Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act This bill directs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to establish an initiative to research, develop, and demonstrate new technologies and concepts to reduce emissions and noise from aircraft. Emissions to be addressed include carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), water vapor, black carbon, and sulfate aerosols. The goals and objectives of the initiative shall include (1) ensuring U.S. leadership in research and technology innovation leading to substantial reductions in aviation noise and emissions; (2) reducing greenhouse gas emissions from new and replacement aircraft to the extent necessary to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. aviation by 2050; and (3) noise levels from aircraft throughout all phases of flight that do not exceed ambient noise levels in the absence of flight operations in the vicinity of the flight route.
Respect for Marriage Act This bill provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages. Specifically, the bill repeals and replaces provisions that define, for purposes of federal law, marriage as between a man and a woman and spouse as a person of the opposite sex with provisions that recognize any marriage that is valid under state law. (The Supreme Court held that the current provisions were unconstitutional in United States v. Windsor in 2013.) The bill also repeals and replaces provisions that do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states with provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, or national origin. (The Supreme Court held that state laws barring same-sex marriages were unconstitutional in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015; the Court held that state laws barring interracial marriages were unconstitutional in Loving v. Virginia in 1967.) The bill allows the Department of Justice to bring a civil action and establishes a private right of action for violations.
Expanding Access to Family Planning Act This bill provides, subject to specified conditions, funding through FY2032 for federally funded family planning services and clinics. In particular, the funds must be used for (1) grants and contracts that support the provision of family planning services, and (2) clinic infrastructure (e.g., construction and renovation of clinics). Clinics that receive funding to provide family planning services must offer each patient with a positive pregnancy test the opportunity for nondirective counseling on (1) prenatal care and delivery; (2) infant care, foster care, and adoption; and (3) pregnancy termination. This counseling must include referrals if requested by a patient. Additionally, if a funding recipient makes subawards for the provision of family planning services, the recipient may not prohibit an entity from participating in a subaward program for reasons other than the entity's inability to provide family planning services.
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.
This resolution expresses that the House of Representatives is committed to building upon the 20 years of success of the George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, complementing humanitarian assistance efforts and development programs through the continued implementation of the McGovern-Dole Program to address global food insecurity and create conditions for peace and stability, and supporting U.S. farmers, millers, shippers, and commodity groups that provide agricultural commodities for use in the McGovern-Dole Program to help combat global malnutrition and food insecurity and advance global education.
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.
Veterans Marriage Recognition Act of 2022 This bill revises the definition of a spouse and surviving spouse for purposes related to veterans' benefits, health care, and other matters. Specifically, the bill includes persons who are in same sex marriages as spouses and surviving spouses.
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase the amounts payable for wartime disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. Specifically, the VA must increase the amounts by the same percentage as the cost-of-living increase in benefits for Social Security recipients that is effective on December 1, 2022. The bill requires the VA to publish the amounts payable, as increased, in the Federal Register. The VA is authorized to make a similar adjustment to the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who have not received compensation for service-connected disability or death.
Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a national mercury monitoring program. Under the program, the EPA must track and report on long-term changes of mercury concentrations in air, water, soil, and fish and wildlife. In addition, the EPA must establish an online database for mercury data.
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.
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.
Chase COVID Unemployment Fraud Act of 2022 This bill addresses fraud and overpayments of pandemic unemployment assistance, including by allowing states to retain a specified percentage of recovered funds and prohibiting the Department of Labor from allowing blanket waivers of overpayments.
