Sen. Alex Padilla

This resolution condemns the use of hunger, including the starvation of civilians, as a weapon of warfare. It also calls on the U.S. government to prioritize diplomatic efforts to call out and address instances where hunger and intentional deprivation of food is being utilized as a weapon of war, including through efforts to ensure that security operations minimize civilian harm and do not undermine livelihoods of civilian populations.

Norman Y. Mineta Japanese American Confinement Education Act This bill increases the authorization of appropriations for the Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) grant program, which supports the preservation of U.S. confinement sites that were used to detain Japanese Americans during World War II (i.e., internment camps). It also establishes a program within JACS to provide grants to Japanese American nonprofits to educate individuals about the historical significance of these events.

Right to Contraception Act This bill sets out statutory protections for an individual's right to access and a health care provider's right to provide contraception and related information. Contraception refers to an action taken to prevent pregnancy, including the use of contraceptives (i.e., a device or medication used to prevent pregnancy), fertility-awareness based methods, and sterilization procedures. Generally, the bill prohibits measures that single out and impede access to contraception and related information. However, a party may defend against a claim that a measure violates the bill's prohibitions by demonstrating, through clear and convincing evidence, that the measure significantly advances access to contraception and cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. The Department of Justice, individuals, or health care providers may bring a lawsuit to enforce this bill, and states are not immune from suits for violations.

Respect for Marriage Act This bill provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages. Specifically, the bill repeals and replaces provisions that define, for purposes of federal law, marriage as between a man and a woman and spouse as a person of the opposite sex with provisions that recognize any marriage that is valid under state law. (The Supreme Court held that the current provisions were unconstitutional in United States v. Windsor in 2013.) The bill also repeals and replaces provisions that do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states with provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, or national origin. (The Supreme Court held that state laws barring same-sex marriages were unconstitutional in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015; the Court held that state laws barring interracial marriages were unconstitutional in Loving v. Virginia in 1967.) The bill allows the Department of Justice to bring a civil action and establishes a private right of action for violations.

Expanding Access to Family Planning Act This bill provides, subject to specified conditions, funding through FY2032 for federally funded family planning services and clinics. In particular, the funds must be used for (1) grants and contracts that support the provision of family planning services, and (2) clinic infrastructure (e.g., construction and renovation of clinics). Clinics that receive funding to provide family planning services must offer each patient with a positive pregnancy test the opportunity for nondirective counseling on (1) prenatal care and delivery; (2) infant care, foster care, and adoption; and (3) pregnancy termination. This counseling must include referrals if requested by a patient. Additionally, if a funding recipient makes subawards for the provision of family planning services, the recipient may not prohibit an entity from participating in a subaward program for reasons other than the entity's inability to provide family planning services.

Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2021 or the DISCLOSE Act of 2021 This bill addresses campaign finance, including by expanding the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals, requiring additional disclosures of campaign expenditures, and requiring additional disclosures regarding certain political advertisements. First, the bill prohibits foreign nationals from participating in the decision-making process regarding an election expenditure. Additionally, the bill expands existing foreign money prohibitions to include disbursements for paid web-based or digital communications and federal judicial nomination communications. It also prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to campaigns related to ballot initiatives and referenda. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) must conduct an audit after each federal election cycle to determine the incidence of illicit foreign money. Next, the bill makes it unlawful to establish or use a corporation, company, or other entity with the intent to conceal an election contribution or donation by a foreign national. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both. Covered organizations (e.g., corporations, labor organizations, and political organizations) must, within 24 hours, file reports with the FEC to disclose campaign expenditures of more than $10,000 during an election cycle. Finally, the bill requires organizations to provide additional disclosures regarding political advertisements, including the donors who contributed the most money to that organization in the last year.

This resolution recognizes the critical role the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission plays in addressing long-standing issues including the wage gap, combating workplace harassment, and ensuring all workers are treated with dignity and respect in the workplace.

Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2022 This bill imposes requirements related to the treatment of noncitizen children detained in immigration custody. For example, the bill (1) prohibits an accompanied noncitizen child from being separated from a parent or legal guardian while in immigration custody, except in certain situations; (2) requires each child in immigration custody to receive a legal orientation presentation and have access to legal counsel and child advocates; and (3) requires each unaccompanied noncitizen child in Department of Health and Human Services custody to be placed in the least restrictive setting that most approximates a family and in which any special needs may be met.

Keeping Everyone Safe and Securing Lives by Emergency Readiness Act or the KESSLER Act This bill directs the President to develop a national strategy to ensure the health and safety of the U.S. civilian population in case of catastrophic incidents. Specifically, the President must develop and submit to Congress a strategy to provide for the basic needs of the civilian population that is impacted by catastrophic incidents in the United States; coordinate response efforts with state and local governments, the private sector, and nonprofit relief organizations; promote personal and local readiness and non-reliance on government relief during periods of heightened tension or after catastrophic incidents; and develop international partnerships with allied nations for the provision of relief services and goods. The President must issue a plan to implement and operationalize the strategy. The Department of Homeland Security shall lead a national exercise to test and enhance the operationalization of the implementation plan. The President must provide recommendations for (1) actions that should be taken to prepare the United States to implement the strategy, increase readiness, and address preparedness gaps; and (2) additional authorities that should be considered to more effectively implement the strategy.

Environmental Justice Air Quality Monitoring Act of 2021 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to implement a pilot program to award, on a competitive basis, grants or contracts to state, local, and tribal air agencies to carry out specified projects for hyperlocal air quality monitoring systems in environmental justice communities (i.e., communities with significant representation of communities of color, low income communities, or tribal and indigenous communities that experience, or are at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse human health or environmental effects). A project carried out using a grant or contract awarded under the pilot program may not exceed five years in duration.