Asylum Integrity Act This bill establishes under statute a framework for determining whether an asylum seeker has filed a frivolous application. Under this bill, an asylum application shall be considered frivolous if the application was knowingly filed and (1) includes a fabricated material element, (2) is premised on false or fabricated evidence, (3) was filed without regard to the merits of the claims, or (4) is clearly foreclosed by law. (Currently, regulations provide for a similar, but not identical, framework for asylum applications filed on or after January 11, 2021.)
Countering Communist China's Financing of Russia's War on Ukraine Act This bill directs the President to impose sanctions on any entity that insures or registers a vessel engaged in the shipment or transshipment of any petroleum product or liquefied natural gas product from Russia to China. The sanctions terminate when Russia has withdrawn all military and paramilitary forces from Ukraine.
Food and Energy Security Act This bill provides requirements for specified federal financial agencies when regulating activity that could impact the extension of capital or investments to agricultural- or energy-related businesses. Specifically, an agency must analyze the economic impact of any such regulation. If the analysis estimates that the regulation would increase prices, and if the consumer price index exceeds a certain level, the agency is prohibited from implementing the regulation.
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.
Transparency and Honesty in Energy Regulations Act of 2022 This bill prohibits specified federal entities (e.g., the Department of Energy) from considering the social cost of carbon, methane, nitrous oxide, or greenhouse gas as part of any cost-benefit analysis required under any law or specified Executive Orders. In addition, such social costs must not be considered by such entities (1) in rulemaking, (2) in the issuance of guidance, (3) in taking other agency action, (4) or as a justification for any rulemaking, guidance document, or agency action.
This resolution remembers former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe and his work to strengthen the alliance between the United States and Japan. It also extends condolences to his family and the people of Japan.
SRES 686 is a ceremonial Senate resolution designating July 23, 2022, as "National Day of the American Cowboy." It recognizes the cultural significance of cowboys and cowgirls in American history, highlighting their contributions to Western heritage, ranching economies, and community values. The resolution encourages all U.S. citizens to observe the day with appropriate activities but does not create new laws, funding, or obligations. This is a symbolic gesture with no direct impact on specific individuals or policies.
Equal Access to Green cards for Legal Employment Act of 2022 or the EAGLE Act of 2022 This bill modifies requirements related to employment-based visas and addresses related issues. The bill increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% of the total number of such visas available that year to 15% and eliminates the per-country cap for employment-based immigrant visas. The bill establishes transition rules for employment-based visas such as (1) reserving a percentage of EB-2 (workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability) and EB-3 (skilled and other workers) visas for individuals not from the two countries with the largest number of recipients of such visas, and (2) allotting a number of visas for professional nurses and physical therapists. The bill imposes additional requirements on an employer seeking an H-1B visa, such as prohibiting (1) an employer from advertising that a position is only open to H-1B applicants or that H-1B applicants are preferred, and (2) certain employers from having more than half of their employees as nonimmigrant visa workers. The Department of Labor shall create a publicly available website where an employer seeking an H-1B visa must post certain information about the open position. The bill also expands Labor's authority to review and investigate H-1B applications for fraud or misrepresentations. The bill also allows certain aliens to obtain lawful permanent resident status if the alien (1) is in the United States as a nonimmigrant, (2) has an approved immigrant visa petition, and (3) has waited at least two years for a visa.
Biking on Long-Distance Trails Act This bill establishes requirements related to long-distance bike trails. The Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) shall identify not fewer than 10 long-distance bike trails that make use of existing trails and roads, and not fewer than 10 areas in which there is an opportunity to develop or complete a trail that would qualify as a long-distance bike trail. Interior and USDA shall develop a process to allow members of the public to comment regarding the identification of trails and areas; and consider the identification, development, and completion of long-distance bike trails in a geographically equitable manner. The Department concerned shall ensure that each identified long-distance bike trail or area does not conflict with the uses of any trail or road that is part of that long-distance bike trail; multiple-use areas where biking, hiking, horseback riding, or use by pack and saddle stock are existing uses; the purposes for which any trail was or is established under the National Trails System Act; and any area managed under the Wilderness Act. The Department concerned shall also ensure that each identified long-distance trail or area complies with land use and management plans of the federal recreational lands that are part of that long-distance bike trail.
Allowing Greater Access to Safe and Effective Contraception Act This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration to prioritize review of supplemental applications for over-the counter oral contraceptives that are intended for routine use. It also removes certain limitations in relation to such products and health savings accounts, flexible spending arrangements, and other arrangements (e.g., limitations on the number of items that may be purchased).
Active Shooter Alert Act of 2022 This bill requires a designated officer of the Department of Justice to act as the national coordinator of an Active Shooter Alert Communications Network regarding an emergency involving an active shooter. The bill sets forth duties of the coordinator, including to work with state, tribal, and local governments to encourage coordination of various elements of the network. The coordinator must also encourage federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies to establish procedures for responding to active shooters. Finally, the bill requires the Government Accountability Office to study and report on state and local responses to active shooters and situations requiring the issuance of a public alert or warning.
This concurrent resolution recognizes Hershel Woodrow "Woody" Williams, the last surviving recipient of the Medal of Honor for acts performed during World War II. The concurrent resolution also permits Williams' remains to lie in honor in the rotunda of the Capitol on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in order to honor the Greatest Generation and the more than 16 million men and women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces from 1941 to 1945.
