Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act This bill withdraws certain federal lands and waters in Minnesota from mining and related activities. Specifically, the bill withdraws approximately 234,328 acres of federal land and waters in a specified area in the Rainy River Watershed of Superior National Forest from entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws; location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws. The area is adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Mining Protection Area. Land or interest in land within such area that is acquired by the United States shall be immediately withdrawn in accordance with this bill. The Forest Service is authorized to permit the removal of sand, granite, iron ore, and taconite from national forest system lands within such area if the removal is not detrimental to the water quality, air quality, and health of forest habitat within the Rainy River Watershed.
Transparency in Energy Production Act of 2021 This bill requires certain disclosures by entities seeking a lease or holding a lease to develop renewable energy operations or fossil fuel operations on public lands or Indian lands or any operation using any right-of-way or special use permit that would cross public lands, Indian lands, or national forests that would facilitate fossil fuel development. The disclosures are those described in the Sustainability Accounting Standard for the Renewable Resources and Alternative Energy Sector or the Extractives and Mineral Processing Sector. Every two years, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture must report to Congress on such operations, including greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, water management, biodiversity impacts, production, and the number of sites. For renewable energy operations on public lands or Indian lands, the report must include greenhouse gas emissions that would result from the production of the same amount of energy using fossil fuels.
Bonding Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2021 This bill revises bonding requirements for oil and gas development on public land leased from the federal government. Such bonds are required to ensure oil and gas developers have adequate financial resources for implementing reclamation plans to restore public land after oil and gas development (e.g., drilling operations) ceases. Specifically, the bill increases the bond amounts that oil and gas developers must provide prior to conducting surface-disturbing activities and requires such amounts to adjust at least once every three years for inflation. In addition, the bill sets fees to cover the cost for inspection and enforcement with respect to such leases. The bill also requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to establish uniform standards for all interim and final reclamation plans. BLM and USFS may not release any bond amounts until the standards have been met by oil and gas developers and the inspection fees have been paid. Finally, the bill gives the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service the authority to obtain and retain adequate financial assurances (e.g., bonds) from nonfederal entities to repair potential damages to resources of the National Wildlife Refuge System prior to the commencement of activities related to mineral development, such as oil and gas operations.
Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act This bill addresses the migration of executive agencies information technology systems to post-quantum cryptography. Post-quantum cryptography is encryption strong enough to resist attacks from quantum computers developed in the future. Not later than one year after the National Institutes of Standards and Technology has issued post-quantum cryptography standards, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shall begin to prioritize the migration of agency information technology systems to post-quantum cryptography. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this bill, the OMB shall submit to Congress a report on a strategy to address the risk posed by the vulnerabilities of agency information technology systems to the potential capability of a quantum computer; the funding necessary to secure such information technology systems from the threat posed by adversarial access to quantum computers; and a description of federal coordination efforts to develop standards for post-quantum cryptography, including any federal Information Processing Standards.
Respect for Marriage Act This act provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages. Specifically, the act replaces provisions that define, for purposes of federal law, marriage as between a man and a woman and spouse as a person of the opposite sex with provisions that recognize any marriage between two individuals that is valid under state law. (The Supreme Court held that the current provisions were unconstitutional in United States v. Windsor in 2013.) The act also replaces provisions that do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states with provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. (The Supreme Court held that state laws barring same-sex marriages were unconstitutional in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015; the Court held that state laws barring interracial marriages were unconstitutional in Loving v. Virginia in 1967.) The act allows the Department of Justice to bring a civil action and establishes a private right of action for violations. The act does not (1) affect religious liberties or conscience protections that are available under the Constitution or federal law, (2) require religious organizations to provide goods or services to formally recognize or celebrate a marriage, (3) affect any benefits or rights that do not arise from a marriage, or (4) recognize under federal law any marriage between more than two individuals.
National Laboratory Biotechnology Research Act of 2022 This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a National Laboratory Biotechnology Program to integrate the resources of DOE, including the Office of Science, the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, and the National Nuclear Security Administration, to provide research and development and response capabilities to respond to long-term biotechnology threats facing the United States, and any remaining threats posed by COVID-19. The Office of Science shall support research that harnesses the capabilities of the national laboratories to address advanced biological threats of national security significance. The Office of Science shall promote cooperative research and development activities under the program, including collaboration between appropriate industry and academic institutions to promote innovation and the creation of knowledge. No less frequently than biennially, DOE shall develop a strategic research plan under the program.
Senator Johnny Isakson VA Regional Office Act of 2022 This act designates the Department of Veterans Affairs Atlanta Regional Office in Georgia as the Senator Johnny Isakson Department of Veterans Affairs Atlanta Regional Office or the Isakson VA Atlanta Regional Office.
First Responder Fair Return for Employees on Their Initial Retirement Earned Act or the First Responder Fair RETIRE Act This act allows disabled federal first responders (e.g., law enforcement officers, customs and border protection officers, and firefighters) to continue receiving federal retirement benefits in the same manner as though they had not been disabled. Under current law, federal first responders are subject to a mandatory retirement age of 57. To facilitate this earlier retirement, federal first responders are required to pay a greater percentage of their salary towards retirement. Additionally, their annuity amount is calculated at a higher rate than other federal employees. This act allows a federal first responder to remain in the accelerated retirement system if they are placed in another civil service position outside of that system after returning to work from a work-related injury or illness. Further, if such an employee is separated from service before they are entitled to receive an annuity, they may receive a refund of their accelerated contributions.
This concurrent resolution recognizes the disparity between wages paid to Latina women, and its impact on women, families, and the nation and reaffirms Congress' commitment to supporting equal pay for equal work and to narrowing the gender wage gap.
This concurrent resolution recognizes the disparity between wages paid to Latina women, and its impact on women, families, and the nation and reaffirms Congress' commitment to supporting equal pay and to narrowing the gender wage gap.
Abandoned Well Remediation Research and Development Act This bill requires the Department of Energy to establish a research, development, and demonstration program with respect to (1) data collection on the location of abandoned oil or gas wells; (2) the plugging, remediation, reclamation, and repurposing of the wells; and (3) strategies to mitigate potential environmental impacts of documented and undocumented abandoned wells.
Next Generation Telecommunications Act This bill temporarily establishes the Next Generation Telecommunications Council to advise Congress on sixth generation (6G) and other advanced wireless communications technologies. Appointed members of the council may not have financial or personal interests in matters related to the council's duties. These duties include reviewing past actions related to advancing wireless communications deployment. Additionally, the council must develop a strategy with recommendations on how the federal government can support, for example, the adoption of 6G and other advanced wireless communications technologies and the promotion of international cooperation with respect to those technologies. In developing the strategy, the council must consider issues including access to electromagnetic spectrum resources, workforce needs to support 6G deployment, and network security and resiliency. The council terminates 120 days after submitting a final report that contains the strategy. Within 60 days of receiving that report, the Department of Commerce must submit to Congress an assessment with comments on the report's findings and recommendations.
