Rep. Stephanie I. Bice

Allowing Greater Access to Safe and Effective Contraception Act This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration to prioritize review of supplemental applications for over-the counter oral contraceptives that are intended for routine use. It also removes certain limitations in relation to such products and health savings accounts, flexible spending arrangements, and other arrangements (e.g., limitations on the number of items that may be purchased).

National Mesonet Authorization Act This bill provides statutory authority for the National Mesonet Program of the National Weather Service (NWS). The program shall obtain observations from observing platforms in all geographic environments to improve understanding of and forecast capabilities for atmospheric events, with a prioritization on leveraging available commercial, academic, and other nonfederal weather data to enhance coordination across the private, public, and academic sectors of the U.S. weather enterprise. The program must carry out specified activities, including improving environmental observations used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the NWS to support baseline forecasts and warnings that protect the nation's citizens, businesses, military, and government agencies and enable such individuals and entities to operate in safe, efficient, and orderly manners. NOAA shall ensure the program has an active advisory committee of subject matter experts to identify, implement, procure, and track data needed to supplement the program, and recommend improvements, expansions, and acquisitions of available data. The advisory committee shall establish partnerships with one or more institutions of higher education to identify, evaluate, and recommend potential partnerships, regional or subregional consortia, and collaborative methods that would expand the number of participants and volume of data in the program.

This bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1233 North Cedar Street in Owasso, Oklahoma, as the Technical Sergeant Marshal Roberts Post Office Building.

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.

Formula Shortage Reporting Act of 2022 This bill requires manufacturers of infant formula to notify the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at least 72 hours in advance of a manufacturing interruption or product discontinuance that is expected to meaningfully disrupt the product's supply. The FDA must post such information on its website and notify health care providers.

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.

Securing Our Students Act This bill authorizes local educational agencies and nonpublic schools to use certain COVID-19 emergency relief funds, services, or assistance for school safety uses, that is improving school conditions for student learning by planning and designing school buildings and facilities, installing infrastructure, providing safety education, and implementing technology or other measures that strengthen security on school premises.

Maddy summaryThis resolution (HRES 1143) is a symbolic recognition of the USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723), a Los Angeles-class attack submarine, and its crew for their service to the United States. It honors the submarine’s 34-year career, including global deployments, support during the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing aftermath, and its role as the first Navy submarine to adopt all-electronic navigation. The resolution has no policy or legal effect - it does not fund, change laws, or directly affect any individuals or entities beyond expressing congressional appreciation for the vessel’s service. It was introduced in May 2022, following the submarine’s decommissioning on May 20, 2022.

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.