Rep. Jake Auchincloss

Building America's Health Care Workforce Act This bill extends certain flexibilities relating to training and competency requirements for nurse aides in Medicare skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and Medicaid nursing facilities (NFs). Generally, SNFs and NFs may not hire nurse aides for longer than four months unless they meet certain training and certification requirements. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services waived some of these requirements during the COVID-19 emergency period so as to allow facilities to maintain adequate staffing levels; the waiver ends in June 2022. The bill extends these flexibilities for at least two years after the bill's enactment and specifies that (1) any time worked by a nurse aide during the emergency period counts toward the 75 hours required for initial training, and (2) a competency evaluation may be conducted at the SNF or NF where the nurse aide is employed if the state does not offer such an evaluation at least once a week.

Fair Hiring in Banking Act This bill creates exceptions to the restriction on hiring persons convicted of certain criminal offenses involving dishonesty or a breach of trust to a position with an insured depository institution or an insured credit union. Currently, a waiver must be obtained from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the National Credit Union Administration to allow the employment of such a person. Specifically, a waiver is not needed if it has been 7 years or more since the offense occurred or if the individual was incarcerated with respect to the offense and it has been 5 years or more since the individual was released from incarceration. The need for a waiver also does not apply to conduct committed before age 21 and if it has been at least 30 months since the sentencing. Individuals with a criminal record that is expunged, sealed, or pardoned are also exempt from waiver requirements.

Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2022 This bill makes it easier for federally employed firefighters who contract certain illnesses to qualify for federal workers' compensation. Specifically, the bill provides that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, mesothelioma, and specified other cancers of those employed in fire protection activities for at least five years are presumed to be proximately caused by such employment for purposes of a disability or death claim under the federal workers' compensation program. This presumption also applies to federal employees employed in fire protection activities for at least five years who experience a sudden cardiac event or stroke within 24 hours of performing a fire protection activity. The bill also requires the Department of Labor to conduct a review to determine whether breast cancer, gynecological cancer, and rhabdomyolysis should be included under the presumption and to conduct periodic reviews to determine whether other diseases should be included. In addition, a person may petition Labor to include another disease under the presumption. An employee in fire protection activities is a firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, rescue worker, ambulance personnel, or hazardous material worker who (1) is trained in fire suppression; (2) has the legal authority and responsibility to engage in fire suppression; (3) is engaged in the prevention, control, and extinguishing of fires or response to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk, including the prevention, control, suppression, or management of wildland fires; and (4) performs such activities as a primary responsibility.

Benjamin Berell Ferencz Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Benjamin Berell Ferencz in recognition of his service to the United States and the international community during the post-World War II Nuremberg trials and his lifelong advocacy for international criminal justice and the rule of law.

This resolution extends collective bargaining rights prescribed in the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to employees of the House of Representatives.

Displaced Afghan Women and Girls Education Act of 2022 This bill provides certain educational resources to certain displaced Afghan women and girls domiciled in the United States. For example, the bill (1) requires such displaced Afghan women and girls to receive in-state tuition rates at public institutions of higher education, and (2) provides funding for and establishes the Displaced Afghan Women and Girls Scholarship Grant.

School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to publish an annual report on indicators of school crime and safety. The report must collect specified information, including the number of school shootings that have taken place nationwide and the number of those that were mass shootings; the number of people killed or injured in each school shooting; the age, gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality of each victim; the motivation of the shooter; how the shooting was stopped; the number and type of firearms and ammunition used in each shooting; and the response time of law enforcement. ED must direct the National Center for Education Statistics to collect and publish specified data on school shootings. The center must collect information on the existence or absence of specified measures at the time of the shooting, including physical and other types of security measures, a communication plan with local law enforcement, a response plan that includes coordination with local agencies, an active shooter response plan, and a trauma response plan.

Pride in Mental Health Act This bill expands programs that prevent and treat child abuse and neglect to address issues facing youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, nonbinary, or gender-variant members of indigenous communities (e.g., Two Spirit). Specifically, these programs include (1) research and reporting requirements, (2) providing technical assistance, (3) grants to states and local agencies to train child-welfare personnel, and (4) community-based prevention-service grants. The bill also establishes a grant program to provide mental and behavioral health resources for such youth, including trauma-informed care.

Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Reauthorization Act of 2022 or the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2028 and modifies pediatric cancer research and related programs, including to expand collection of and access to relevant biospecimens and to support the transition of pediatric cancer survivors to primary care.

Armenian Genocide Education Act This bill requires the Library of Congress to maintain a public website and otherwise support educational initiatives to promote understanding about the Armenian Genocide.