Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks

Prevent Exposure to Narcotics and Toxics Act of 2021 or the PREVENT ACT of 2021 This bill requires the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to make containment devices available to its officers, agents, and other personnel and to provide mandatory and recurrent training on the use of containment devices to prevent secondary exposure to fentanyl and other lethal substances.

Support The Resiliency of Our Nation's Great Veterans Act of 2022 or the STRONG Veterans Act of 2022 This bill addresses mental health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including by requiring the VA to update training for the VA workforce and Veterans Crisis Line staff, implement pilot programs, expand access to mental health care, conduct studies and research, and provide outreach to veterans regarding mental health resources. Among other requirements, the VA must ensure its medical centers have at least one full-time minority veteran coordinator and that such coordinators receive training on culturally appropriate mental health and suicide prevention services for American Indian and Alaska Native veterans; increase the number of full-time equivalent employees at Vet Centers and paid mental health trainees in the VA's workforce; expand specified scholarships and loan repayment programs for mental health providers and students; review and update the training for Veterans Crisis Line responders and social service assistants; designate a Buddy Check Week to organize outreach events and educate veterans on conducting peer wellness checks; update the Veterans Justice Outreach Program, including by conducting program outreach to justice-involved veterans; make permanent and expand the Peer Specialist Support program; expand eligibility for Vet Center services; offer mental health consultations to certain veterans; improve the assessment and treatment of veterans with sleep disorders; and perform various studies and research related to mental health issues and care. Additionally, the bill permanently authorizes and expands the Solid Start program.

Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps Expansion Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Defense to develop a plan to increase the total number of units of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps to ensure that there is reasonable access to such units in each geographic region of the United States by September 30, 2031.

Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security Act of 2022 or the PASS Act of 2022 This bill places the Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Further, the bill requires CFIUS to review certain agriculture-related transactions, including those related to biotechnology. The bill also prohibits persons who are acting on behalf of a prohibited country (i.e., China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea) from carrying out any merger, acquisition, or takeover that could result in foreign control of a U.S. agricultural company.

No Patient Left Alone Act of 2022 This bill requires hospitals, as a condition of Medicare participation, to have certain written policies and procedures that provide for patient visitation rights and to inform patients of such rights, including any applicable restrictions.

National Debt is National Security Act This bill establishes limits on the amount of public debt that may be held by foreign governments, entities, and individuals. The bill allows the President to waive the limits if the President determines and reports to Congress that an important national interest requires the waiver.

Border's Unused Idle and Lying Dormant Inventory Transfer Act or the BUILD IT Act This bill requires the federal government to transfer, upon request, materials associated with the construction of a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border to the governments of the states along that border (i.e., Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas). The transferred materials must be used to construct a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Ensuring the Best Schools for Veterans Act of 2022 This bill makes adjustments to the process by which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) evaluates programs of education for violations of the 85/15 Rule. The rule generally prohibits the VA from approving the enrollment of a veteran in any course at an educational institution where more than 85% of the students are having all or part of their tuition or other charges paid by the institution or the VA. The bill adds an exception for tuition or charges paid under a payment plan at an educational institution with a history of offering payment plans that are completed within 180 days after the end of the applicable term, quarter, or semester. The bill also requires the VA to establish a process by which an educational institution may request a review of a determination that the institution has more than 85% of enrolled students that have all or part of their tuition or other charges paid by the institution or the VA. The bill adjusts the existing 35% exemption by exempting courses from the 85/15 Rule if the majority of courses at the institution are approved by the state approving agency, and the total number of veterans, reservists, or eligible beneficiaries who are enrolled at the institution equals 35% or less of the total student enrollment at the institution. Additionally, the 85/15 Rule does not apply with respect to the enrollment of a veteran in a program of education with fewer than 10 students who are having all or part of their tuition or other charges paid to or for them by the educational institution or the VA.

This resolution celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Federal Pell Grant program and expresses support for the designation of National Federal Pell Grant Day.

Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act This bill addresses provisions related to agriculture, food, and fuel, including by providing funds for nutrient management, precision agriculture, and biofuel infrastructure. Specifically, the bill provides funding for the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to (1) assist agricultural producers with the costs of crop nutrient use or adopting precision agriculture practices, and (2) provide grants to eligible entities (e.g., fueling and distribution facilities) for biofuel infrastructure. The bill establishes within USDA the Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters, which must investigate and prosecute violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 by packers and live poultry dealers. Additionally, USDA must (1) establish an agriculture and food supply chain task force, and (2) provide assistance to address fertilizer shortages and reduce dependency on foreign sources for fertilizer. The bill allows USDA to make loans and grants for livestock and poultry processing. Further, the bill incorporates support for precision agriculture into various USDA programs. USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service must enter into certain cooperative agreements for establishing supply chain regional resource centers to support small- and medium-sized producers of agricultural products and agricultural businesses. The bill also applies the Reid vapor pressure (a measure of gasoline's volatility) requirements that are applicable to gasoline blended with 10% ethanol (E10) to gasoline blended with more than 10% ethanol. Thus, the waiver given to E10 gasoline, which allows an increase in the Reid Vapor Pressure volatility, is extended to gasoline blended with more than 10% ethanol.