SRES 630 is a Senate resolution expressing support for designating the week of May 1-7, 2022, as "National Small Business Week" to honor small businesses and entrepreneurs nationwide. It highlights that small businesses support over 61 million jobs and demonstrate resilience amid pandemic challenges, though the resolution does not create new legal requirements or funding. The resolution symbolically recognizes their economic contributions and role in community rebuilding without imposing binding obligations. As a commemorative measure, it aligns with longstanding presidential designations dating to 1963.
This resolution expresses that the Senate (1) remains committed to the Cambodian people and their aspirations for a more peaceful, prosperous, democratic, and sovereign country as envisioned in the agreements signed at the Paris Conference on Cambodia on October 23, 1991 (commonly referred to as the Paris Peace Agreements), with the support of the international community; and (2) calls upon all signatories of the Paris Peace Agreements, including Cambodian stakeholders, to reaffirm their commitments under the agreements.
Benjamin Berell Ferencz Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Benjamin Berell Ferencz in recognition of his service to the United States and the international community during the post-World War II Nuremberg trials and his lifelong advocacy for international criminal justice and the rule of law.
Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Authorization Act This bill authorizes the allocation of certain funds for purposes related to the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, requires the Department of State to develop a strategy for prioritizing efforts to increase disaster response and resilience in the Caribbean, and establishes monitoring and reporting requirements. Funds for carrying out the initiative shall be used for purposes that include (1) promoting citizen safety, security, and the rule of law in the Caribbean; (2) prioritizing efforts to combat corruption; and (3) promoting the rule of law in the Caribbean and countering influence from authoritarian regimes. The State Department shall develop a strategy that incorporates specific, measurable benchmarks demonstrating a prioritization of efforts to increase disaster response and resilience through carrying out specified coordination, resilience, and preparedness programs in beneficiary countries. The State Department must also submit an implementation plan that includes a timeline and stated objectives for such actions to be taken.
Transatlantic Telecommunications Security Act This bill directs the Department of State and other federal agencies to help certain countries improve the security of their telecommunications networks and addresses related issues. Assistance provided under this bill shall be available to projects in a country that falls below certain gross domestic product per capita thresholds and is (1) a NATO member state that shares a border with Russia, or (2) a European country that has not participated in or aided Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A project located in such a country shall be eligible for assistance if the project (1) improves telecommunications networks; (2) is inclusive, transparent, economically viable, sustainable, supplied only with secure equipment and services, and compliant with international standards and laws; and (3) does not use equipment or services from China or Russia or replaces such equipment or services. To support eligible projects, the State Department shall provide diplomatic and political support and shall also encourage international financial institutions to provide investment support. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and other specified federal agencies shall also provide project support, such as feasibility studies and finance-related support, as necessary. The State Department must also appoint, from among its existing personnel, an International Telecommunication Union Security Campaign Director. The director must, among other duties, lead efforts to promote candidates for elections at the International Telecommunication Union who will support and defend democratic values, internet freedom, and telecommunication security.
This resolution designates March 2022 as Irish-American Heritage Month. The resolution also recognizes the significant contributions of Irish Americans in the history and progress of the United States. Finally, the resolution supports the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement (also known as the Belfast Agreement) and subsequent agreements or arrangements for implementation of that agreement to support peace in Ireland.
This resolution extends collective bargaining rights prescribed in the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to employees of the House of Representatives.
This resolution designates May 10, 2022, as National Fentanyl Awareness Day to bring attention to the impact of fake or counterfeit fentanyl pills. (Fentanyl is a potent prescription opioid for treating severe pain that is also made and used illegally.)
This resolution expresses that the Senate has heard of the death of the Honorable Orrin G. Hatch, former U.S. Senator for the state of Utah. The resolution also expresses that the Senate honors the life and legacy of the late Senator Hatch for his unwavering dedication to Utah as a Senator and a public servant and accomplishments in legislating with principle and dedication for the good of the people of the United States. The resolution states when the Senate adjourns today, it stands adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Hatch.
United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 This bill addresses U.S. technology and communications, foreign relations and national security, domestic manufacturing, education, trade, and other matters. Among other provisions, the bill provides funding for FY2022-FY2026 to support U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, research and development, and supply chain security; provides funding for wireless supply chain innovation; establishes a Directorate for Technology and Innovation in the National Science Foundation; extends through 2025 the authority of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to lease its non-excess real property and related personal property; authorizes various programs and policies related to space exploration; authorizes various international affairs programs and activities, including foreign assistance for the Indo-Pacific region; requires federal infrastructure programs to provide for the use of materials produced in the United States; imposes sanctions on China for cybersecurity and human rights abuses; requires the Department of Health and Human Services to consider national security risks associated with sensitive genetic information; includes initiatives related to elementary and secondary education, including those to increase computer science education; contains provisions related to higher education, including those reauthorizing through FY2027 international education programs and addressing China's influence on institutions of higher education; modifies and expands the schedule for graduated merger filing fees; prohibits federal funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology; requires the U.S. Trade Representative to take certain actions related to digital trade and censorship practices; and extends through 2027 the Generalized System of Preferences.
SRES 614 is a Senate resolution designating July 20, 2022, as "Glioblastoma Awareness Day." It does not create new laws or funding but formally recognizes the need for greater public awareness of glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer with a low survival rate (6.8% at 5 years). The resolution encourages public education about the disease, honors those affected, and supports research efforts like the Glioblastoma Therapeutics Network. It serves as a symbolic gesture to highlight the urgent unmet medical needs of glioblastoma patients and caregivers.
SRES 613 is a Senate resolution supporting National Minority Health Month in April 2022. It calls for raising public awareness about health disparities faced by specific minority groups, including American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders. The resolution does not create new laws or allocate funds but serves as a symbolic statement to highlight these inequities, referencing statistics on higher rates of conditions like diabetes, HIV, and infant mortality in these communities.
