Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2021 or the DISCLOSE Act of 2021 This bill addresses campaign finance, including by expanding the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals, requiring additional disclosures of campaign expenditures, and requiring additional disclosures regarding certain political advertisements. First, the bill prohibits foreign nationals from participating in the decision-making process regarding an election expenditure. Additionally, the bill expands existing foreign money prohibitions to include disbursements for paid web-based or digital communications and federal judicial nomination communications. It also prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to campaigns related to ballot initiatives and referenda. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) must conduct an audit after each federal election cycle to determine the incidence of illicit foreign money. Next, the bill makes it unlawful to establish or use a corporation, company, or other entity with the intent to conceal an election contribution or donation by a foreign national. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both. Covered organizations (e.g., corporations, labor organizations, and political organizations) must, within 24 hours, file reports with the FEC to disclose campaign expenditures of more than $10,000 during an election cycle. Finally, the bill requires organizations to provide additional disclosures regarding political advertisements, including the donors who contributed the most money to that organization in the last year.
Sponsored bills
This resolution recognizes the critical role the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission plays in addressing long-standing issues including the wage gap, combating workplace harassment, and ensuring all workers are treated with dignity and respect in the workplace.
This resolution recognizes the significance of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month as an important time to celebrate the contributions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders to the history of the United States. The resolution also recognizes that the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities enhance the rich diversity of the United States.
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.
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.
Maritime Administration Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 202 3 This bill revises provisions related to the Maritime Administration (MARAD). Among other things, the bill reauthorizes MARAD programs, including programs associated with maintaining the U.S. Merchant Marine; requires MARAD to establish a United States Marine Highway Program to designate marine highway routes as extensions of the surface transportation system and provide grants and enter into contacts or agreements for marine highway services; directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to develop and and deliver to Congress a strategy to assist state maritime academies and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy to improve the representation of women and underrepresented communities in the next generation of the mariner workforce; directs DOT to develop a strategy to ensure there is an adequate supply of trained U.S. citizen mariners sufficient to meet the operational requirements of low- and zero-emission vessels; addresses sexual harassment and sexual assault at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and provides for greater diversity and inclusion at the academy and within the maritime transportation system workforce; and authorizes MARAD to award maritime career training grants to eligible institutions (e.g., postsecondary educational institutions or postsecondary vocational institutions) for the purpose of developing, offering, or improving educational or career training programs for workers in the United States related to the maritime workforce.
Transportation Fuel Market Transparency Act This bill expands prohibitions against manipulating fuel markets, establishes a body within the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to monitor fuel markets to ensure competitiveness, and addresses related issues. Prohibitions against the manipulation of wholesale fuel markets or reporting false (or misleading) information shall apply to actions related to crude oil and transportation fuel, defined in this bill to include gasoline, distillate fuels, jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel. Currently, such prohibitions only apply to crude oil, gasoline, and petroleum distillates. The bill further expands the prohibition on reporting false information to include such information that (1) concerns the supply of, operational actions related to, or output related to wholesale fuel markets; (2) is not required to be reported by law; or (3) affects the analyses or data compiled by a private sector price-reporting agency. The bill also increases the maximum civil penalty for violating these prohibitions from $1 million to $2 million for each day of the violation. Furthermore, the bill establishes within the FTC the Transportation Fuel Monitoring and Enforcement Unit. The unit must continuously and comprehensively collect and analyze fuel market data to support competitive market practices, identify market manipulation and other unfair methods of competition, and facilitate enforcement of competition-related statutes. The Energy Information Administration within the Department of Energy must collect data to facilitate transparent and competitive transportation fuel markets, determine adherence to sanctions, and protect consumers.
Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act This bill establishes the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States and sets forth its powers, duties, and membership. Among other duties, the commission must investigate the impacts and ongoing effects of the Indian Boarding School Policies (federal policies under which American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children were forcibly removed from their family homes and placed in boarding schools). Further, the commission must develop recommendations on ways to (1) protect unmarked graves and accompanying land protections; (2) support repatriation and identify the tribal nations from which children were taken; and (3) discontinue the removal of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children from their families and tribal communities by state social service departments, foster care agencies, and adoption agencies.
Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 20 21 This bill expands various labor protections related to employees' rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace. Among other things, it revises the definitions of employee , supervisor , and employer to broaden the scope of individuals covered by the fair labor standards; permits labor organizations to encourage participation of union members in strikes initiated by employees represented by a different labor organization (i.e., secondary strikes); and prohibits employers from bringing claims against unions that conduct such secondary strikes. The bill also allows collective bargaining agreements to require all employees represented by the bargaining unit to contribute fees to the labor organization for the cost of such representation, notwithstanding a state law to the contrary; and expands unfair labor practices to include prohibitions against replacement of, or discrimination against, workers who participate in strikes. The bill makes it an unfair labor practice to require or coerce employees to attend employer meetings designed to discourage union membership and prohibits employers from entering into agreements with employees under which employees waive the right to pursue or a join collective or class-action litigation. Finally, the bill addresses the procedures for union representation elections, modifies the protections against unfair labor practices that result in serious economic harm, and establishes penalties and permits injunctive relief against entities that fail to comply with National Labor Relations Board orders.
My Body, My Data Act of 2022 This bill establishes protections, subject to certain limits, for personal reproductive or sexual health information. This includes information relating to past, present, or future surgeries or procedures, such as the termination of a pregnancy. Specifically, commercial entities, including individuals, nonprofits, and common carriers, may not collect, retain, use, or disclose personal reproductive or sexual health information except (1) with the express written consent of the individual to whom such information relates, or (2) as is strictly necessary to provide a requested product or service. Commercial entities also must provide individuals with access to, and a reasonable mechanism to delete, any of their reproductive or sexual health information upon request. Further, commercial entities must maintain and publish a privacy policy describing their practices with respect to such information. The bill's provisions do not apply to entities that are subject to certain existing health-related privacy regulations, such as the privacy regulations issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Additionally, the provisions do not apply to the disclosure of personal reproductive or sexual health information for the publication of newsworthy information of legitimate public concern. The bill provides for enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission and by private civil actions.