Rep. Dean Phillips

Love Lives On Act of 2022 This bill extends various benefit programs and services for surviving spouses of deceased members of the Armed Forces or veterans, including by extending entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation to surviving spouses who remarry, continuing eligibility for the Survivor Benefit Plan for certain surviving spouses who remarry, and providing commissary and exchange privileges to surviving spouses, regardless of marital status.

This concurrent resolution expresses opposition to the application of criminal laws to pregnancy outcomes and affirms that people deserve access to high-quality health care without fear of reprisal or punishment.

This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to prohibit the Constitution from being construed to forbid Congress or the states from (1) imposing reasonable viewpoint-neutral limitations on private campaign contributions or independent election expenditures; or (2) enacting systems of public campaign financing, including those designed to restrict the influence of private wealth by offsetting campaign spending or independent expenditures with increased public funding.

This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting a person from serving more than two consecutive terms as a Senator or six consecutive terms as a Representative. Terms beginning before the ratification of this amendment do not count towards consecutive term limits.

Maddy summaryHJRES 53 proposes a constitutional amendment to ban slavery and involuntary servitude as a criminal punishment. Currently, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution permits such punishments for crimes, creating a legal loophole. If ratified by 3/4 of state legislatures, this amendment would eliminate that exception nationwide, making it unconstitutional to impose forced labor or slavery as part of criminal sentences. The change would directly affect all states' criminal justice systems, particularly prison labor practices, by prohibiting these punishments for any offense.

This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment providing that the rights protected by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only. Artificial entities, such as corporations, shall have no rights under the Constitution and are subject to regulation. The amendment requires federal, state, and local government to (1) regulate, limit, or prohibit election contributions and expenditures, including a candidate's own contributions and expenditures; and (2) require that any permissible contributions and expenditures be publicly disclosed. The judiciary is prohibited from construing the spending of money to influence elections to be speech under the First Amendment, and the amendment shall not be construed to abridge the freedom of the press.

Maddy summaryHRES 1144 is a symbolic resolution designating June 3, 2022, as "National Gun Violence Awareness Day" and June 2022 as "National Gun Violence Awareness Month." It does not create new laws or policies but urges the public to wear orange, promote gun safety awareness, and hold community discussions about reducing gun violence during these dates. The resolution cites U.S. statistics on gun-related deaths and injuries as context for the designation. It directly affects the general public by encouraging voluntary observance and community engagement. The bill has no binding effect or funding provisions.

Maddy summaryThis resolution (HRES 981) commemorates the one-year anniversary of the March 16, 2021, Atlanta spa shootings that killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women, and denounces anti-Asian hate. It formally condemns the violence, honors the victims, and recognizes the ongoing impact of anti-Asian hate crimes on the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. The resolution reaffirms support for the existing COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and commits the federal government to combating hate and violence against AAPI communities. As a symbolic measure, it does not create new laws or funding but serves as a formal statement of solidarity.

This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the proposed constitutional amendment known as the Equal Rights Amendment has been duly proposed by Congress and ratified by the states and is therefore valid as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. (The proposed amendment prohibits the United States or any state from denying or abridging equal rights under the law on account of sex.)

This resolution expresses support for the principles of Transgender Day of Remembrance, memorializing the lives lost to anti-transgender violence this year.