This joint resolution expresses that Congress recognizes that the United States' nuclear testing program and radioactive waste disposal in the Marshall Islands caused irreparable material and intangible harm to the people of those islands, apologizes on behalf of the United States to the individuals and families of the Marshall Islands for the hardships they have endured as a result of the U.S. nuclear testing program and radioactive waste disposal, and recognizes that it is incumbent on the United States to open dialogue regarding the nuclear legacy of the United States in the Marshall Islands during any negotiation of the Compact of Free Association or its subsidiary agreements.
Resolving Extended Limbo for Immigrant Employees and Families Act or the RELIEF Act This bill revises provisions related to family- and employment-based visas. The bill (1) increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% of the total number of such visas available that year to 15%, (2) eliminates the 7% cap for employment-based immigrant visas, and (3) removes an offset that reduced the number of visas for individuals from China. The annual cap for visas for the unmarried children of citizens is increased, and the formula for calculating the cap for the unmarried children of residents is revised. The bill also establishes transition rules for employment-based visas from FY2022-FY2024, by reserving a percentage of EB-2 (workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability), EB-3 (skilled and other workers), and EB-5 (investors) visas for individuals not from the two countries with the largest number of recipients of such visas. Of the unreserved visas, not more than 85% shall be allotted to immigrants from any single country. The Department of State shall increase allocations of family- and employment-based visas by the number of beneficiaries of such applications filed before this bill's enactment, to be allocated FY2022-FY2026 to beneficiaries of applications filed before this bill's enactment who have not yet received a visa. The minor children and spouses of permanent residents and those accompanying a qualified alien shall be treated as an immediate relative for immigration purposes. Whether an alien qualifies as a minor shall be determined according to the alien's age at the time a relevant petition is filed.
Safer Seas Act This bill addresses sexual assault and sexual harassment in the U.S. maritime industry. Among other provisions, the bill requires the U.S. Coast Guard to revoke or suspend a license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner's document to an individual who has been convicted of sexual assault within the previous 10 years and to revoke or suspend such credentials to an individual who has been convicted of sexual harassment within the previous 5 years; provides protection of seaman against discrimination for those who report or intend to report sexual assault or sexual harassment incidents; directs the Coast Guard to promulgate regulations related to possession and consumption of alcohol by crewmembers aboard documented vessels; requires non-passenger carrying, ocean-going, commercial vessels to install and maintain a video surveillance system with audio capability in areas adjacent to bedrooms and limit access to the surveillance to law enforcement officials and victims of sexual assault or sexual harassment; and creates new reporting mandates and procedures for crew and vessel owners to report sexual assault or sexual harassment.
This joint resolution nullifies the rule titled Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination , which was issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on November 5, 2021. The rule requires health care providers, as a condition of Medicare and Medicaid participation, to ensure that staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
This resolution expresses that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the energy independence of the United States is critical to national security and should include the production and use of all available energy sources, including coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear energy, and renewables, as well as strategic minerals critical to electric vehicles and other clean energy sources; and President Biden should take immediate action to restore the energy security of the United States and provide U.S. allies with an affordable and secure supply of energy.
Lake Tahoe Restoration Reauthorization Act This bill reauthorizes through September 30, 2034, activities to restore Lake Tahoe and its surrounding basin. Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake on the border of California and Nevada.
Modernizing Access to our Public Land Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to jointly develop and adopt interagency standards to ensure compatibility and interoperability among federal databases for the collection and dissemination of certain data. Specifically, these requirements shall apply to outdoor recreation data related to federal lands and used to depict locations at which recreation uses are available to the public. Each such department shall digitize and make publicly available on their websites, as applicable, geographic information system mapping data that specifies, with respect to the relevant department, all federal interests in private land, including easements, reservations, and rights-of-way to which the federal government does not have a fee title interest, and that may be used to provide recreational access to the federal land. Interior, the Forest Service, and the Corps of Engineers must digitize and publish geographic information system mapping data that includes status information as to whether roads and trails are open or closed, the dates on which roads and trails are seasonally opened and closed, the types of vehicles that are allowed on each segment of roads and trails, and the boundaries of areas where hunting or recreational shooting is regulated or closed.
Minorities in Aviation Education Act of 2022 This bill establishes grants for increasing the exposure of students who are underrepresented in aviation to that industry. The Department of Transportation must award the grants to state and local governments or educational agencies.
Women's Health Protection Act of 2021 This bill prohibits governmental restrictions on the provision of, and access to, abortion services. Specifically, governments may not limit a provider's ability to prescribe certain drugs, offer abortion services via telemedicine, or immediately provide abortion services when the provider determines a delay risks the patient's health. Furthermore, governments may not require a provider to perform unnecessary medical procedures, provide medically inaccurate information, comply with credentialing or other conditions that do not apply to providers whose services are medically comparable to abortions, or carry out all services connected to an abortion. In addition, governments may not (1) require patients to make medically unnecessary in-person visits before receiving abortion services or disclose their reasons for obtaining such services, or (2) prohibit abortion services before fetal viability or after fetal viability when a provider determines the pregnancy risks the patient's life or health. The bill also prohibits other governmental measures that are similar to the bill's specified restrictions or that otherwise single out and impede access to abortion services, unless a government demonstrates that the measure significantly advances the safety of abortion services or health of patients and cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. The Department of Justice, individuals, or providers may bring a lawsuit to enforce this bill, and states are not immune from suits for violations. The bill applies to restrictions imposed both prior and subsequent to the bill's enactment.
Original Black History Month Resolution of 2022 This resolution recognizes the importance of commemorating Black History Month to acknowledge the achievements of Black Americans throughout history.
Avi Kwa Ame National Monument Establishment Act of 2022 This bill establishes the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada, consisting of approximately 445,000 acres of federal land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It is the purpose of the monument to conserve, protect, and enhance for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations the cultural, ecological, scenic, wildlife, recreational, dark sky, historical, natural, educational, and scientific resources of the monument. The Department of the Interior shall manage the monument as a component of the National Landscape Conservation System. Interior shall ensure access to the monument by members of Indian tribes for traditional cultural purposes. Interior shall develop a comprehensive plan for the long-term management of the monument. The bill withdraws federal land located in the monument from entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws; location, entry, and patenting under the mining laws; and operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws. Any land or interest in land within the boundary of the monument that is acquired by the United States shall become part of the monument and be withdrawn as specified above. Interior shall establish the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument Advisory Council to advise Interior on the preparation and implementation of the management plan, including budgetary matters related to the monument. Interior shall transfer administrative jurisdiction of any Bureau of Reclamation land within the monument to the BLM.
America's Call To Improve Opportunities Now for National Service Act or the ACTION for National Service Act This bill (1) converts the Corporation for National and Community Service into the AmeriCorps Administration and revises its membership, leadership, and authority; (2) reauthorizes programs carried out by the administration; (3) establishes a National Service Foundation to accept and administer gifts on behalf of the administration; (4) modifies the calculation of national service educational awards; and (5) otherwise modifies provisions related to national and volunteer service programs. Additionally, the bill creates an interagency Civilian Climate Corps, operated by the administration, to conduct service projects addressing climate change.
