Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2021 or the SAFE Banking Act of 2021 This bill generally prohibits a federal banking regulator from penalizing a depository institution for providing banking services to a legitimate cannabis-related business. Prohibited penalties include terminating or limiting the deposit insurance or share insurance of a depository institution solely because the institution provides financial services to a legitimate cannabis-related business and prohibiting or otherwise discouraging a depository institution from offering financial services to such a business. Additionally, proceeds from a transaction involving activities of a legitimate cannabis-related business are not considered proceeds from unlawful activity. Proceeds from unlawful activity are subject to anti-money laundering laws. Furthermore, a depository institution is not, under federal law, liable or subject to asset forfeiture for providing a loan or other financial services to a legitimate cannabis-related business. The bill also provides that a federal banking agency may not request or order a depository institution to terminate a customer account unless (1) the agency has a valid reason for doing so, and (2) that reason is not based solely on reputation risk. Valid reasons for terminating an account include threats to national security and involvement in terrorist financing, including state sponsorship of terrorism.
Smoke-Ready Communities Act of 2021 This bill authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to air pollution control agencies to support the development and implementation of programs that support local communities in detecting, preparing for, communicating with the public about, or mitigating the environmental and public health aspects of wildfire smoke.
Smoke Planning and Research Act of 2021 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to research and mitigate the impacts of smoke emissions from wildland fires. Specifically, the EPA must establish (1) four Centers of Excellence for Wildfire Smoke at institutions of higher education, and (2) a grant program to support community mitigation efforts.
Ban All Neurotoxic Organophosphate Pesticides From Our Food Act or the BAN OPs From Our Food Act This bill prohibits any organophosphate pesticides in food. (The Environmental Protection Agency banned chlorpyrifos, a type of organophosphate pesticide, from food in February 2022.)
Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings Act of 2022 or the SWIMS Act of 2022 This bill establishes prohibitions on capturing, importing, exporting, or breeding of orcas, beluga whales, false killer whales, or pilot whales for the purpose of public display. Specifically, the bill prohibits the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from issuing any permit under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 that authorizes the taking (e.g., capturing) or importation of such orcas or whales for the purpose of public display. The bill further revises the act to make it unlawful to export such orcas or whales, unless they are being transported to marine mammal sanctuaries or for release into the wild. Further, the bill makes it unlawful under the Animal Welfare Act for any person to breed or artificially inseminate such marine mammals for purposes of using their progeny for public display.
Responsive Energy Demand Unlocks Clean Energy Act or the REDUCE Act This bill requires organizations that operate electric grid transmission facilities (e.g., Regional Transmission Organizations or Independent System Operators) to accept bids in a power market from demand response programs of a certain size. In a demand response program, end-use electricity customers are typically remunerated for voluntarily decreasing their short-term electrical consumption generally in response to compromised grid reliability or high wholesale electricity prices.
Energizing Technology Transfer Act This bill provides support for the development of clean energy and related technology. For example, the bill requires the Office of Technology Transitions within the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a grant program for clean energy incubators that accelerate the commercial application of clean energy technologies. In addition, DOE must establish a Clean Energy Technology University Prize, under which students compete to develop business models for furthering the commercial application of innovative clean energy technologies.
Robin Danielson Menstrual Product and Intimate Care Product Safety Act of 2022 This bill requires the National Institutes of Health to conduct or support research on the extent to which components (including contaminants and substances used as fragrances, colorants, dyes, and preservatives) in menstrual products and intimate care products pose health risks to people who use the products or to the children of people who use the products during or before pregnancy.
Reese's Law This act requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to establish a product safety standard with respect to batteries that pose an ingestion hazard (i.e., button cell or coin batteries) and consumer products containing the batteries. Specifically, the batteries and consumer products with these batteries must include a warning label that clearly identifies the hazard of ingestion and instructs consumers to keep the batteries out of the reach of children, seek immediate medical attention if a battery is ingested, and follow any other consensus medical advice. Consumer products containing the batteries must also include a battery compartment that eliminates or adequately reduces the risk of injury from battery ingestion by children who are six years of age or younger. Additionally, such batteries, if sold separately or included separately with a product, must comply with federal child-resistant packaging regulations. The act exempts from these requirements (1) toy products that are in compliance with certain existing battery accessibility and labeling requirements, and (2) batteries that are in compliance with the marking and packaging provisions of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Safety Standard for Portable Lithium Primary Cells and Batteries. The act also provides for compliance with the requirements by relying on a voluntary standard that is approved by the CPSC before it establishes the standard required by this act.
Veteran Recruitment Act This bill requires the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for Global Media to develop and implement plans to ensure that veterans receive priority hiring recruitment. The bill also requires the State Department to align Foreign Service positions with military ranks and to expand outreach efforts in recruiting veterans for the Foreign Service.
Commercial Space Transportation Safety Act of 2022 This bill requires the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to investigate and establish the facts, circumstances, and cause or probable cause of a commercial space transportation accident in which there is (1) a fatality or significant injury of any individual, regardless of whether the individual was on board the commercial launch vehicle at the time of the accident; or (2) substantial damage to property that is not associated with commercial space launch activities and that is not located at the launch site. The NTSB shall seek to enter into a memorandum of understanding with any other government agency with the authority to certify a commercial space transportation operation or investigate a commercial space transportation accident. The memoranda must delineate the conditions under and manner in which (1) a commercial space transportation accident that may be investigated by the NTSB will be investigated by the other agency, and (2) the NTSB will participate in the other agency's investigation.
This resolution expresses that the Senate has heard the announcement of the death of the Honorable Jacqueline R. Walorski, Congresswoman for the Second Congressional District of Indiana. The resolution also honors Representative Walorski for her service to Indiana and the United States. The resolution expresses that when the Senate adjourns today, it stands adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Representative Walorski.
