Porch Pirates Act of 2022 This bill extends federal criminal penalties for obstruction of correspondence and theft of stolen mail matter (which apply to U.S. Postal Service mail) to matter (e.g., packages) sent or delivered by private or commercial interstate carriers.
Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act of 2022 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to provide employment authorization for eligible asylum applicants. Currently, such individuals are not entitled to employment authorization but may be granted such by the Department of Justice. Such employment authorization must last for at least two years and be renewable for two-year terms during the period necessary to adjudicate the applicant's asylum claim. The bill also shortens the waiting period for receiving employment authorization to 30 days from the filing of the asylum application.
Climate Resilience Workforce Act This bill sets forth provisions to establish a climate resilience workforce, a national climate resilience action plan, an Office of Climate Resilience within the White House, and related efforts and entities.
Comprehensive Addiction Resources Emergency Act of 2021 This bill establishes programs, grants, and other activities to address substance use disorders. Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must establish a program for purchasing and distributing opioid overdose reversal drugs for states and Indian tribes. HHS must also award grants for and otherwise support addressing substance use, particularly in states, tribes, territories, and localities with disproportionately high drug overdose rates; increasing access to preventive, medical, recovery, and related services; developing innovative models of delivering treatment and harm reduction services; and expanding the treatment capacity of Medicaid providers. In addition, HHS must issue model standards of care for treatment services and recovery residences and may award grants for training health care professionals. The bill also supports prevention and treatment services for workers, addiction and pain management research, and data collection on substance use disorders. Further, dispensers, distributors, and manufacturers of schedule II controlled substances (e.g., oxycodone), with the exception of opioid treatment programs, must certify that they maintain effective drug diversion controls. Violators are subject to specified civil and criminal penalties. Collected penalties shall be used for the grant programs and other substance use disorder activities established under the bill.
Prison Camera Reform Act of 2021 This bill establishes various requirements to ensure that the security camera, radio, and public address systems used by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) have the capabilities necessary to (1) ensure the health and safety of staff and inmates; and (2) ensure the documentation and accessibility of video evidence pertaining to misconduct, maltreatment, or criminal activity within correctional facilities. Among the requirements, the BOP must evaluate the systems currently in use at its facilities and implement a plan that addresses deficiencies in and makes upgrades to the systems.
Reimagining Asylum Processing Act of 2021 This bill modifies the processing of asylum seekers, including by establishing humanitarian processing centers along the southern border. The Department of Homeland Security must establish at least five humanitarian processing centers to process adult asylum seekers who arrive at the southern border and did not arrive as part of a family unit with minor children. The bill imposes certain requirements on these processing centers, including by (1) requiring a rest period of at least 72 hours from the asylum seeker's arrival before an asylum officer may conduct an interview to determine whether there is a credible fear of persecution, (2) limiting an asylum seeker's detention at a processing center to no longer than 15 days, (3) requiring the processing center to provide legal counsel and interpreters, and (4) requiring that appropriate nongovernmental organizations are authorized to monitor the processing centers for human rights abuses. The bill also changes the processing of asylum seekers generally, including by (1) removing provisions requiring the mandatory detention of an asylum seeker after the credible fear interview; (2) prohibiting the use of information obtained from the interview for immigration enforcement; and (3) requiring an asylum officer conducting the interview to consider whether an asylum seeker is eligible for other forms of relief, such as special immigrant juvenile status.
Fairness for Fallen Sailors Act This bill revises federal law relating to individuals who die from an accident on the high seas. The bill amends current law to allow the personal representative of the estate of an individual whose death is caused by wrongful act, neglect, or default occurring on the high seas beyond three nautical miles from the shore of the United States, to bring a civil action in admiralty or in law against the person or vessel responsible. The action shall be for the exclusive benefit of the decedent's estate. The recovery in an action shall be fair compensation for the pecuniary loss sustained by the individuals for whose benefit the action is brought (currently), the pre-death pain and suffering of the decedent, and non-pecuniary damages for the loss of care, comfort, and companionship of a family member of a decedent. In an action related to death resulting from an aviation accident (under current law, this provision applies to commercial aviation accidents) occurring on the high seas beyond 12 nautical miles from the shore of the United States, additional compensation is recoverable for nonpecuniary damages, but punitive damages are not recoverable.
Protect Peaceful Protests Act This bill prohibits the Department of Justice from designating Drug Enforcement Administration officers to perform law enforcement duties that do not relate to drug investigations. It also generally prohibits the U.S. Marshals Service from deputizing other law enforcement officers and the Department of Homeland Security from designating additional employees to protect federal property during a protest unless there is a request by a state, Indian tribe, territory, or the District of Columbia.
Lifting Immigrant Families Through Benefits Access Restoration Act of 2021 or the LIFT the BAR Act of 2021 This bill repeals certain limits on the eligibility of noncitizens who lawfully reside in the United States for federal means-tested programs, including Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), programs funded through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) grants, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and certain nutrition and housing programs.
Secure Background Checks Act of 2021 This bill extends federal restrictions on the receipt, possession, shipment, and transportation of firearms and ammunition to two new categories of persons: persons who fail to meet the minimum age requirements imposed by federal law and by the law of their resident state; and persons who are out-of-state residents and do not qualify for an exception, such as the temporary loan or rental of a firearm for lawful sporting purposes. Additionally, the bill imposes criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both—on an individual who ships, transports, or receives a firearm or ammunition while under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year.
