Rep. Tim Walberg

Guaranteeing Ukrainian Autonomy by Reinforcing its Defense (GUARD) Act of 2022 This bill provides support for Ukraine and imposes sanctions related to Nord Stream 2, the pipeline constructed to increase exports of natural gas from Russia. The Department of State must periodically report to Congress a determination as to whether Russia's government meets the criteria to be designated a state sponsor of terrorism. The bill authorizes the State Department to provide Foreign Military Financing assistance to Ukraine in FY2022. The bill also authorizes providing Ukraine with lethal assistance, such as anti-armor weapon systems and anti-aircraft weapons systems. From FY2022-FY2026, Ukraine shall have priority access to excess defense articles. During the same time period, the bill also authorizes providing Ukraine with assistance, including (1) International Military Education and Training assistance; (2) assistance to strengthen cybersecurity and intellectual property enforcement; (3) support and training for banking reform, subsidy reform, corporate governance, and the privatization of state-owned enterprises; and (4) assistance to combat corruption and improve the rule of law. Within 15 days of this bill's enactment, the President must impose sanctions on any entity responsible for planning, constructing, or operating Nord Stream 2, as well as any corporate officer of such an entity. The bill also subjects the President's authority to waive certain sanctions to congressional review. The U.S. Agency for Global Media may expand broadcasting in countries of the former Soviet Union to combat Russian disinformation. The bill requires reports to Congress on various topics, including a strategy on using U.S. diplomacy to support Ukraine.

Falun Gong Protection Act This bill requires the President to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on foreign persons that are knowingly responsible for, are complicit in, or have engaged in the involuntary harvesting of organs in China. The sanctions shall not apply to certain activities, such as authorized U.S. intelligence or law enforcement activities. The President must (1) maintain an updated list of foreign persons subject to the sanctions, and (2) impose the sanctions according to the most recent version of the list.

Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act or the HALT Fentanyl Act This bill places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act. Additionally, the bill establishes a new, alternative registration process for schedule I research that is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Veterans Affairs or that is conducted under an investigative new drug exemption from the Food and Drug Administration. The bill also makes several other changes to registration requirements for conducting research with controlled substances, including permitting a single registration for related research sites in certain circumstances, waiving the requirement for a new inspection in certain situations, and allowing a registered researcher to perform certain manufacturing activities with small quantities of a substance without obtaining a manufacturing registration.

Illegal Immigrant Payoff Prohibition Act This bill prohibits the payment of a settlement to an alien for a civil action brought against the United States in connection with the alien's inadmissibility to, or unlawful presence in, the United States.

Havana Syndrome Attacks Response Act This bill requires the President to sanction foreign persons and governments for carrying out clandestine attacks on U.S. personnel that have caused brain injury. Specifically, the President must impose visa- and asset-blocking sanctions on any foreign person that has directed or carried out such an attack. If the President determines a foreign government carried out such an attack, the President must notify Congress and sanction that country by terminating any foreign assistance (except for humanitarian aid or food or agricultural commodities or products) and arms transactions, restricting commercial exports, and denying access to U.S. credit or other financial assistance. The President must remove these sanctions after 12 months, provided that (1) the country's government gives reliable assurances that it will not conduct future attacks, and (2) the executive branch does not have persuasive information indicating an attack occurred in the preceding six months. The bill also requires a congressional briefing and report about suspected clandestine attacks on U.S. personnel that have caused brain injury, including hypotheses concerning the identity of the perpetrators and the technical methods used to carry out the attacks.

No Frivolous Application for Short-Barreled Shotguns Act or the NFA SBS Act This bill removes certain short-barreled shotguns from the definition of firearms for purposes of the National Firearms Act. It also eliminates the prohibition on the sale or transportation of such shotguns in interstate commerce and treats persons who acquire or possess a short-barreled shotgun as meeting the registration or licensing requirements for such shotguns where such requirements are determined by reference to the National Firearms Act. The bill preempts state or local laws that impose a tax or recordkeeping requirements on short-barreled shotguns. The Department of Justice must destroy records relating to the registration of shotguns described by this bill within one year after the enactment of this bill.

Deferred Removal for Iraqi Nationals Including Minorities Act of 2021 This bill defers the removal of qualified Iraqi nationals from the United States for two years from the date of the bill's enactment. To qualify, an Iraqi national shall (1) have been ordered removed to Iraq before the date of the bill's enactment, and (2) have resided in the United States on or before January 1, 2016. Aliens under removal deferral under this bill (1) shall be authorized for employment, and (2) may not be detained for immigration status-related reasons or for a motion by the alien to reopen removal proceedings. An alien shall not receive removal deferral under this bill where (1) the Department of Homeland Security determines that the alien is directly responsible for specific and significant harm to U.S. security, (2) the alien voluntarily returns to Iraq, or (3) the alien is subject to extradition.

Restoring Northern Border Travel Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to expand the list of permitted essential travel into the United States through land ports of entry along the U.S.-Canada border. Specifically, it shall be permitted essential travel to enter the United States through the U.S.-Canada land border to (1) visit a family member who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, (2) visit property that the traveler owns or leases, (3) attend business meetings or site visits, or (4) board a flight for travel. Within 20 days of this bill's enactment, DHS must report to Congress a plan to fully restore nonessential travel into the United States through this land border.

H-2B Returning Worker Exception Act of 2021 This bill modifies the H-2B (temporary nonagricultural workers) nonimmigrant visa program, including by exempting certain workers from an annual numerical limit on such visas and requiring civil penalties for program violations. Under this bill, if a worker seeking a H-2B visa has been counted toward the 66,000 annual cap on such visas in one of the three preceding fiscal years, that worker shall not be counted against the cap again. Furthermore, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must impose a civil monetary penalty on an employer for (1) failing to meet requirements related to an H-2B visa petition, or (2) making a willful misrepresentation of material fact in such a petition. DHS must also ensure the establishment of an electronic platform (1) for employers to submit and request approval of an H-2B petition, and (2) to act as a single point of access for applicants and the relevant government agencies. The Department of Labor must maintain a publicly available online database of all job orders by H-2B employers. Furthermore, Labor may take certain actions to enforce program requirements, such as imposing penalties and seeking injunctions. The bill provides statutory authority for the current practice of limiting the program to workers who are nationals of countries approved by DHS. DHS may make exceptions to this limitation in individual cases if it is in the U.S. interest to do so. DHS shall select approved countries based on various factors, such as the rate of overstay by H-2B visa holders from each country.

Preventing Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes Act This bill requires a designated officer or employee of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to facilitate the expedited review of anti-Semitic hate crimes and reports of anti-Semitic hate crimes. Further, the bill requires DOJ to issue guidance for state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies on expanding public education campaigns to raise awareness of anti-Semitic hate crimes. Finally, the bill increases the statutory maximum prison term for an individual who is convicted of a federal hate crime offense after a prior conviction for a hate crime offense under federal law or a hate crime felony under state law.