Rep. Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.

This resolution condemns the actions of a White supremacist mob that drove Black residents out of Atlanta, Georgia in 1906 and supports the designation of a national day of remembrance for the victims of forced migrations of Black Americans.

Bus Rapid Transit Act This bill directs the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to establish a grant program to provide grants to state, local, and tribal governments for the design and implementation of bus rapid transit systems, including for the redesign, retrofit, renovation, update, and repair of existing bus systems. As a condition of receiving a grant, eligible entities must certify that fares for riding the bus rapid transit system shall not increase solely due to improvements carried out with grant funds and for any reason for at least one year after completion of a project funded by the bill. In carrying out the program, the FTA must prioritize projects located in economically disadvantaged communities.

This resolution affirms that there is well-established authority for the Food and Drug Administration to approve, license, and otherwise regulate reproductive health products under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act. The resolution also affirms that (1) such federal laws preempt (i.e., supersede conflicting state or local laws) any state or local laws that prohibit or limit access to or use of any reproductive health product, and (2) the Department of Justice has authority to enforce the preemptive effect of such federal laws by suing any state or political subdivision of a state that prohibits or limits access to or use of any reproductive health product.

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.

American Choice and Innovation Online Act This bill prohibits certain large online platforms from engaging in specified acts, including giving preference to their own products on the platform, excluding or disadvantaging competing products from another business on the platform, or discriminating among similarly situated users. Further, a platform may not materially restrict or impede the capacity of a competing business user to access or interoperate with the same platform, operating system, or hardware or software features. The bill also restricts the platform's use of nonpublic data obtained from or generated on the platform and prohibits the platform from restricting access to platform data generated by the activity of a competing business user. The bill also provides additional restrictions related to installing or uninstalling software, search or ranking functionality, and retaliation for contact with law enforcement regarding actual or potential violations of law. The bill establishes affirmative defenses for the prohibited conduct. The Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Justice must designate whether an entity is a platform covered by the bill, and both must carry out enforcement activities. The bill also provides for civil penalties, injunctions, conflicts of interest, a private right of action, and the forfeit of profits for repeat offenders.

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.

Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act of 2022 This bill makes various changes to the federal framework governing the sale, transfer, and possession of firearms and ammunition. Among other changes, the bill generally requires individuals to obtain a license to purchase, acquire, or possess a firearm or ammunition; raises the minimum age—from 18 years to 21 years—to purchase firearms and ammunition; establishes new background check requirements for firearm transfers between private parties; creates a statutory process for a family or household member to petition a court for an extreme risk protection order to remove firearms from an individual who poses a risk of committing violence; restricts the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices; restricts the manufacture, sale, transfer, purchase, or receipt of ghost guns (i.e., guns without serial numbers); requires federally licensed gun dealers to submit and annually certify compliance with a security plan to detect and deter firearm theft; removes limitations on the civil liability of gun manufacturers; allows the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue safety standards for firearms and firearm components; establishes a community violence intervention grant program; and promotes research on firearms safety and gun violence prevention.

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.

Fair and Open Skies Act This bill prohibits the Department of Transportation (DOT) from issuing a foreign air carrier permit or an exemption from certain air carrier certificate requirements under the United States-European Union Air Transport Agreement of April 2007, unless DOT finds that issuing the permit or exemption would be consistent with Article 17 bis of the agreement, which provides that opportunities created by the agreement do not undermine labor standards or the labor-related rights and principles contained in the laws of the respective parties to the agreement; and imposes conditions on the permit or exemption necessary to ensure compliance with Article 17 bis . The bill modifies policy considerations relating to air carrier certificates to require DOT to consider preventing entry into U.S. markets by flag of convenience carriers (i.e., foreign air carriers established in a country other the home country of their majority owner in order to avoid regulations of the home country) and preventing the undermining of labor standards. In carrying out such air carrier certificate requirements, DOT must consider preventing entry of flag of convenience carriers into U.S. markets as being in the public interest and consistent with public convenience and necessity for safety in air transportation and air commerce. In formulating U.S. international air transportation policy relating to the elimination of discrimination and unfair competition, the Department of State and DOT must include in their considerations the undermining of labor standards.

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.