Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2022 This bill provides FY2022 appropriations for several federal departments and agencies, including the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President, the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and several independent agencies. The independent agencies funded in the bill include the Administrative Conference of the United States, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Election Assistance Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Election Commission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, the Federal Trade Commission, the General Services Administration, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of Government Ethics, the Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Special Counsel, the Postal Regulatory Commission, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, the Public Buildings Reform Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Selective Service System, the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Postal Service, and the U.S. Tax Court. The bill also sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations acts.
Rachel Booth Act This bill provides eligibility for transitional compensation to dependents of members of the Armed Forces in situations where a member (1) has been convicted of a dependent-abuse offense in a civilian court but has been separated from duty for an offense other than the abuse offense, or (2) has been accused but not convicted of such an offense but has been determined to have committed the offense by a commander and required to forfeit pay and allowances pursuant to an offense other than the abuse offense.
Protection of Social Security Benefits Restoration Act This bill prohibits the application of, and repeals authority for, administrative offsets to Social Security, railroad retirement, and black lung benefits. (An administrative offset is the withholding of funds payable by or held by the United States to satisfy a debt.)
Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2021 This bill allows certain individuals to sue and recover damages for harm from exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987. This action is available only to individuals who were exposed to contaminated water for at least 30 days. The bill prohibits the U.S. government from asserting specified immunity from litigation in response to such a lawsuit. The bill also prohibits an individual who brings such an action from bringing a separate tort action against the United States based on the same harm.
National Commission on the COVID-19 Pandemic Act This bill temporarily establishes the National Commission on the COVID-19 Pandemic in the legislative branch to investigate the facts and circumstances regarding the emergence of, spread of, and response to COVID-19. The commission terminates 90 days after it submits a final report of its findings and recommendations.
EMBRACE Stormwater Management Act or the Enhancing Military Base Resilience And Conserving Ecosystems through Stormwater Management Act This bill authorizes the Department of Defense and each military department to implement stormwater management projects on or related to military installations. Specifically, such projects are authorized for the purpose of (1) protecting nearby waterways and stormwater-stressed ecosystems, and (2) improving military installation resilience or the resilience of a defense access road or other essential civilian infrastructure supporting the installation.
Private Prison Information Act of 2021 This bill specifies that a record related to a nonfederal prison, correctional, or detention facility must be considered a federal agency record for purposes of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A nonfederal prison, correctional, or detention facility must disclose information under FOIA unless the information is exempt from disclosure or the disclosure is prohibited by law. The term nonfederal prison, correctional, or detention facility means (1) a private prison, correctional, or detention facility; or (2) a state or local prison, jail, or other correctional or detention facility.
Medicaid Dental Benefit Act of 2021 This bill requires state Medicaid programs to cover dental and oral health services for adults. It also increases the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for such services. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must develop oral health quality and equity measures and conduct outreach relating to such coverage. Additionally, the Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Payment and Access Commission must report on specified information relating to adult oral health care.
United States-Taiwan Public Health Protection Act This bill requires the Department of State to establish an Infectious Disease Monitoring Center within the American Institute in Taipei, Taiwan. (The U.S.-Taiwan relationship is unofficial, and the American Institute in Taiwan office in Taipei performs many of the same functions as an embassy.) The center must seek to partner with the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control to monitor infectious diseases in the region, including by regularly monitoring, analyzing, and disseminating open-source material, such as viral strains and other pathogens, from countries in the region.
Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Enforcement Ac t This bill establishes statutory prohibitions, investigatory mechanisms, and enforcement provisions regarding the receipt from a foreign or domestic government of profits, gains, advantages, or payments (i.e., emoluments) by U.S. officeholders. Specifically, the bill prohibits any U.S. officeholder from accepting, directly or indirectly, emoluments from a foreign government without consent of Congress. The prohibition is enforceable through a civil action filed by the House of Representatives or Senate. Additionally, the bill prohibits the President from accepting emoluments from a domestic government other than compensation for his or her services as President. Both foreign and domestic emolument prohibitions are enforceable through administrative fines and civil actions by the Office of Government Ethics. The Office of Special Counsel must investigate violations of the bill.
Protection of Social Security Benefits Restoration Act This bill prohibits the application of, and repeals authority for, administrative offsets to Social Security, railroad retirement, and black lung benefits. (An administrative offset is the withholding of funds payable by or held by the United States to satisfy a debt.)
Veterans Justice Outreach Improvement Act This bill updates the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Justice Outreach Program, which is a program through which the VA identifies justice-involved veterans and provides them with access to VA services. Justice-involved veterans are those with active, ongoing, or recent contact with some component of a local criminal justice system. Specifically, the bill requires the VA to conduct program outreach to justice-involved veterans, military and veterans service organizations, and relevant stakeholders in the criminal justice community (e.g., local law enforcement). The VA must increase the number of program specialists responsible for supporting justice-involved veterans in rural, remote, or underserved areas. Additionally, the VA must establish performance goals, measures, and implementation time lines for the program, specialists, and providing support for research regarding justice-involved veterans. Program specialists must receive training, at least annually, on (1) veteran eligibility for the program, and (2) best practices for identifying and conducting outreach to justice-involved veterans and relevant stakeholders in the criminal justice community.
