Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand

Tax Filing Simplification Act of 2022 This bill directs the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to establish a free on-line tax preparation and filing service and allows taxpayers to access third-party provided tax return information and information held by the IRS. The bill prohibits the IRS from entering into any agreement that restricts its legal right to provide tax return preparation services or to provide tax return filing services. The bill requires the IRS to establish and operate programs to (1) facilitate claims for the child care and the earned income tax credits, (2) provide software for the preparation and filing of individual income tax returns for taxable years beginning after 2022, (3) allow taxpayers to download third-party provided return information and IRS-held information to their tax returns, and (4) allow taxpayers to elect to have their tax returns prepared by the IRS. The bill also requires verification of taxpayer identity and requires the IRS to conduct an outreach campaign to provide the public with information about this bill's programs and software.

Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act of 2022 This bill prohibits anyone from interfering with a person's ability to access out-of-state reproductive health care. (Reproductive health care is defined as medical, surgical, counseling, or referral services related to pregnancy, the termination of a pregnancy, contraception services, and other reproductive care.) Specifically, the bill prohibits anyone from restricting, discriminating against, or otherwise disadvantaging anyone who receives, provides, or assists with out-of-state reproductive health care that is legal in the state in which it is provided. The bill allows the Department of Justice to bring a civil action and establishes a private right of action for violations. The bill specifically waives any applicable governmental immunity and preempts any contravening state laws.

Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to take various actions to address transparency in contract terms and pricing in the cattle industry. Among these requirements, USDA must maintain a publicly available library or catalog of contracts entered into between meat packers and livestock producers for the purchase of cattle, including any schedules of premiums or discounts associated with the contracts and other specific details. USDA must make this information available to producers and other interested parties in a monthly report. The bill further requires USDA to establish five to seven regions encompassing the entire continental United States that reasonably reflect similar fed cattle purchase practices for processing plants and establish mandatory minimums for each region (i.e., the minimum percentage of cattle purchases that are required to be made through approved pricing mechanisms from producers that are not packers). Under the bill, approved pricing mechanisms are generally purchases of fed cattle made through a negotiated purchase, through a negotiated grid purchase, at a stockyard, or through trading systems or platforms where multiple buyers and sellers can regularly make and accept bids and offers. The bill also establishes a maximum penalty for mandatory minimum violations by covered packers. Under the bill, a covered packer is a packer that has slaughtered an average of 5% or more of the number of fed cattle slaughtered nationally during the immediately preceding five calendar years.

This resolution (1) recognizes the increase in educational opportunities, including in sports, for women and girls since the passage of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; and (2) encourages the Department of Education and the Department of Justice to ensure that students have a safe learning environment by working to ensure schools prevent and respond to discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex.

Protecting Access to Medication Abortion Act This bill directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take steps to allow patients to receive prescriptions for mifepristone, a drug approved by the FDA for medical abortion, via telehealth and for prescriptions for the drug to be filled by mail. (Mifepristone is subject to a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, which imposes various safety-related requirements. During the COVID-19 public health emergency, the FDA suspended enforcement of the current strategy's requirement that the drug must be dispensed in person, and this suspension is still in effect. In December 2021, the FDA stated the data supported modifying the strategy to remove the in-person dispensing requirement.) Under this bill, the FDA must require the holder of the relevant approved drug application to submit a proposal to modify the strategy. The modification shall (1) remove the in-person dispensing requirement, (2) allow patients to access prescriptions for mifepristone via telehealth, and (3) authorize all pharmacies certified to dispense mifepristone to patients to do so via mail.

Grandfamilies Act of 20 22 This bill expands access to specified programs for children living with grandparents or other family members who are not their legal guardian. Specifically, the bill provides that a child of a relative eligible for Old-Age and Survivors Insurance benefits is eligible for such benefit payments if that child (1) began living with such relative before age 18, (2) receives at least 50% of their support from such relative, and (3) has lived with such relative pursuant to a court order for at least 12 months. Additionally, the bill revises the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) eligibility requirements for children living with specified caretaker relatives. First, the bill lessens the requirement for TANF applicants to assign their rights to child support when such assignment may impact the likelihood of reunifying the child with their noncustodial parent, such as where the noncustodial parent is working to gain financial stability so they may reunify with their child. Further, when a child, but not the caretaker relative, receives TANF benefits (i.e., child-only cases), or if the caretaker relative is 55 or older, the bill (1) excludes such caretaker’s income from that child’s eligibility determination, (2) removes the 5-year cap on assistance, and (3) exempts such caretaker relatives from TANF work requirements. The bill also (1) encourages states to enact temporary guardianship laws, (2) provides grants for state plans to support caretaker relatives, and (3) requires the Administration for Community Living to provide grants for establishing cross-sector partnerships that support families with caretaker relatives.

Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2022 This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and others to undertake efforts to reduce health disparities. For example, the bill (1) requires more detailed reporting of demographic and health disparities data, including related to public health emergencies; (2) directs certain components of HHS to support health workforce diversity; and (3) increases access to culturally and linguistically appropriate health care. The bill also modifies eligibility and other requirements for Medicare, Medicaid, private health insurance, nutrition assistance, and other programs to reduce health disparities among vulnerable populations. The bill includes specific provisions with respect to noncitizens; maternal, infant, and child health; mental and behavioral health; specified conditions that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority groups, such as certain cancers, HIV/AIDS, kidney disease, and diabetes; investments in communities facing health and other inequities; and nondiscrimination in the provision of services in federally supported health programs. Additionally, the bill (1) revises health information technology programs to address health disparities, and (2) supports health impact assessments and other efforts pertaining to environmental justice and social determinants of health (i.e., nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes, such as income and educational attainment). The bill also requires various studies and reports on issues related to health care and health disparities, including a report by the Government Accountability Office on health workforce diversity.

Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act or the SAD Act This bill prohibits advertisements that use deceptive or misleading statements related to the provision of abortion services. Abortion services include (1) surgical and non-surgical procedures to terminate a pregnancy, or (2) providing referrals for such procedures. The Federal Trade Commission must promulgate rules to implement the prohibition, and the bill provides for enforcement by the commission.

This bill prescribes that a peer support specialist of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must not be responsible for providing assistance to a veteran regarding a claim for compensation for a covered mental health condition (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder) based on military sexual trauma (MST) experienced during active service. Such specialists must only provide counseling services, guidance, and support and must not participate in the adjudication of the claim. As part of the forms for claims for compensation for a covered mental health condition based on MST, the VA must include an option for a veteran to elect to be referred to a MST trauma coordinator at the VA facility closest to the veteran's residence. Additionally, the VA must (1) ensure that its peer support specialists receive annual training on providing peer support regarding MST, and (2) provide annual training on the processing of claims for compensation for covered mental health conditions based on MST to its MST coordinators and peer specialists.

This bill prohibits certain former employees of any intelligence community element from providing services related to intelligence, military, or internal security to the government of China, Russia, or a country that is a state sponsor of terrorism. Generally, this restriction shall apply to any employee, including any contractor or detailee, who had a level of access to sensitive information such that the relevant intelligence community element determines that such restrictions are necessary.