Rep. James P. McGovern

21st Century President Act This act revises the definition of immediate family for purposes of a criminal offense involving a threat to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm on a former President or a member of the immediate family of a former President. Specifically, it replaces gender-specific references to a former President's wife and widow with the gender-neutral terms spouse and surviving spouse .

This act prescribes that a peer support specialist of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must not be responsible for providing assistance to a veteran regarding a claim for compensation for a covered mental health condition (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder) based on military sexual trauma (MST) experienced during active service. Such specialists must only provide counseling services, guidance, and support and must not participate in the adjudication of the claim. As part of the forms for claims for compensation for a covered mental health condition based on MST, the VA must include an option for a veteran to elect to be referred to a MST trauma coordinator at the VA facility closest to the veteran's residence. Additionally, the VA must (1) ensure that its peer support specialists receive annual training on providing peer support regarding MST, and (2) provide annual training on the processing of claims for compensation for covered mental health conditions based on MST to its MST coordinators and peer specialists.

Maddy summaryThis is a procedural resolution (HRES 1531), not a policy bill. It provides the rules for the House of Representatives to vote on specific Senate amendments to three other bills. The resolution sets the procedure for considering: (1) a Senate amendment to H.R. 2617 (about federal performance goals), (2) a Senate amendment to H.R. 4373 (foreign operations funding), and (3) Senate amendments to H.R. 1082 (ride-hailing safety rules). It does not change the content of those bills but dictates how the House will formally vote on the amendments.

Justice For Journalists Act This bill requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct a criminal investigation of each nonnatural death of a U.S. journalist in a foreign country.

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.

Maddy summaryHRES 1529 is a procedural resolution that sets rules for the House to consider two separate bills. It waives objections to debating and voting on H.R. 9640 (which would require presidential tax return disclosure) and S. 1942 (which would standardize National Heritage Area designations). The resolution limits debate to one hour equally divided between committee leaders and allows one motion to recommit. It does not change tax law or heritage area designations itself, but enables the House to proceed with those specific bills. This resolution was adopted on December 21, 2022, to facilitate their consideration.

This resolution recognizes the importance of Radio Free Asia on its 25th anniversary as an independent news organization chartered and funded by Congress with a mission to bring uncensored, accurate news to people living in closed societies in Asia. The resolution also honors the dedication and courage of the former and current journalists of Radio Free Asia in the face of threats and adversity from foreign governments and rising risks for press freedom in Asia and across the globe.

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.

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.