This resolution recognizes the exemplary service of the soldiers of the 30th Infantry Division of the Army, known as "Old Hickory," during World War II.
Reducing Farm Input Costs and Barriers to Domestic Production Act This bill addresses various provisions related to the regulation of domestic agricultural products, including by requiring the Department of Agriculture to publish criteria for considering requests from meat and poultry establishments to operate at line speeds in excess of the current regulatory limitations. The bill also nullifies the final rule issued by the Council on Environmental Quality on April 20, 2022, that reinstated various National Environmental Policy Act regulatory provisions.
Recovering America’s Wildlife Act of 2022 This bill provides funding for the conservation or restoration of wildlife and plant species of greatest conservation need, including endangered or threatened species, and establishes related requirements. TITLE I--WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION (Sec. 101) This title establishes and funds a subaccount of the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Account, which was established under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act. The subaccount must be used to support efforts of states, territories, or the District of Columbia to recover and manage wildlife and plant species of greatest conservation need. The Department of the Interior must use a portion of the funding from the subaccount for grants to state fish and wildlife departments, the District of Columbia fish and wildlife department, fish and wildlife departments of territories, nonprofit organizations, or regional associations of fish and wildlife departments. The grants must be used for innovative recovery efforts for species of greatest conservation need, species listed as endangered or threatened species, or the habitats of such species. Funding for the subaccount must supplement existing funds available to the states from funds distributed under the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act and the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Account. Recipients of the funding from the subaccount must match federal funds as specified by the title. The Government Accountability Office must study and report on the progress of states, territories, the District of Columbia, and Indian tribes in protecting species of greatest conservation need, endangered species, and threatened species. TITLE II--TRIBAL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION (Sec. 201) This title establishes and funds a Tribal Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Account to support Indian tribes' efforts to recover and manage wildlife and plant species of greatest conservation need. Indian tribes are not required to provide matching funds. TITLE III--ENDANGERED SPECIES RECOVERY AND HABITAT CONSERVATION LEGACY FUND (Sec. 301) This title establishes and funds through FY2026 the Endangered Species Recovery and Habitat Conservation Legacy Fund. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must use the fund to (1) implement an Endangered Species Recovery Grant Program; (2) address its interagency consultation responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act of 1973; (3) work with nonfederal entities to conserve wildlife habitat and at-risk species, threatened or endangered species, or species proposed to be listed as threatened or endangered species; or (4) address the development and permitting of voluntary conservation agreements under such act. Amounts made available under the fund must supplement other federal amounts made available to carry out such activities. The President must annually submit to Congress, together with the annual budget of the United States, a list of threatened species and endangered species for which recovery plans will be developed or implemented with amounts from the Endangered Species Recovery and Habitat Conservation Legacy Fund. TITLE IV--REPORT (Sec. 401) Interior must also report on information concerning the amount of grants and contracts that were awarded or are allocated under this bill to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving educational institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, minority-serving educational institutions, minority-owned business enterprises, women-owned business enterprises, and community-based organizations that are principally administered by, operated by, or serving minority communities.
Promoting Cross-b order Energy Infrastructure Act This bill establishes a new process for approving the construction and operation of energy infrastructure across an international border of the United States and replaces the existing process established under specified executive orders. Specifically, this bill requires a person to obtain a certificate of crossing before constructing, connecting, operating, or maintaining a border-crossing facility for the import or export of oil, natural gas, or electricity across an international border. A certificate must be obtained from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a facility consisting of oil or natural gas pipelines or the Department of Energy (DOE) for an electric transmission facility. As a condition of issuing a certificate, DOE must require that an electric transmission facility be constructed, connected, operated, or maintained consistent with specified policies and standards. FERC and DOE must meet a deadline for issuing a certificate as set forth by this bill. The bill also requires FERC to meet a deadline for approving applications to import or export natural gas to or from Canada or Mexico.
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.
Chase COVID Unemployment Fraud Act of 2022 This bill addresses fraud and overpayments of pandemic unemployment assistance, including by allowing states to retain a specified percentage of recovered funds and prohibiting the Department of Labor from allowing blanket waivers of overpayments.
Student Loan Accountability Act This bill generally prohibits the Departments of Education, Justice, or the Treasury from taking any action to cancel or forgive the outstanding balances, or portion of balances, of covered loans. Covered loans refer to Federal Family Education Loans, Federal Direct Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, and loans under the Health Education Assistance Loan Program. The prohibition does not apply to targeted federal student loan forgiveness, cancellation, or repayment programs carried out under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Additionally, the bill repeals the temporary tax-free treatment of discharged student loan debt. It also prohibits tax return information from being shared for the purpose of administering a student loan cancellation plan.
Healthy Homes Act This bill expands the low-income housing tax credit to include an additional credit amount for healthcare-oriented housing (e.g., low-income buildings that meet certain requirements, e.g., healthcare screening available on building premises, adequate space for physicians to conduct screenings, and telehealth capacity). The bill directs the Governmental Accountability Office to study the utilization of the low-income housing tax credit with respect to healthcare-oriented housing.
Freight Rail Assistance and Investment to Launch Coronavirus-Era Activity and Recovery Act of 2022 or the Freight RAILCAR Act of 2022 This bill provides a new tax credit through 2024 for 10% of freight railcar fleet modernization expenses (i.e., railcar replacement and modernization expenses for meeting fuel efficiency and performance standards). The bill provides that no more than 2,000 freight railcars per taxpayer may be taken into account for purposes of determining the credit in a taxable year. The Department of the Treasury must report to Congress on the credit to provide information on the number of times the credit was claimed and the number of railcars scrapped or built as a result of the credit.
Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People's Republic of China Act This bill requires the President to prohibit nonresident aliens, foreign businesses, and agents associated with China's government from (1) purchasing agricultural (including ranching) real estate located in the United States, or (2) participating in Department of Agriculture programs that are unrelated to food and safety regulatory requirements.
