This act designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 15 Chestnut Street in Suffern, New York, as the Sergeant Gerald T. "Jerry" Donnellan Post Office.
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 .
Aviation Funding Stability Act of 20 21 This bill provides continuing appropriations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund if an appropriations bill for the FAA has not been enacted before a fiscal year begins or a joint resolution making continuing appropriations for the FAA is not in effect. The bill provides appropriations at the rate of operations that was provided for the prior fiscal year to continue programs, projects, and activities for which funds were provided in the preceding fiscal year.
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.
Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act This act authorizes the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) to conduct on-site fire safety investigations of major fires and other fires under other specified circumstances. In the case of a major fire, the USFA may send incident investigators (e.g., safety specialists, fire protection engineers, codes and standards experts, researchers, and fire training specialists) to the site. Any such investigation shall (1) be conducted in coordination and cooperation with appropriate federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities; and (2) examine the previously determined cause and origin of the fire and assess broader systematic matters. Upon concluding any such investigation, the USFA must issue a public report to federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities on the findings of such investigation or collaborate with another investigating federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial agency on that agency's report. The act makes an exception where issuing a report would have a negative impact on a potential or ongoing criminal investigation. Additionally, the USFA may send fire investigators to conduct fire safety investigations at the site of any fire with unusual or remarkable context that results in losses less severe than those occurring as a result of a major fire, in coordination and cooperation with the appropriate federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities.
Big Cat Public Safety Act This act revises requirements governing the trade of big cats (i.e., species of lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, or cougar or any hybrid of such species) under the Lacey Act to limit the possession, breeding, and exhibition of big cats. The Lacey Act prohibits any person from importing, exporting, buying, selling, transporting, receiving, or acquiring big cats across state lines or the U.S. border. However, some exemptions are provided for certain entities, such as universities and wildlife sanctuaries. (Sec. 3) The act expands the Lacey Act prohibitions to include a prohibition on possessing or breeding big cats. Breeding means facilitating propagation or reproduction (whether intentionally or negligently), or failing to prevent propagation or reproduction. Owners of big cats that were born before this act's enactment may keep their big cats, but the owners must register them with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The act modifies the list of entities that are exempt from prohibitions to export, buy, sell, transport, receive, acquire, possess, or breed big cats. The modified list includes exemptions for entities or facilities exhibiting animals to the public if they (1) hold a Class C license in good standing under the Animal Welfare Act, and (2) do not allow individuals to come into direct physical contact with big cats. However, direct contact is allowed if the individual is a trained professional, a veterinarian, or directly supporting conservation programs that do not involve commercial activities and meet other specified restrictions. (Sec. 4) A person who knowingly violates the act must be fined not more than $20,000, or imprisoned for no more than five years, or both. The act considers each violation to be a separate offense. The offense must be deemed to have been committed not only in the district where the violation first occurred, but also in any district in which the defendant may have taken or been in possession of the prohibited wildlife species. (Sec. 5) The act extends forfeiture provisions to fish, wildlife, or plants that are bred or possessed; thus, big cats bred or possessed in violation of the act are subject to forfeiture. (Sec. 6) The Department of the Interior must issue regulations to implement this act.
Rebuild America's Schools Act of 2022 This bill provides support for long-term improvements to public elementary and secondary school facilities. First, the bill sets forth allocations to states and establishes a need-based grant program for local educational agencies (LEAs) to improve school facilities. Further, the bill specifies allowable uses of grant funds, including carrying out major repairs, improving indoor air quality, and making facilities accessible to disabled individuals. Additionally, the bill requires LEAs that receive funds for new construction, modernization, or renovation projects to comply with hazard-resistance building codes and performance criteria under the WaterSense program of the Environmental Protection Agency. Further, the bill requires such LEAs to adopt certain green practices (environmental standards) and requires the use of iron, steel, and manufactured products that are made in the United States (Buy America). The bill restores school infrastructure tax credit bonds. The bill also sets forth reporting requirements, including annual reports on grant program projects and a report by the Government Accountability Office that requires a study of the geographic distribution of projects, the impact of selected projects on student and staff health and safety, and the accessibility of projects to high-poverty schools. The bill also establishes the Office of School Infrastructure and Sustainability within the Department of Education. Next, the bill extends through FY2027 the Impact Aid Construction program. Finally, the bill establishes a grant program to assist LEAs with repairing or replacing concrete foundations affected by pyrrhotite (an iron sulfide material linked to crumbling foundations).
VA Employee Fairness Act of 2021 This bill repeals provisions excluding any matter or question concerning professional conduct or competence; peer review; or the establishment, determination, or adjustment of employee compensation from the applicability of collective bargaining rights for Veterans Health Administration employees.
Maddy summaryHRES 1522 is a symbolic resolution condemning the November 19, 2022, mass shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs that killed five people and injured 22. It honors the victims, offers condolences to their families, and expresses support for those impacted by the attack. The resolution also highlights the broader context of anti-LGBTQ+ violence and hate, including the Pulse nightclub tragedy, and calls for an end to anti-LGBTQ+ hate and violence. As a ceremonial resolution, it contains no new laws or funding but serves as a formal statement of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.
Equal Access to Green cards for Legal Employment Act of 2022 or the EAGLE Act of 2022 This bill modifies requirements related to employment-based visas and addresses related issues. The bill increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% of the total number of such visas available that year to 15% and eliminates the per-country cap for employment-based immigrant visas. The bill establishes transition rules for employment-based visas such as (1) reserving a percentage of EB-2 (workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability) and EB-3 (skilled and other workers) visas for individuals not from the two countries with the largest number of recipients of such visas, and (2) allotting a number of visas for professional nurses and physical therapists. The bill imposes additional requirements on an employer seeking an H-1B visa, such as prohibiting (1) an employer from advertising that a position is only open to H-1B applicants or that H-1B applicants are preferred, and (2) certain employers from having more than half of their employees as nonimmigrant visa workers. The Department of Labor shall create a publicly available website where an employer seeking an H-1B visa must post certain information about the open position. The bill also expands Labor's authority to review and investigate H-1B applications for fraud or misrepresentations. The bill also allows certain aliens to obtain lawful permanent resident status if the alien (1) is in the United States as a nonimmigrant, (2) has an approved immigrant visa petition, and (3) has waited at least two years for a visa.
