Sen. Bernard Sanders

Ending Corporate Greed Act This bill imposes a tax through 2024 on certain corporations (corporations other than regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, or S corporations) that have average annual gross receipts for a three-year period of at least $500 million. The tax is 95% of what are deemed excess profits for a taxable year.

EMS Staffing and Support Act This bill provides funding for FY2023 and each fiscal year thereafter to support organizations that provide medical transport and emergency medical services (i.e., EMS organizations). It also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to report on reimbursement and other challenges faced by EMS organizations, including in rural areas. Specifically, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) must establish a competitive grant program for state, territorial, tribal, and local governments; nonprofit EMS organizations; and nonprofits that represent the interests of EMS organizations. Grant funds may be used for training and other personnel costs, purchasing necessary equipment and supplies, and related purposes. The bill further requires HRSA to allocate funding through compacts or contracts to Indian tribes for such purposes.

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.

Postal Banking Act This bill grants the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) the power to provide basic financial services, including low-cost, small-dollar loans, in specified amounts; small dollar lending servicing, which shall ensure that the customer's access to the products and the public interest is given significant consideration; small checking accounts and interest-bearing savings accounts in specified amounts; transactional and remittance services; and other basic financial services in the public interest. It grants the USPS the power to set interest rates and fees for the financial instruments and products provided by the USPS that meet specified requirements. The USPS (1) shall not be granted a bank charter or become an insured depository institution for the purpose of capital requirements, and (2) shall be subject to the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code regarding bank deposits and collections. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors shall transfer to the USPS such sums as necessary to carry out the services described in this bill, which shall (1) be sufficient to ensure that the products substantially decrease the number of people who do not have a bank account or use alternative financial products such as payday lending, check cashing, prepaid debt cards, and overdraft fees; and (2) be provided to the USPS through a separate account. The Government Accountability Office shall submit to Congress an annual report that includes the demographics, number of participants, and average balances and uses for such products.

Future of Water Act of 2022 This bill prohibits the trading of futures contracts in water or water rights. A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a commodity or financial instrument at a set price at a specific time.

Prohibiting Anticompetitive Mergers Act of 2022 This bill prohibits certain business mergers, modifies the procedures for reviewing mergers, and establishes procedures for reversing certain mergers. Specifically, the bill prohibits mergers that (1) are valued at more than $5 billion in total assets, (2) result in the acquiring entity having a market share of greater than 33% (or a share of a labor market as an employer of greater than 25%), or (3) result in market concentration levels that exceed specified thresholds. The bill also expands the authority of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review pending mergers, including whether a merger is likely to harm the competitive process and the effect of a merger on relevant labor markets. Finally, the bill authorizes the FTC and the Antitrust Division of the DOJ to retroactively unwind mergers that are prohibited under the bill or that meet certain other anticompetitive criteria such as a merger that results in a greater than 50% share of a relevant market.

Save American Baseball Act This bill removes the limited exemption from the antitrust laws for persons in the business of organized professional baseball. For purposes of this bill, the term antitrust laws means laws to protect against unlawful restraints and monopolies (Clayton Act) and to protect against unfair methods of competition (Federal Trade Commission Act).

Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act This bill imposes an excise tax on the windfall profits of crude oil on taxpayers who extracted and imported more than 300,000 barrels (a barrel equals 42 U.S. gallons) of taxable crude oil (i.e., crude oil, crude oil condensates, and natural gasoline) in 2019, or who extracted and imported that amount in the current calendar quarter. The bill requires rebates of the tax collected to be paid to individual taxpayers. The bill establishes the Protect Consumers from Gas Hikes Fund to finance such rebates.

This resolution condemns violence and threats of violence against historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and reaffirms the federal government's commitment to combating violence against HBCU students, faculty, and staff.

Arbitration Fairness for Consumers Act This bill deems as invalid or unenforceable a predispute arbitration agreement or joint-action waiver related to a consumer financial product or service.