Sen. Gary C. Peters

Continuing Emergency Support for Restaurants Act This bill provides an additional $48 billion in FY2021 for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and designates specified amounts for fund administrative expenses and audits of grants made from the fund. The fund was established in response to COVID-19 to make grants to eligible food and beverage purveyors for covering specified costs such as payroll, operational expenses, and paid sick leave. The bill designates the funding as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.

This resolution designates March 24, 2022, as National Women in Agriculture Day. It also recognizes the important role of women in agriculture as producers, educators, leaders, mentors, and more

Mental Health Excellence in Schools Act This bill establishes a program to expand the mental health services workforce in schools. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Education to contract with graduate institutions to pay a share of the cost of attendance for graduate students pursuing careers in the school-based mental health profession (e.g., school counseling). Additionally, the bill requires an independent national evaluation of the outcomes and effectiveness of the program.

Find and Protect Foster Youth Act This bill requires the Office of the Administration for Children & Families to evaluate the protocols that states have developed to comply with the reporting requirements for locating a child missing from foster care. Additionally, the administration, through the Children's Bureau, must provide states, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal consortia with information, advice, educational materials, and technical assistance relating to eliminating identified obstacles to identifying and responding to children missing from foster care and other vulnerable foster youth and providing such children and youth with effective services.

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.

Improving Intergovernmental Cooperation and Reducing Duplication Act of 2022 This bill addresses intergovernmental cooperation and duplicative spending in federal programs. Specifically, the bill authorizes the President to prescribe information technology products and platforms and other similar or supporting services that an executive agency is especially competent and authorized by law to provide. Further, it requires an executive agency, when providing services prescribed by the President to a state, local, territorial, or tribal government, to take all available necessary and appropriate steps to increase cooperation and reduce administrative burden between the state, local, territorial, or tribal government requesting the service and the agency. Additionally, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in coordination with the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, must publish a strategic plan to improve cooperation between and support greater harmonization, effectiveness, and the reduction of burdens and costs between the federal government and state, local, territorial, and tribal governments. The OMB must (1) issue guidance implementing these provisions, and (2) report on actions and activities taken by executive agencies in this regard. The General Services Administration may provide specified specialized or technical services to a state, local, territorial, or tribal government.

Veterans Exposed to Toxic PFAS Act or the VET PFAS Act This bill provides eligibility for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital care and medical services to veterans and their family members (including those in utero) who have specified conditions and resided at a military installation where individuals were exposed to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS. PFAS are man-made and may have adverse human health effects. Hospital care and medical services may not be furnished for a condition that is found to have resulted from a cause other than the exposure to PFAS at a military installation. The VA may provide reimbursement for hospital care or medical services provided to a family member only after the family member or provider has exhausted all claims and remedies otherwise available for payment of such care. For disability compensation purposes, the bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for specified conditions in veterans who served at a military installation at which individuals were exposed to PFAS. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded.

Securing America's Ports of Entry Act of 2022 This bill requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to increase the number of CBP officers to specified levels. If CBP does not adequately increase personnel, the Government Accountability Office must report on CBP hiring practices.

Helping Education After Loss Act of 2022 or the HEAL Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to eligible entities to fund additional school-based mental health providers and acute crisis response activities. An eligible entity is a local educational agency that serves a school that has experienced a violent or traumatic crisis. ED must, in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services, conduct a special resource study of communities that have experienced a violent or traumatic crisis.

Elizabeth Dole Home and Community Based Services for Veterans and Caregivers Act of 2022 or the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act This bill addresses home care and caregiver programs for veterans.