Rep. Sylvia R. Garcia

Keep Americans Safe Act This bill establishes a new criminal offense for the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The bill does not prohibit certain conduct with respect to an LCAFD, including the following: importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification and the date of manufacture. Additionally, the bill allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender an LCAFD under a buy-back program.

Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 202 2 This bill modifies and expands the schedule for graduated merger filing fees and requires that such fees be adjusted each year based on the Consumer Price Index. It also (1) requires parties to disclose in their premerger notification filings any subsidy received from a foreign entity of concern, (2) modifies the venue rules for multi-district antitrust litigation, and (3) establishes various reporting requirements.

Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act of 2022 This bill requires employers to make initial and modified disclosures to employees of the terms of their employment, provide such employees with regular paystubs, and make a final payment to an employee for uncompensated work hours within 14 days of the employee's termination. Employers must also allow employees access to wage records. An employer must compensate an employee at the rate specified in an employment contract, including a collective bargaining agreement, that specifies a rate of pay higher than the minimum wage rate. The bill makes all of such unpaid wages recoverable through civil enforcement. The bill establishes new and increased civil and criminal penalties for violations of overtime or minimum wage requirements, including referral to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution of employers who engage in wage theft, falsification of wage records, or retaliation against employees. The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor must provide grants to specified organizations, including nonprofits and educational institutions, to support efforts to prevent and reduce violations of wage and hour laws.

This bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3900 Crown Road Southwest in Atlanta, Georgia, as the John R. Lewis Post Office Building.

Humane Retirement Act This bill requires animal care committees at certain federal agencies conducting biomedical or behavioral research to make reasonable efforts to find parties to adopt dogs, cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs that have been retired from research. Prior to euthanizing, the animal care committee must assess the temperament of any such animal to determine whether it is suitable for adoption and, if so, make reasonable efforts to arrange for an adoption.

This bill creates a safe harbor for certain perpetual trust funds. It excludes from the definition of investment property under arbitrage provisions any fund created and controlled by a state and established pursuant to its constitution or state law if on a specified date, substantially all of the assets of the fund consist of nonfinancial assets and the assets are used only to support specifically designated essential governmental functions.

Reinvesting In Shoreline Economies and Ecosystems Act of 2022 or the RISEE Act of 2022 This bill expands the amount of revenue generated from leases for energy development on federal land or submerged lands in the Outer Continental Shelf that is shared with certain states and coastal communities. For example, the bill dedicates a percentage of the revenue generated from offshore wind leases for coastal states. Currently, this revenue is deposited in the U.S. Treasury. In addition, the bill increases the amount of revenue generated from offshore oil and gas leases that is shared with states under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. States must use the funding from the revenue for specified purposes, such as coastal restoration, conservation, or infrastructure.

Maximizing Outcomes through Better Investments in Lifesaving Equipment for (MOBILE) Health Care Act This bill allows a health center that currently receives funding through a Health Resources & Services Administration Health Center Program grant to use a New Access Point grant to set up a mobile unit regardless of whether the health center also establishes a permanent health care delivery site. New Access Point grants help health centers establish new delivery sites to provide comprehensive primary care to medically underserved populations. Under current law, health centers may only use the grants to set up a mobile unit if they also establish a permanent site.

Maddy summaryHR 4380 designates the Healing Garden at 6900 Delta Drive in El Paso, Texas, as the "El Paso Community Healing Garden National Memorial." This designation does not make the site part of the National Park System and explicitly states that no federal funds will be required or authorized for the memorial's upkeep or operations. The bill is purely procedural, focusing on naming the site.

Social Security Fairness Act of 2021 This bill repeals provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government. The bill eliminates the government pension offset , which in various instances reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own. The bill also eliminates the windfall elimination provision , which in some instances reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who also receive a pension or disability benefit from an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes. These changes are effective for benefits payable after December 2021.