National Heritage Area Act This act establishes a National Heritage Area System. The Department of the Interior may provide technical and financial assistance to local coordinating entities to support the establishment, development, and continuity of such areas. The National Heritage Area System shall be composed of each National Heritage Area, National Heritage Corridor, National Heritage Canalway, Cultural Heritage Corridor, National Heritage Route, and National Heritage Partnership designated by Congress before or on enactment of this act; and each National Heritage Area designated by Congress after enactment of this act. A National Heritage Area shall not be considered to be a unit of the National Park System nor subject to the authorities applicable to such units. Interior may carry out or review a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of each proposed heritage area for designation as a National Heritage Area. Interior must review and certify whether the proposed area meets specified requirements, including that it has natural, historic, and cultural resources that represent distinctive aspects of the heritage of the United States. An area shall be designated as a National Heritage Area only by an act of Congress. Interior shall conduct studies to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating specified areas in Hawaii as the Kaena Point National Heritage Area and in Virginia and North Carolina as the Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area. The act also (1) establishes or extends specified National Heritage Areas, (2) redesignates the America's Agricultural Heritage Partnership in Iowa as the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area, and (3) extends the deadline for the management plans for certain heritage areas.
Sponsored bills
Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest in Federal Acquisition Act This act addresses conflicts of interest in federal acquisitions. Specifically, the act directs the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to revise the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to provide and update definitions related to specific types of organizational conflicts of interest; definitions, guidance, and illustrative examples related to relationships of contractors with public, private, domestic, and foreign entities that may cause contract support to be subject to potential organizational conflicts; and illustrative examples of situations related to the potential organizational conflicts identified. Further, the council must revise the FAR to provide executive agencies with solicitation provisions and contract clauses to avoid or mitigate organizational conflicts, for agency use as needed, that require contractors to disclose information relevant to potential organizational conflicts and limit future contracting with respect to potential conflicts with the work to be performed under awarded contracts; allow agencies to tailor such solicitation provisions and contract clauses as necessary to address risks associated with conflicts of interest and other considerations that may be unique to the agency; require agencies to establish or update agency conflict of interest procedures to implement the revisions to the FAR made under this act and periodically assess and update such procedures as needed to address agency-specific conflict issues; and update FAR procedures to permit contracting officers to take into consideration professional standards and procedures to prevent organizational conflicts of interest to which an offeror or contractor is subject.
Countering Human Trafficking Act of 2021 This act provides statutory authority for the Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The CCHT coordinates DHS efforts to combat human trafficking and the importation of goods produced with forced labor. The act requires the CCHT to develop a strategy to improve the systems and processes used throughout DHS to combat human trafficking and the importation of goods produced with forced labor. The act transfers the functions and resources of the Blue Campaign (i.e., the national public awareness effort to combat human trafficking) to the CCHT. DHS may also transfer to the CCHT any other component, directorate, or office of the department related to combating human trafficking.
Iran Hostages Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the 53 hostages of the Iran Hostage Crisis (November 4, 1979-January 21, 1981) in recognition of their bravery and endurance throughout their captivity.
Flood Level Observation, Operations, and Decision Support Act or the FLOODS Act This act addresses forecasting and the communication of flood, tornado, and hurricane events by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). For example, the act directs NOAA to establish a National Integrated Flood Information System to inform and provide for timely decisions to reduce flood-related effects and costs. NOAA must also establish partnerships with institutions of higher education and federal agencies to improve total water predictions. In addition, NOAA must (1) evaluate and improve flash flood watches and warnings, (2) estimate and communicate the frequency of precipitation, and (3) identify gaps in the availability of snow-related data to assess and predict floods and flood impacts. Further, NOAA must ensure that the tornado warning improvement and extension program periodically examines the value of incorporating innovative observations, such as acoustic or infrasonic measurements, observations from phased array radars, and observations from mesonets (i.e., a network of certain weather observing stations). In addition, the National Weather Service must designate a service coordination hydrologist at each of its River Forecast Centers to increase impact-based decision support services at the state and local level. Finally, the act establishes an Interagency Committee on Water Management and Infrastructure to ensure that federal agencies that engage in water-related matters work together where such agencies have joint or overlapping responsibilities.
Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act This bill revises provisions governing the administration of the Marine Debris Foundation and the Marine Debris Program. Specifically, the bill allows the foundation to use appropriated funds for employee salaries for the two years following the bill's enactment. The bill also allows the foundation to locate its principal office outside of the District of Columbia and encourages the foundation to locate it in a coastal state. In addition, the bill requires the foundation to develop best practices for conducting outreach to Indian tribes. The bill also requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to approve appointments to the foundation's board of directors. NOAA may enter into other agreements, outside of contracts, under the Marine Debris Program. NOAA may also make in-kind contributions for projects under the program.
Supply Chain Disruptions Relief Act This bill modifies the treatment of liquidations of new motor vehicle inventory as qualified LIFO (last in first out accounting method) inventory. It allows new motor vehicle dealers to elect to wait until the end of 2025 to replace their inventory for purposes of determining income attributable to the sale of such inventory during 2020 and 2021.
Project Safe Neighborhoods Reauthorization Act of 2022 This bill reauthorizes through FY2026 the Project Safe Neighborhoods Block Grant Program within the Department of Justice. The bill also allows funds under the program to be used for hiring crime analysts to assist with violent crime reduction efforts; the cost of overtime for law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and law enforcement assistants who assist with the program; purchasing, implementing, and using technology to assist with violent crime reduction efforts; and supporting multijurisdictional task forces.
Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act of 2022 This act requires the President to continue to maintain a natural hazard assessment program that develops and maintains publicly available products to show the risk of natural hazards across the United States. Such products shall show the risk of natural hazards and include ratings and data for loss exposure, social vulnerability, community resilience, and any other element determined by the President. The President shall (1) review the underlying methodology of any product that is a natural hazard risk assessment and receive public input on the methodology and data used for the product, and (2) consider including additional data in any product that is a natural disaster hazard risk assessment. Additionally, the President must conduct such reviews to evaluate and update the assessments at least every five years. Using the reviewed assessments, the President must periodically identify and designate community disaster resilience zones (CDRZs), which shall be (1) the 50 census tracts assigned the highest individual hazard risk ratings; and (2) in each state, not less than 1% of census tracts that are assigned a high individual risk rating, taking into consideration specified geographic balance. The President may provide financial, technical, or other assistance to an eligible entity (a state, Indian tribal government, or local government) that plans to perform a resilience or mitigation project within, or that primarily benefits, a CDRZ.
Preventing PFAS Runoff at Airports Act This act temporarily allows the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to cover 100% of the costs for airports to purchase and deploy equipment to test fire suppression systems that contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) without discharging such substances. (PFAS are manmade substances and may have adverse human health effects.) The FAA must also (1) conduct outreach to inform airports of the availability of the increased cost-sharing; and (2) brief Congress on options to reimburse airports that acquired equipment without, or with reduced, federal funding and other matters.