Rep. Rick Larsen

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.

This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative should prepare a report related to U.S. exports of environmental goods, the United States should work with trading partners to facilitate trade in environmental goods to meet each country's environmental and climate goals, and the United States should launch negotiations to implement a new environmental goods agreement with updated product coverage.

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.

Developing Alternative Mitigation Systems for Beavers Act or the DAMS for Beavers Act This bill directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to establish a competitive grant program to assist projects that use nonlethal measures to reduce property damage caused by beavers and maintain or enhance habitat for beavers and other wildlife. In awarding grants, the FWS may prioritize projects that (1) include monitoring and research that facilitates evaluation of such projects and identification of best practices, (2) includes educational and outreach activities, (3) are located in an area that ensures grant recipients represent diverse geographic areas, and (4) satisfy any other criteria to effectively reduce damage to property and maintain or enhance habitat for beavers and other wildlife.

Respect for Marriage Act This act provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages. Specifically, the act replaces provisions that define, for purposes of federal law, marriage as between a man and a woman and spouse as a person of the opposite sex with provisions that recognize any marriage between two individuals that is valid under state law. (The Supreme Court held that the current provisions were unconstitutional in United States v. Windsor in 2013.) The act also replaces provisions that do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states with provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. (The Supreme Court held that state laws barring same-sex marriages were unconstitutional in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015; the Court held that state laws barring interracial marriages were unconstitutional in Loving v. Virginia in 1967.) The act allows the Department of Justice to bring a civil action and establishes a private right of action for violations. The act does not (1) affect religious liberties or conscience protections that are available under the Constitution or federal law, (2) require religious organizations to provide goods or services to formally recognize or celebrate a marriage, (3) affect any benefits or rights that do not arise from a marriage, or (4) recognize under federal law any marriage between more than two individuals.

International Violence Against Women Act of 2022 This bill requires a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. The bill establishes in the Department of State an Office of Global Women's Issues, which shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues. The Ambassador-at-Large shall (1) coordinate U.S. government efforts regarding gender equality and the advancement of women and girls in foreign policy, and (2) develop or update periodically a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. The bill establishes in the U.S. Agency for International Development the position of Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment who shall coordinate policies, programs, and funding regarding gender equality and women's empowerment.

Protecting America from Seasonal and Pandemic Influenza Act of 2022 This bill establishes new, and expands existing, programs and activities to prevent and respond to seasonal and pandemic influenza (flu). In particular, the bill addresses flu vaccine development, manufacturing, and supply chains; genomic sequencing, diagnostic tools, and other technologies to detect, prevent, and respond to flu; and public health communications and related efforts to increase flu vaccination rates and access to antiviral medications. The bill also sets out a process through which Congress may adjust discretionary spending limits to accommodate additional funding for health defense operations (e.g., flu-related activities).

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.