This act designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 101 South Willowbrook Avenue in Compton, California, as the PFC James Anderson, Jr., Post Office Building.
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act This bill imposes various restrictions related to China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, including by prohibiting certain imports from Xinjiang and imposing sanctions on those responsible for human rights violations there. Goods manufactured or produced in Xinjiang shall not be entitled to entry into the United States unless U.S. Customs and Border Protection (1) determines that the goods were not manufactured by convict labor, forced labor, or indentured labor under penal sanctions; and (2) reports such a determination to Congress and to the public. The President shall periodically report to Congress a list of foreign entities and individuals knowingly facilitating (1) the forced labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang; and (2) efforts to contravene U.S. laws regarding the importation of forced labor goods from Xinjiang. The President shall impose property-blocking sanctions on the listed individuals and entities and impose visa-blocking sanctions on the listed individuals. Securities issuers required to file annual or quarterly reports with the Securities Exchange Commission shall disclose in such reports instances in which the issuer knowingly engaged in certain activities related to Xinjiang, such as working with an entity building detention facilities or surveillance systems there. After such a disclosure, the President shall determine whether to investigate if sanctions or criminal charges are warranted. The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force and the Department of State shall report to Congress strategies to address forced labor in Xinjiang or any other part of China. The State Department shall also report to Congress a determination of whether the treatment of Muslim groups in Xinjiang constitutes crimes against humanity or genocide under U.S. law.
Expanding the Voluntary Opportunities for Translations in Elections Act or the Expanding the VOTE Act This bill expands access to voting materials for individuals with limited proficiency in the English language, including by establishing incentive grants for states and political subdivisions to provide translated voting materials. Additionally, the bill directs the Government Accountability Office to study the impact of (1) reducing the threshold requirement under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and (2) expanding the definition of language minorities to include native speakers of additional languages.
This act directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to commemorate Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, J. Christopher Stevens, and Sean Smith, four Americans killed in the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. (Stevens was the U.S. Ambassador to Libya at the time, Smith was an officer in the Foreign Service, and Doherty and Woods were both government contractors and former Navy SEALs.) After the medal has been awarded, it shall be given to the Central Intelligence Agency Museum.
This act designates the community-based outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Palm Desert, California, as the Sy Kaplan VA Clinic.
Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2022 This bill establishes the U.S. Immigration Courts, a system of courts to be independent of the executive branch. The bill also transfers all functions of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to the Immigration Courts, with some exceptions. (Currently, the EOIR, located in the Department of Justice, has authority to adjudicate immigration cases.) The trial division of the Immigration Courts shall have jurisdiction over various immigration-related matters, including (1) removal proceedings, (2) reviews of rescissions of lawful permanent resident status, and (3) reviews of credible fear determinations in applications for refugee status. The appellate division shall have jurisdiction over appeals of decisions by the trial division and certain Department of Homeland Security determinations. The bill establishes various requirements and authorities relating to the Immigration Courts, including qualifications, length of term in office, and mandatory retirement age for judges. Each appellate division judge must be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, and the appellate division shall appoint the trial division judges.
Big Cat Public Safety Act This act revises requirements governing the trade of big cats (i.e., species of lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, or cougar or any hybrid of such species) under the Lacey Act to limit the possession, breeding, and exhibition of big cats. The Lacey Act prohibits any person from importing, exporting, buying, selling, transporting, receiving, or acquiring big cats across state lines or the U.S. border. However, some exemptions are provided for certain entities, such as universities and wildlife sanctuaries. (Sec. 3) The act expands the Lacey Act prohibitions to include a prohibition on possessing or breeding big cats. Breeding means facilitating propagation or reproduction (whether intentionally or negligently), or failing to prevent propagation or reproduction. Owners of big cats that were born before this act's enactment may keep their big cats, but the owners must register them with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The act modifies the list of entities that are exempt from prohibitions to export, buy, sell, transport, receive, acquire, possess, or breed big cats. The modified list includes exemptions for entities or facilities exhibiting animals to the public if they (1) hold a Class C license in good standing under the Animal Welfare Act, and (2) do not allow individuals to come into direct physical contact with big cats. However, direct contact is allowed if the individual is a trained professional, a veterinarian, or directly supporting conservation programs that do not involve commercial activities and meet other specified restrictions. (Sec. 4) A person who knowingly violates the act must be fined not more than $20,000, or imprisoned for no more than five years, or both. The act considers each violation to be a separate offense. The offense must be deemed to have been committed not only in the district where the violation first occurred, but also in any district in which the defendant may have taken or been in possession of the prohibited wildlife species. (Sec. 5) The act extends forfeiture provisions to fish, wildlife, or plants that are bred or possessed; thus, big cats bred or possessed in violation of the act are subject to forfeiture. (Sec. 6) The Department of the Interior must issue regulations to implement this act.
This act designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2141 Ferry Street in Anderson, California, as the Norma Comnick Post Office Building.
Rebuild America's Schools Act of 2022 This bill provides support for long-term improvements to public elementary and secondary school facilities. First, the bill sets forth allocations to states and establishes a need-based grant program for local educational agencies (LEAs) to improve school facilities. Further, the bill specifies allowable uses of grant funds, including carrying out major repairs, improving indoor air quality, and making facilities accessible to disabled individuals. Additionally, the bill requires LEAs that receive funds for new construction, modernization, or renovation projects to comply with hazard-resistance building codes and performance criteria under the WaterSense program of the Environmental Protection Agency. Further, the bill requires such LEAs to adopt certain green practices (environmental standards) and requires the use of iron, steel, and manufactured products that are made in the United States (Buy America). The bill restores school infrastructure tax credit bonds. The bill also sets forth reporting requirements, including annual reports on grant program projects and a report by the Government Accountability Office that requires a study of the geographic distribution of projects, the impact of selected projects on student and staff health and safety, and the accessibility of projects to high-poverty schools. The bill also establishes the Office of School Infrastructure and Sustainability within the Department of Education. Next, the bill extends through FY2027 the Impact Aid Construction program. Finally, the bill establishes a grant program to assist LEAs with repairing or replacing concrete foundations affected by pyrrhotite (an iron sulfide material linked to crumbling foundations).
The Range of Light National Monument Act This bill establishes the Range of Light National Monument as a unit of the National Park System in California, between Yosemite National Park and Kings Canyon National Park. The monument consists of approximately 1,427,750 acres of federal land and includes the entirety of Sierra National Forest. The Department of the Interior shall manage the public lands included in the monument area in a manner that protects and enhances the natural resources and values of the lands; and prohibit the cutting, sale, harvest, or removal of timber and other vegetative material within the monument for commercial purposes or for biomass energy production. Interior shall develop and apply an integrated visitor services plan for the monument.
