Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Reauthorization Act of 2022 or the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act This act reauthorizes through FY2028 and modifies pediatric cancer research and related programs, including to expand collection of and access to relevant biospecimens and to support the transition of pediatric cancer survivors to primary care.
National Heritage Area Act This act establishes a National Heritage Area System. The Department of the Interior may provide technical and financial assistance to local coordinating entities to support the establishment, development, and continuity of such areas. The National Heritage Area System shall be composed of each National Heritage Area, National Heritage Corridor, National Heritage Canalway, Cultural Heritage Corridor, National Heritage Route, and National Heritage Partnership designated by Congress before or on enactment of this act; and each National Heritage Area designated by Congress after enactment of this act. A National Heritage Area shall not be considered to be a unit of the National Park System nor subject to the authorities applicable to such units. Interior may carry out or review a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of each proposed heritage area for designation as a National Heritage Area. Interior must review and certify whether the proposed area meets specified requirements, including that it has natural, historic, and cultural resources that represent distinctive aspects of the heritage of the United States. An area shall be designated as a National Heritage Area only by an act of Congress. Interior shall conduct studies to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating specified areas in Hawaii as the Kaena Point National Heritage Area and in Virginia and North Carolina as the Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area. The act also (1) establishes or extends specified National Heritage Areas, (2) redesignates the America's Agricultural Heritage Partnership in Iowa as the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area, and (3) extends the deadline for the management plans for certain heritage areas.
Durbin Feeling Native American Languages Act of 2022 This act directs the President to review whether federal agencies are in compliance with requirements to promote the use of Native American languages and make recommendations to improve interagency coordination to support the use of these languages. It also requires the Administration for Native Americans to survey the use of Native American languages in the United States.
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021 This act provides for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley. After it is awarded, the medal shall be given to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Law Enforcement De-Escalation Training Act of 2022 This act directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to develop scenario-based training curricula (or identify existing curricula) that includes topics such as alternatives to the use of force, de-escalation tactics, and safely responding to an individual experiencing a mental, behavioral health, or suicidal crisis. The act also directs DOJ to make grants to states for costs associated with providing the training to law enforcement officers or mental health professionals.
Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Reauthorization Act of 2022 This act expands the allowable use of grants under the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program. The program provides state, local, and tribal grants to improve the criminal justice system's response to people with mental health disorders. Among the provisions, the act allows funds for diversion and alternative prosecution and sentencing programs to be used for training for state and local prosecutors related to diversion programs; allows funds for multidisciplinary teams to be used to support police officers and mental health crisis workers responding together to mental health calls; and allows grants to be awarded for additional purposes such as suicide prevention programs and services, case management services, and state and local implementation of the 988 suicide hotline. Additionally, the act reauthorizes through FY2027 the requirement for the Department of Justice to examine and report on the prevalence of mentally ill offenders in prisons and jails.
Iran Hostages Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the 53 hostages of the Iran Hostage Crisis (November 4, 1979-January 21, 1981) in recognition of their bravery and endurance throughout their captivity.
Small Business Cyber Training Act of 2022 This bill requires the Small Business Administration to establish a program for certifying at least 5 or 10% of the total number of employees of a small business development center to provide cybersecurity planning assistance to small businesses.
Saline Lake Ecosystems in the Great Basin States Program Act of 2022 This act requires the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to establish a Saline Lake Ecosystems in the Great Basin States Assessment and Monitoring Program. Under the program, the USGS must assess, monitor, and conserve saline lake ecosystems in the Great Basin as well as the wildlife that depend on those ecosystems.
Faster Payments to Veterans' Survivors Act of 2022 This act modifies policies and procedures related to the payment of benefits under certain life insurance programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). If a primary beneficiary has not made a claim for payment within one year (currently two years) after the death of the insured under the National Service Life Insurance (NSLI) program or the United States Government Life Insurance (USGLI) program, the VA is authorized to make payment to another designated beneficiary as if the primary beneficiary had predeceased the insured. If no designated beneficiary makes a claim within two years (currently four years) after the death of the insured, the VA is authorized to make a payment to a person the VA deems to be equitably entitled to such benefit. The act also modifies the beneficiary designation process under NSLI and USGLI. Specifically, if a person does not designate a beneficiary for insurance, or if the designated beneficiary predeceases the insured person, the VA must determine the beneficiary in a specified order of succession. Additionally, the act requires the VA to improve its processes and procedures with respect to identifying, locating, and paying hard-to-find beneficiaries of life insurance policies, including by improving its website search tools.
Strengthening VA Cybersecurity Act of 2022 or the SVAC Act of 2022 This act requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to seek to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and development center to provide a cybersecurity assessment of five high-impact VA information systems and the effectiveness of the VA's information security program and information security management system. The VA must submit a plan to Congress to address the findings of the assessment. The Government Accountability Office must review the assessment and the VA's response to the assessment and report its findings to Congress.
21st Century President Act This act revises the definition of immediate family for purposes of a criminal offense involving a threat to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm on a former President or a member of the immediate family of a former President. Specifically, it replaces gender-specific references to a former President's wife and widow with the gender-neutral terms spouse and surviving spouse .
