Sen. Gary C. Peters

Maddy summaryThis Senate resolution (SRES 853) recognizes November 2022 as "National Homeless Children and Youth Awareness Month." It does not create new laws or allocate funding but formally acknowledges the issue of homelessness affecting children and youth in the U.S. The resolution encourages businesses, state/local governments, organizations, educators, and volunteers to intensify efforts during November 2022 to raise awareness about child and youth homelessness and support prevention programs. It highlights statistics on homelessness impacts but focuses solely on symbolic recognition and awareness-raising, not policy changes.

This concurrent resolution commemorates the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, commonly known as the Clean Water Act.

Maddy summarySRES 810 is a symbolic Senate resolution designating October 2-8, 2022, as "National Community Policing Week." It does not create new laws or allocate funds but formally recognizes community policing efforts. The resolution highlights how community policing builds trust between law enforcement and residents, reduces crime, and addresses public safety concerns through collaboration. It encourages all Americans, law enforcement agencies, and officials to support community policing initiatives during this designated week. The resolution was introduced by Senators Shaheen, Cornyn, Hassan, and Peters and referred to the Judiciary Committee.

Fire Grants and Safety Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2030 the U.S. Fire Administration, the Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) Grants Program, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program. The bill imposes a new sunset date of 2032 for the SAFER and AFG programs.

Improving Government for America's Taxpayers Act This bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO), in its annual report to Congress, to consolidate matters for congressional consideration into one report, organized by policy topic, and to identify congressional oversight actions that can help agencies implement unimplemented priority recommendations. The GAO is also required to publish the above information and publish any known costs of unimplemented priority recommendations.

Governmentwide Executive Councils Administration and Performance Improvement Act This bill addresses issues involving governmentwide executive councils. Specifically, the bill provides statutory authority for the Office of Executive Councils (OEC), which resides within the General Services Administration (GSA) and assists governmentwide policymaking entities including the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, the Chief Human Capital Officers Council, and the Performance Improvement Council. The OEC shall terminate six years after enactment. Each council must (1) provide legislative, policy, project funding, or shared services recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the GSA related to the specific area of expertise of the council; and (2) serve as a primary advisory body to the OMB on the development and execution of the federal government performance plan and federal government priority goals. Each council must publish a strategic plan, which shall be updated and affirmed at least every two years. The Chair of the Chief Data Officer Council shall be the Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government. The GSA shall provide administrative and other support for various councils.

Federal Data Center Enhancement Act of 2022 This bill modifies requirements relating to data centers of federal agencies and extends the sunset of provisions regarding the federal data center consolidation initiative. Specifically, the General Services Administration (GSA) must establish minimum requirements for new data centers, including regarding the availability and use of new data centers; the use of sustainable energy sources; uptime percentage; protections against power failures, including on-site energy generation and access to multiple transmission paths; protections against physical intrusions and natural disasters; and information security protections. During the development and planning lifecycle of a new data center, an agency must report to the GSA and Congress upon determining it is likely to make a management or financial decision relating to such center. An agency must (1) regularly assess the application portfolio of the covered agency and ensure that each legacy application is updated, replaced, or modernized, as appropriate, to take advantage of modern technologies; and (2) prioritize and, to the greatest extent possible, leverage commercial cloud environments rather than acquiring, overseeing, or managing custom data center infrastructure. An agency must oversee and manage the data center portfolio and the information technology strategy of the agency in accordance with federal cybersecurity guidelines and directives.

Advancing Government Innovation with Leading-Edge Procurement Act of 2022 or the AGILE Procurement Act of 2022 This bill addresses federal procurement policy and barriers to entry in federal contracting. Specifically, the bill requires the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) to pilot a program for entry of junior and mid-career professionals to the General Schedule Contracting series workforce, including by (1) considering the inclusion of program participants from other job series and fields, and (2) providing alternatives to education and training requirements for entry into the General Schedule Contracting series workforce. The Federal Acquisition Institute must (1) incorporate experiential learning into the training framework for the General Schedule Contracting series, and (2) provide a cross-functional information and communications technology acquisition training program to acquisition workforce members involved in acquiring information and communications technology. The OFPP shall issue guidance (1) to inform executive agencies on the availability of streamlined and alternative procurement methods for procurement of information and communications technology; and (2) on when a wider range of projects, as well as government projects, should be accepted as relevant past performance. The OFPP must (1) convene a working group or an appropriate existing body to make recommendations to reduce barriers to entry for entities seeking to do business with the federal government, and (2) expand a pilot program to use noncompetitive procedures for certain follow-on contracts to qualified businesses wholly owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

DHS Trade and Economic Security Council Act of 2022 This bill establishes an advisory council within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and sets out other efforts to address economic security and trade, as such matters relate to DHS's mission. Specifically, DHS must establish the DHS Trade and Economic Security Council, comprised of component heads or their designees, to advise on economic security concerns, such as identification of concentrated risks and priorities for protecting the nation's economic security. Additionally, the bill provides statutory authority for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security and specifies its functions and duties. These include, among other responsibilities, coordination of supply chain policy.

Federal Agency Performance Act of 2022 This bill addresses federal agency performance and accountability. Specifically, the bill revises requirements regarding strategic reviews of federal agencies' performance goals and requires a Deputy Performance Improvement Officer to support the Performance Improvement Officer. With respect to strategic reviews, not less frequently than annually and consistent with guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget, each agency must take specified actions, including for each goal or objective established in the agency's strategic plan, review the progress achieved toward the goal and the likelihood that the agency will achieve the goal; identify any risks or impediments that would decrease the likelihood that the agency will achieve the goal; and for each goal at greatest risk of not being achieved, identify prospects and strategies for performance improvement. Additionally, the bill requires that federal government priority goals (1) be updated and revised not less frequently than during the first year of each presidential term, (2) include plans for the successful achievement of each goal within each single presidential term, and (3) explicitly cite to any specific contents of the budget that support the achievement of each goal.