professional conduct or competence; peer review; or the establishment, determination, or adjustment of employee compensation from the applicability of collective bargaining rights for Veterans Health Administration employees.

Equal Access to Green cards for Legal Employment Act of 2022 or the EAGLE Act of 2022 This bill modifies requirements related to employment-based visas and addresses related issues. The bill increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% of the total number of such visas available that year to 15% and eliminates the per-country cap for employment-based immigrant visas. The bill establishes transition rules for employment-based visas such as (1) reserving a percentage of EB-2 (workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability) and EB-3 (skilled and other workers) visas for individuals not from the two countries with the largest number of recipients of such visas, and (2) allotting a number of visas for professional nurses and physical therapists. The bill imposes additional requirements on an employer seeking an H-1B visa, such as prohibiting (1) an employer from advertising that a position is only open to H-1B applicants or that H-1B applicants are preferred, and (2) certain employers from having more than half of their employees as nonimmigrant visa workers. The Department of Labor shall create a publicly available website where an employer seeking an H-1B visa must post certain information about the open position. The bill also expands Labor's authority to review and investigate H-1B applications for fraud or misrepresentations. The bill also allows certain aliens to obtain lawful permanent resident status if the alien (1) is in the United States as a nonimmigrant, (2) has an approved immigrant visa petition, and (3) has waited at least two years for a visa.

Respect for Marriage Act This act provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages. Specifically, the act replaces provisions that define, for purposes of federal law, marriage as between a man and a woman and spouse as a person of the opposite sex with provisions that recognize any marriage between two individuals that is valid under state law. (The Supreme Court held that the current provisions were unconstitutional in United States v. Windsor in 2013.) The act also replaces provisions that do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states with provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. (The Supreme Court held that state laws barring same-sex marriages were unconstitutional in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015; the Court held that state laws barring interracial marriages were unconstitutional in Loving v. Virginia in 1967.) The act allows the Department of Justice to bring a civil action and establishes a private right of action for violations. The act does not (1) affect religious liberties or conscience protections that are available under the Constitution or federal law, (2) require religious organizations to provide goods or services to formally recognize or celebrate a marriage, (3) affect any benefits or rights that do not arise from a marriage, or (4) recognize under federal law any marriage between more than two individuals.

This concurrent resolution commends the bravery, courage, and resolve of the women and men of Iran who are (1) participating in the current protests to defend their fundamental human rights, and (2) risking their safety to speak out against the human rights abuses committed by the Iranian regime. The resolution condemns (1) the brutal beating and death of Mahsa Amini; and (2) the violent suppression by the Iranian regime of women and men participating in the current demonstrations, including children, and calls for transparent accountability for all killings of protesters by Iranian security forces. Finally, the resolution encourages continued efforts by the Biden Administration to respond to the protests, including the recent sanctioning of the Iranian morality police.

Stop Transnational Repression Act This bill establishes a new criminal offense related to transnational repression (e.g., activities of foreign governments to harass, intimidate, or coerce individuals in the United States).

End Tuberculosis Now Act of 2022 This bill authorizes actions, including the provision of international assistance, to combat tuberculosis. The President may provide international assistance for the prevention, treatment, control, and elimination of tuberculosis. The President must also establish goals for U.S. efforts to detect, cure, and prevent all forms of tuberculosis globally by updating the U.S. Government Tuberculosis Strategy (2015-2019) and the National Action Plan for Combating Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis. The Government Accountability Office must periodically report to Congress on the impact of efforts to combat tuberculosis that are supported by U.S. bilateral assistance.

The Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act of 2022 This bill reauthorizes through FY2027, increases funding for, and modifies the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. This program supports home visits for expectant and new parents who live in communities that are at-risk for poor maternal and child health outcomes. Changes to the program include setting out requirements for allocating program funds; increasing the percentage of funds reserved for tribal entities; establishing a publicly available dashboard that reports program outcomes; requiring activities to reduce unnecessary data collection, reporting, and other administrative requirements of the program; and allowing for virtual home visits (provided certain conditions are met). The bill also reduces funding for the Medicare Improvement Fund.

This resolution condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a weapon of warfare. It also calls on the U.S. government to prioritize diplomatic efforts to call out and address instances where hunger and intentional deprivation of food is being utilized as a weapon of war, including efforts to ensure that security operations do not undermine livelihoods of local populations to minimize civilian harm.

This resolution condemns Iran's state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the international covenants on human rights. Further, it calls on Iran to immediately release all imprisoned or detained Baha'is, and it urges the President and the Department of State to impose sanctions on Iranian officials and others who are responsible for serious human rights abuses, including abuses against Iran's Baha'i community.