Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

This resolution recognizes that the Harlem Renaissance represented a pivotal moment in American history for African Americans and the African diaspora community of intellectuals, artists, performers, writers, poets, and musicians whose works of political discourse and creative expression set a path for self-determination and self-empowerment that is still evident today. The resolution also celebrates the lasting impact of the Harlem Renaissance on the art, literature, music, discourse, and culture of the United States.

Keeping School Meals Flexible Act This bill extends authority through June 30, 2023, for the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to waive certain requirements for the school meal programs to address COVID-19. The bill extends the authority for USDA to issue a single waiver of child nutrition program requirements to all states under the National School Lunch Program for purposes of providing meals and snacks with appropriate safety measures with respect to COVID-19; grant waivers of requirements to allow non-congregate feeding in the Child and Adult Care Food Program for purposes of providing meals and snacks with appropriate safety measures with respect to COVID-19; and grant waivers related to the nutritional content of meals served in child nutrition programs if it determines the waiver is necessary to provide meals and snacks, and there is a food supply chain disruption due to COVID-19.

Promoting Responsive Inclusion and Diverse Engagement Act of 2022 or the PRIDE Act of 2022 This bill requires federal banking and finance agencies to expand the efforts of their existing Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion to include individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other related identities. These offices are responsible for all matters related to such diversity in management, employment, and business activities.

Fair College Admissions for Students Act This bill prohibits an institution of higher education (IHE) that participates in federal student-aid programs from giving preferential treatment in the admissions process to applicants based on their relationships to donors or alumni of the IHE. The Department of Education may waive the prohibition against preferential treatment based on relationships to alumni for certain IHEs (e.g., historically Black colleges and universities or other minority-serving institutions) that demonstrate that the use of such preferential treatment is in the best interest of students who have been historically underrepresented in higher education.

Striking Workers Healthcare Protection Act This bill prohibits an employer from terminating or significantly altering the employer-provided health insurance coverage of an employee engaged in a lawful strike. An employer that violates this prohibition is subject to a maximum civil penalty of $50,000 for each violation.

Fair Chance Improvement Act This bill revises provisions regarding the prohibition on federal contractors, including defense contractors, inquiring about applicants' criminal histories prior to conditional offers of employment. The bill allows the Department of Labor to investigate compliance by a contractor by conducting a compliance evaluation. Currently, Labor investigates compliance pursuant to an applicant's complaint. The bill also expands the sanctions that Labor may impose on a contractor with more than one violation of the prohibition.

Maddy summaryHRES 899 is a procedural resolution that sets the rules for debating H.R. 1579, the bill prohibiting Members of Congress from buying or selling certain investments. It allows the House to immediately consider H.R. 1579 without amendments, waives objections to the bill’s provisions, and limits debate to one hour (split equally between committee leaders). This resolution does not change the policy itself but streamlines the legislative process for the stock trading bill. The resolution was introduced by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez on February 1, 2022.

This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to support and advocate for debt relief for developing countries. Treasury must engage with international financial institutions and creditors to advocate for support, implementation, and improvement of the Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) (and any successor framework or similar coordinated international debt treatment process). (The DSSI is an initiative established by the Group of 20, the informal grouping of 19 major economies and the European Union, that provides temporary debt restructuring for the world's poorest countries. The common framework is a framework endorsed by 39 creditors to provide permanent debt forgiveness.) Treasury must also engage with international financial institutions and creditors to advocate for a comprehensive debt payment standstill for each participating debtor while the debtor's application for relief under the common framework and negotiations related to such relief are pending or ongoing. Treasury must also order U.S. representatives to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to advocate and vote for such initiatives and policies without undermining the respective institution's ability to provide new and additional aid and assistance.

Stopping Corrupt Actors from Making Political Action Committees Act or the SCAM PAC Act This bill generally prohibits a political committee from disbursing funds to an entity that is owned or controlled by an individual, or the immediate family member of an individual, who has authority to carry out specified activities for the committee (e.g., soliciting funds) or is employed by the committee to provide it with professional services. This prohibition does not apply to (1) a political committee that certifies that a majority of the funds disbursed by the committee were for expenses other than administrative costs, fundraising costs, and employee salaries; or (2) an authorized committee of a candidate, a committee of a political party, or a separate segregated fund of a corporation or labor organization. Further, the bill prohibits a political committee from employing these individuals or allowing them to volunteer on its behalf if the related entity accepted funds from a political committee.

Heating and Cooling Relief Act This bill provides additional energy assistance to households, including heating and cooling assistance. Specifically, the bill reauthorizes through FY2031 and revises the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Under the existing program, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may award grants to states for assisting low-income households that pay a high proportion of their income for home energy. To be eligible under the existing program, households must have incomes which do not exceed the greater of an amount equal to 150% of the poverty level for their state or an amount equal to 60% of the state median income. The bill expands eligibility to households with incomes which do not exceed the greater of an amount equal to 250% of the poverty line as defined in the Community Services Block Grant Act or an amount equal to 80% of the state median income. In addition, the bill expands eligibility to households with a monthly energy burden of 3% or more per year. It also requires states to establish procedures to protect households receiving assistance under the program from energy shutoffs and certain late fees. In addition, the bill requires HHS and the Department of Energy to jointly carry out a program that awards grants to states and local governments for developing and implementing interagency plans to reduce energy burdens for eligible households with high home energy use. The plans must promote the reduction of energy from fossil fuels.