Reclaiming the Solar Supply Chain Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Energy to establish a program that awards grants and direct loans to support a solar component manufacturing supply chain. Under the program, manufacturers and other eligible entities must use grants and loans for (1) constructing new facilities that manufacture solar components; and (2) retooling, retrofitting, or expanding existing facilities that manufacture solar components.
Credit Union Board Modernization Act This bill revises the frequency of meetings required to be held by a credit union's board of directors. Specifically, the bill requires monthly meetings for new credit unions during their first five years and for credit unions with a low soundness rating. All other credit unions must hold at least six meetings annually, with at least one meeting held during each fiscal quarter. Currently, all credit union boards must meet at least once a month.
Specialty Physicians Advancing Rural Care Act or the SPARC Act This bill establishes student loan repayment programs to support the provision of specialty medical care in rural areas. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) must carry out such a program for certain specialty medicine physicians who provide care in rural communities with shortages of such physicians. Physicians must agree to a period of obligated service and, for each year of such service, HRSA must pay one-sixth of the principal payment and interest on eligible loans up to a maximum cap of $250,000. Additionally, HRSA may carry out a similar loan repayment program for nonphysician specialty health care providers.
Advancing Affordable Medicines for Families Act This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to report on the potential impact of nonprofit pharmaceutical organizations on the availability and cost of drugs as well as such organizations' potential to accelerate development of new drugs, generic drugs, new biological products, biosimilar products, cell-based therapies, and medical devices.
One Stop Shop for Small Business Compliance Act of 2022 This bill requires the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman to create a website compiling small entity compliance guides and contact information for individuals who can assist small entities with each guide.
Large Scale Water Recycling Project and Drought Resiliency Investment Act This bill requires the Department of the Interior to award grants to water or power delivery authorities for the planning, design, and construction of large-scale water recycling and reuse projects in drought-stricken regions of certain Western states. The bill includes emergency drought planning as a watershed management project under the Cooperative Watershed Management Program. Financial assistance may be made available under the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991 for eligible water projects to assist Western states and tribal governments to address drought-related impacts to water supplies or any other immediate water-related crisis or conflict.
Native American Rural Homeownership Improvement Act of 2021 This bill provides statutory authority for a Department of Agriculture pilot program that provides direct loans to Native community development financial institutions to increase homeownership opportunities for tribal communities in rural areas.
This resolution expresses that the House of Representatives is deeply concerned for the latest years-long drought in the Horn of Africa and the ensuing food security crisis and severe socioeconomic disturbances it caused; acknowledges the role that climate change plays in increasing the frequency of extreme weather events like droughts, and pledges to take coordinated, international action to adapt to and avert further global warming; reaffirms the effectiveness and instrumentality of U.S. international food assistance for meeting humanitarian obligations, cultivating enduring self-reliance in developing nations, ensuring the stability of global financial markets, and mitigating the likelihood of conflict in accordance with our national security interests; and emphasizes the importance of funding urgently needed humanitarian assistance for hunger-stricken regions of the world, supporting the development of sustainable agricultural sectors in developing nations, and assisting with the international resettlement of refugees escaping droughts and extreme hunger.
This resolution expresses support for the designation of a National Leading Entertainment and Arts through Diversity Month to emphasize the importance of increased representation across the entertainment industry.
HRES 1141 is a symbolic resolution designating the week of May 23-27, 2022, as "Educator Mental Health Awareness Week." It expresses congressional support for recognizing the mental health challenges faced by teachers and school staff, particularly during the pandemic. The resolution highlights statistics showing heightened stress, depression, and anxiety among educators, as reported in 2021 surveys. It urges awareness of educator well-being but does not create new programs, funding, or legal requirements. The resolution serves only as a non-binding statement of support.
Deepfake Task Force Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to temporarily establish the National Deepfake Provenance Task Force. Comprised of federal and nonfederal stakeholders, the task force must address threats posed by digital content forgeries (i.e., digital audio, images, and text fabricated or manipulated using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other emerging technologies with the intent to mislead). The task force's activities include developing a plan to reduce the proliferation of digital content forgeries. The task force terminates 90 days after submitting its final report.
National Wildland Fire Risk Reduction Program Act of 2022 This bill directs the President to establish a National Wildland Fire Risk Reduction Program to achieve major measurable reductions in the losses of life, property, and natural resources from wildland fires. This program shall coordinate federal efforts to improve the assessment of fire environments and the understanding and prediction of wildland fires, associated smoke, and their impacts; develop and encourage the adoption of science-based and cost-effective measures to enhance community resilience to wildland fires, to prevent and mitigate wildland fire and associated smoke impacts and to restore natural fire regimes in fire-dependent ecosystems; and improve the understanding and mitigation of the impacts of climate change, drought, and climate variability on wildland fire risk, frequency, and severity and inform the other goals described here. Not later than 90 days after enactment of this bill, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shall establish an Interagency Coordinating Committee on Wildland Fire Risk Reduction to oversee the planning, management, and coordination of the program. The committee shall submit a strategic plan for the program to Congress. The Government Accountability Office shall submit a report to Congress on the progress and performance of the program. Further, the bill sets forth the responsibilities of NIST, the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Energy with respect to the program.
