Veteran Service Recognition Act of 2022 This bill addresses immigration-related issues pertaining to noncitizen (or non-U.S. national) military veterans, including by authorizing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide lawful permanent resident status to a veteran subject to removal. If a noncitizen veteran appears to be eligible for lawful permanent resident status under this bill, that veteran must receive a reasonable opportunity to apply for such status and may not be removed until there is a final administrative decision on the veteran's eligibility. For the purposes of providing such status under this bill, DHS may waive any applicable grounds of inadmissibility, except for certain crime- or security-related grounds. The bill also extends certain deadlines relating to obtaining citizenship after serving in the Armed Forces. DHS must create a system for identifying noncitizens who are or may be veterans. Before initiating removal proceedings against a noncitizen, DHS must attempt to determine whether the noncitizen is a veteran. DHS must ensure that veteran status is considered in immigration proceedings. The bill also requires U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Defense to take certain actions to facilitate opportunities for military recruits and veterans to obtain U.S. citizenship, such as by training Judge Advocate General Corps members to act as liaisons between the Armed Forces and USCIS on servicemember citizenship applications. The bill also establishes the Military Family Immigration Advisory Committee to provide recommendations on cases involving the removal of a servicemember, veteran, or certain family members of a servicemember or veteran. Such an individual may not be removed until the committee has provided a recommendation to DHS about the individual's case, unless the individual is inadmissible due to a conviction for an aggravated felony. The bill also waives certain grounds of inadmissibility (e.g., being unlawfully present in the United States) for certain noncitizens applying for lawful permanent resident status as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen who has served at least two years in the Armed Forces.
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon
Sponsored bills
Climate Adaptation Science Centers Act or the CASC Act This bill provides statutory authority for the Department of the Interior's National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers. The centers must provide scientific expertise to managers of natural resources, cultural resources, and ecosystem services to inform decisions that aid adaptation to a changing climate and extreme weather events. The program shall include a National Climate Adaptation Science Center and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers. Among its activities, the National Center shall serve as the national office for the regional centers, develop and facilitate coordination among the regional centers, and conduct research on cross-regional and national science priorities. Regional centers shall develop research, education, training, and advisory service priorities regarding the impacts of climate trends and variability on natural and cultural resource management. Interior shall establish an Advisory Committee on Climate and Natural Resource Sciences to advise the National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers on specified matters, including (1) the contents of a national strategy identifying key climate adaptation science priorities to advance the management of natural and cultural resources in the face of climate change; and (2) the integration of equity, particularly for historically underserved communities, in the operation of the National Center and regional centers.
The Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act of 2022 This bill reauthorizes through FY2027, increases funding for, and modifies the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. This program supports home visits for expectant and new parents who live in communities that are at-risk for poor maternal and child health outcomes. Changes to the program include setting out requirements for allocating program funds; increasing the percentage of funds reserved for tribal entities; establishing a publicly available dashboard that reports program outcomes; requiring activities to reduce unnecessary data collection, reporting, and other administrative requirements of the program; and allowing for virtual home visits (provided certain conditions are met). The bill also reduces funding for the Medicare Improvement Fund.
Pregnant Women in Custody Act This bill establishes requirements to address the health needs of incarcerated women related to pregnancy and childbirth. The bill requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics to collect data on the health needs of incarcerated pregnant women at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels. With respect to incarcerated women at the federal level, the bill requires the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide appropriate services and programs to address the health and safety needs related to pregnancy and childbirth, as well as appropriate health care to a woman with a high-risk pregnancy; limits the use of restrictive housing for prisoners who are pregnant or in postpartum recovery; and requires the BOP to report annually on the number of administrative claims and appeals filed by pregnant inmates. With respect to incarcerated women at the state and local levels, the bill requires the Government Accountability Office to study the services and protections for pregnant incarcerated women in state and local correctional settings.
Stop Corporate Capture Act This bill modifies the process for federal agency rulemaking. Specifically, it (1) requires interested parties who submit a study or research as part of a comment to a proposed rule to disclose the source of the funding for the study or research, (2) limits the use of the negotiated rulemaking process to government agencies, (3) provides statutory authority for the judicial principle that requires courts to defer to an agency's reasonable or permissible interpretation of a federal law when the law is silent or ambiguous (i.e., the Chevron doctrine), and (4) establishes an Office of the Public Advocate to support public participation in the rulemaking process.
Corporate Crime Database Act of 2022 This bill requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics to establish a public database of enforcement actions taken by federal agencies against businesses for corporate offenses.
Hide No Harm Act of 2022 This bill establishes criminal penalties for corporate officers who fail to inform federal agencies, their employees, or affected individuals of any serious physical danger that is associated with their products or services. It also prohibits retaliatory action against whistleblowers.
Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act of 2022 This bill expands, and establishes new, requirements to increase the accessibility of communications technologies for individuals who are blind or deaf or have other disabilities, including by requiring closed captioning for online video programming and audio descriptions for both online and televised video programming.
Ensuring Quality Access to Legal Defense Act of 2022 or the EQUAL Defense Act of 2022 This bill establishes and modifies certain programs that support the delivery of public defense services (i.e., legal services for criminal defendants who cannot afford counsel). Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to award grants to state and local governments, tribal organizations, and public defender offices for public defense. A grant recipient must use the grant to establish a data collection process, develop workload limits, and satisfy specified compensation requirements (e.g., pay parity between public defenders and prosecutors). The bill also directs DOJ to award grants to nonprofits and government organizations to train public defenders, court-appointed attorneys, and contract attorneys. Additionally, a state that receives Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program funds must annually submit to DOJ information related to the legal representation of defendants in criminal cases. Finally, it reauthorizes through FY2026 the student loan repayment program for prosecutors and public defenders and otherwise revises the program, including by increasing the maximum benefit amount.
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1 East Main Street in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, as the "Harold Billow Post Office Building."