Rep. Jerry L. Carl

Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area Act This bill establishes the Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area in Alabama, consisting of land in Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Washington, and Wilcox Counties. The Center for the Study of the Black Belt at the University of West Alabama shall prepare and submit a management plan for the heritage area.

This joint resolution nullifies the final rule issued by the Council on Environmental Quality titled National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations Revisions and published on April 20, 2022. The rule restores regulatory provisions issued under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) that were in effect before being modified in 2020 by the Update to the Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act rule.

National Computer Forensics Institute Reauthorization Act of 2022 This bill reauthorizes through FY2032 the National Computer Forensics Institute within the U.S. Secret Service. The bill expands the mission of the institute to include educating, training, and equipping law enforcement officers and others on preventing (in addition to investigating) cybersecurity incidents, electronic crimes, and related cybersecurity threats. The bill requires the institute to develop and share information related to investigating cybersecurity incidents, electronic crimes, and related cybersecurity threats. The bill also requires the institute to report annually on its activities.

Protecting Kids, Protecting Lunches Act of 2022 This bill prohibits the Department of Agriculture from establishing certain requirements related to reserved spaces for biological males and females under the school meal programs.

This resolution expresses support for the designation of Journeyman Lineworkers Recognition Day. (A journeyman lineworker is a person who builds and maintains electrical power systems.)

Maddy summaryHRES 1216 is a non-binding House resolution expressing support for designating June as "Month of Life." It does not create new laws or programs but formally recognizes the value of human life from conception to birth, citing the Declaration of Independence, opposition to abortion access (including reference to the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade), and promoting life-affirming alternatives like adoption and pregnancy support services. The resolution encourages communities to provide resources for mothers and families during this observance. As a symbolic gesture, it directly affects House members who co-sponsored it but has no legal effect on policy or funding.

Securing Our Students Act This bill authorizes local educational agencies and nonpublic schools to use certain COVID-19 emergency relief funds, services, or assistance for school safety uses, that is improving school conditions for student learning by planning and designing school buildings and facilities, installing infrastructure, providing safety education, and implementing technology or other measures that strengthen security on school premises.

Freight Rail Assistance and Investment to Launch Coronavirus-Era Activity and Recovery Act of 2022 or the Freight RAILCAR Act of 2022 This bill provides a new tax credit through 2024 for 10% of freight railcar fleet modernization expenses (i.e., railcar replacement and modernization expenses for meeting fuel efficiency and performance standards). The bill provides that no more than 2,000 freight railcars per taxpayer may be taken into account for purposes of determining the credit in a taxable year. The Department of the Treasury must report to Congress on the credit to provide information on the number of times the credit was claimed and the number of railcars scrapped or built as a result of the credit.

No Timber From Tyrants Act This bill prohibits the importation of wood and related articles from Russia and Belarus. It also directs the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to replace these prohibited imports with timber production on certain lands. Specifically, the bill directs the President to prohibit the importation of all wood and related articles from Russia and Belarus. The President may terminate this prohibition upon certification to Congress that certain conditions have been met, including that Russia or Belarus (or both, as applicable) reached an agreement to withdraw forces in Ukraine. Additionally, the bill directs Interior and USDA to authorize timber harvest in an amount sufficient to equal the volume, with respect to calendar year 2021, of imports of wood and related articles from Russia and Belarus. Interior may authorize timber harvest only on public lands and USDA may authorize timber harvest only on National Forest System lands. The bill generally prohibits Interior and USDA from approving a plan that reduces the allowable sale quantity of timber.

This joint resolution nullifies the rule issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on February 3, 2021, that requires the use of face masks on planes, trains, buses, and other public conveyances and at transportation hubs to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.