Rep. Peter Meijer

Health Care for Burn Pit Veterans Act This bill updates policies and procedures related to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care and benefits for veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances. Specifically, the bill extends the eligibility period for VA hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for combat veterans who served after September 11, 2001, and were exposed to toxic substances, radiation, or other conditions, including those who did not enroll to receive VA care during the eligibility period. The VA must incorporate into its existing health care screening a screening to help determine potential exposures to toxic substances during military service. Among other requirements, the VA must also provide annual training to health care and benefits personnel with respect to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances; analyze total and respiratory disease mortality in veterans who served in specified locations on specified dates; conduct an epidemiological study on the health trends of veterans who served in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001; conduct a study to determine trends in the rates of the incidence of cancer in veterans; publish a list of VA resources for veterans who were exposed to toxic substances, families and caregivers of such veterans, and survivors of such veterans who are receiving death benefits; and report on the data quality of the Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record and its usefulness in supporting veterans in receiving VA health care and benefits.

Protecting Family and Small Business Tax Cuts Act of 2022 This bill makes permanent provisions affecting individual and business taxpayers that were enacted in 2017 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. The bill makes permanent provisions that reduce individual and capital gain tax rates. The bill increases the standard tax deduction for individual taxpayers. It also increases and modifies the child tax credit and raises the contribution base for the tax deduction of charitable contributions. The bill allows additional contributions to ABLE accounts (tax-exempt accounts designed to enable individuals with disabilities to save and pay for disability-related expenses). It exempts from taxation combat zone benefits of members of the Armed Forces serving in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and the moving expenses of servicemembers. Additionally, the bill lowers to $750,000 the amount of mortgage debt eligible for an interest expense tax deduction; excludes from the gross income of student borrowers income attributable to the discharge after 2025 of loan debt due to death or disability; makes permanent the limitation on the tax deduction for state and local taxes and denies a deduction for foreign real property taxes; makes permanent the tax deduction of the income of certain pass-through business entities; repeals the tax deduction for personal tax exemptions and the exclusion of employer-provided bicycle commuter fringe benefits; terminates certain miscellaneous itemized tax deductions; doubles the estate and gift tax exemption amount; and makes permanent the increase of the alternative minimum tax exemption amount for individual taxpayers.

Informed Lawmaking to Combat Inflation Act This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office to provide inflation estimates for certain legislation that is projected to cause an annual gross budgetary effect of at least 0.25% of the projected gross domestic product of the United States. The estimates must determine whether the legislation will have no significant impact on inflation, a quantifiable inflationary impact on the consumer price index, or a significant impact on inflation that cannot be quantified at the time the estimate is prepared. The requirement does not apply to legislation that (1) provides for emergency assistance or relief at the request of any state, local, or tribal government; or (2) is necessary for the national security or the ratification or implementation of international treaty obligations.

Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act This bill repeals the inclusion of any Social Security or tier I railroad retirement benefits in gross income for income tax purposes. The bill also (1) appropriates funds to cover reductions in transfers to the Social Security and Railroad Retirement Trust Funds resulting from the enactment of this bill, and (2) expresses the sense of Congress against using tax increases to provide revenue necessary to carry out this bill.

Bipartisan Social Security Commission Act of 2022 This bill establishes a temporary commission within the legislative branch to address the solvency of the two Social Security trust funds. The commission shall issue a report to Congress with recommendations and proposed legislation to ensure the solvency of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Disability Insurance Trust Fund for at least 75 years. Congress shall consider the proposed legislation under expedited procedures provided for in the bill.

VA Same-Day Scheduling Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that when a veteran enrolled in the VA health care system contacts the VA by telephone to schedule an appointment for care or services at a VA facility, the scheduling for the appointment occurs during that telephone call.

SNAP Second Chance Act of 2022 This bill limits the authority of the Department of Agriculture to exclude retailers from participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) based on an owner's past criminal conviction.

Workforce and Education Partnership Act of 2022 This bill allows certain Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act grants allocated to states and local areas to be used to develop partnerships between educational institutions and employers to create or improve workforce development programs.

Strengthening Supply Chains for Servicemembers and Security Act This bill addresses Department of Defense (DOD) supply chain risk management, specifically risk management related to pharmaceuticals. The bill requires the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment within DOD to develop and issue implementing guidance for risk management for DOD supply chains for materiel (e.g., pharmaceuticals) and identify supply chain information gaps regarding reliance on foreign suppliers of drugs. After such guidance is issued, the Defense Health Agency must develop and publish implementing guidance for risk management for DOD's supply chain for pharmaceuticals and establish a working group to assess risks to the pharmaceutical supply chain, identify the pharmaceuticals most critical to beneficiary care at military treatment facilities, and establish policies for allocating scarce pharmaceutical resources. Finally, the Defense Logistics Agency must modify Defense Logistics Agency Instructions 5025.03 and 3110.01 to require Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support to coordinate annually with customers in the military departments to test responsiveness of the agency's contingency contracts for pharmaceuticals and to include the results of the testing in the annual Warstopper Program reports.

This bill posthumously provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of the 13 service members who died on August 26, 2021, while stationed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.