Illegal Immigrant Payoff Prohibition Act This bill prohibits the payment of a settlement to an alien for a civil action brought against the United States in connection with the alien's inadmissibility to, or unlawful presence in, the United States.
Better Enforcement of Grievous Offenses by unNaturalized Emigrants Act or the BE GONE Act This bill expands, for immigration purposes, the definition of aggravated felony to include sexual abuse, sexual assault, and aggravated sexual violence. (Under current law, a conviction for an aggravated felony is grounds for deportation and may bar an individual from other immigration-related benefits.)
HR 4887 amends Section 1603(b)(2) of Title 28, U.S. Code, to exclude the People's Republic of China (PRC) from being classified as a "foreign state" under this legal definition. This change removes the PRC's automatic legal protection from being sued in U.S. courts for matters covered by this provision, which relates to sovereign immunity rules. The bill directly affects lawsuits where the PRC is a defendant, as it would no longer qualify for the standard immunity granted to foreign governments. The amendment is a targeted adjustment to a specific legal definition within U.S. judicial procedure law.
Responsibility for Unaccompanied Minors Act This bill amends provisions relating to responsibilities of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the care of unaccompanied alien children. The Office of Refugee Resettlement of HHS may provide care for an unaccompanied alien child until the conclusion of the child's immigration proceedings or the child reaching 18 years of age, whichever occurs first. Before placing an unaccompanied alien child with a sponsor, the office shall evaluate the child's future need for follow-up services. Before placing an accompanied alien child, HHS shall (1) require the proposed sponsor to execute a sponsor care agreement, (2) notify the welfare agency of the state where the child will be placed, and (3) conduct a background check of the sponsor and all adults living in the household in which the child will reside. Under the care agreement, each sponsor shall agree to (1) provide for the child's physical and mental well-being, and (2) ensure the child's presence at immigration proceedings and compliance with all court and agency orders. HHS shall assume physical custody of a child if the non-parent or legal guardian sponsor fails to comply with the care agreement. HHS shall periodically report to Congress on instances where a sponsor failed to comply with a care agreement. The Department of Justice shall increase the number of immigration judge teams by at least 225.
Transparency of Migration Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make publicly available online certain information about individuals unlawfully present in the United States who are (1) apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and sent to a federal detention center or released into the United States, or (2) processed through an HHS facility. This information must be updated weekly and must include daily numbers, the country of origin of such individuals, and other details.
Second Amendment is Essential Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to designate the business of importing, manufacturing, or dealing firearms, or importing or manufacturing ammunition, as a critical infrastructure sector. Additionally, the bill states that individuals who are employed by those entities are critical infrastructure workers. The term critical infrastructure means systems and assets, physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health and safety, or any combination of those matters.
World Deserves To Know Act This bill requires sanctions on certain members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and officials of Chinese health agencies. It also addresses related issues. The President must impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on any foreign person who is a CCP official and who is knowingly responsible for or complicit in (1) the disappearances of whistleblowers and citizen journalists in China relating to COVID-19, or (2) limiting free speech and academic freedom in China relating to COVID-19. The President must also impose such sanctions on specified individuals who have leadership positions in China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention and China's National Health Commission (NHC). The authority to impose such sanctions shall end when the President certifies to Congress that an independent and unimpeded investigation into the potential origin of COVID-19 from the Wuhan Institute of Virology has taken place. The bill also bars federal funds and certain federal student assistance from going to institutions of higher education that enter into a contract with any element or China-based affiliate of the NHC. Federal funding to the National Academy of Sciences may not be used to enter into a contract with any element or China-based affiliate of the NHC. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress a review of all funds that the National Institutes of Health have made available to the NHC since FY2010. This report must also be publicly available.
Firearm Due Process Protection Act This bill expands the grounds for pursuing judicial remedies related to certain firearm transfers. Additionally, the bill establishes procedural rules applicable to actions for judicial remedies. Current law authorizes judicial remedies for an individual who is erroneously denied a firearm (e.g., an individual is denied a firearm but the individual is eligible to receive or possess a firearm). This bill authorizes remedies for an individual who experiences an extended delay (i.e., a delay of more than 60 days) on a firearm transfer. Additionally, the bill requires an expedited hearing on an action for judicial remedies and places the burden of proof on the respondent to show by clear and convincing evidence that the individual was ineligible to receive or possess a firearm.
Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022 This bill revises the process of casting and counting electoral votes for presidential elections. The bill also revises provisions related to the presidential transition process. The bill specifies that the choice of electors must occur in accordance with the laws of the state enacted prior to election day. Additionally, the bill identifies each state's governor (unless otherwise identified in the laws or constitution of a state in effect on election day) as responsible for submitting the certificate of ascertainment identifying the state's electors. Further, the bill provides for expedited judicial review for any action brought by an aggrieved presidential or vice-presidential candidate arising under the U.S. Constitution or U.S. laws with respect to the issuance or transmission of such a certificate. The bill revises the framework for the joint session of Congress to count electoral votes and make a formal declaration of which candidates have been elected President and Vice President. Among other changes, the bill (1) specifies that the role of the Vice President during the joint session shall be ministerial in nature, and (2) raises the objection threshold in Congress to at least one-fifth of the duly chosen and sworn members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The bill also revises the presidential transition process, including to (1) allow more than one candidate to receive federal transition resources under certain circumstances, and (2) require additional reporting by the General Services Administration.
This bill authorizes, through the Department of Defense, additional support for Ukraine, acquiring munitions, and expansion of the defense industrial base.
Alleviating Stress Test Burdens To Help Investors Act This bill exempts certain financial companies not primarily regulated by either a federal banking agency or the Federal Housing Finance Agency from requirements to conduct stress tests. These stress tests evaluate the ability of companies to absorb losses as a result of adverse economic conditions. However, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission may require exempted financial companies under their regulatory authority to conduct stress tests.
Agriculture Disaster Assistance Improvement Act of 2022 This bill modifies access to Department of Agriculture disaster assistance programs and requires increased interagency cooperation in drought-related activities. The bill specifies that state and federal grazing permit holders are eligible for the Emergency Conservation Program and the Emergency Forest Restoration Program. Further, emergency measures eligible for payments include new permanent measures, such as permanent water wells and pipelines. The bill also waives the 30-day comment period required for applications under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for emergency measures carried out during a drought emergency. Modifications to the Livestock Forage Disaster Program allow for one monthly payment when a county has four consecutive weeks of a D2 rating (severe drought) and two payments for eight consecutive weeks of D2. Currently, one payment is available for eight consecutive weeks of D2. The bill expands coverage for honey bee producers under the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) for losses caused by adverse weather or drought, such as transportation costs and reduced honey crops. Further, the bill requires the ELAP payment rate for honey bee producers to incorporate additional factors, such as per-hive and per-colony rates of loss. The USDA must establish an interagency working group to improve the consistency and accuracy of U.S. Drought Monitor data. Finally, the Farm Service Agency and the Forest Service must enter into a memorandum of understanding to better align their drought response activities.
