Sen. Jerry Moran

Consumer Transaction Account Protection Act of 2022 This bill specifies that consumer transaction account deposits of an insured depository institution are not funds obtained through a deposit broker. In general, current law prohibits an insured depository institution that is not well capitalized from accepting for deposit funds obtained through a deposit broker.

Asset Growth Restriction Act of 2022 This bill repeals restrictions related to brokered deposits and provides for asset growth restrictions applicable to insured depository institutions. Brokered deposits are deposits made to an insured institution, such as a bank, through a third-party broker for investment purposes. Currently, only well-capitalized banks are allowed to solicit and accept brokered deposits, while institutions that are adequately capitalized may accept if granted a waiver. Undercapitalized banks are prohibited from accepting these deposits. The bill repeals these brokered deposit restrictions and directs the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to establish limits on growth of average total assets for less than well-capitalized institutions to maintain their safety and soundness.

Brokered Deposit Affiliate-Subsidiary Modernization Act of 2022 This bill excludes affiliates and subsidiaries of an insured depository institution from certain limitations applicable to brokered deposits. (Brokered deposits are a type of deposit accepted by an institution from a third-party deposit broker for investment purposes. Institutions that accept brokered deposits are subject to additional regulatory requirements, including those related to liquidity.) The bill also expands the definition of an employee of an insured depository institution, thereby exempting these individuals from treatment as a deposit broker. Specifically, the bill includes as an employee (1) an individual who receives compensation in any form from an insured depository institution or from an affiliate or subsidiary, and (2) a registered representative of a broker or dealer that is an affiliate or subsidiary of an insured depository institution.

Maddy summaryThe Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2021 makes several key changes to improve veterans' benefits processing. It creates an internship program for law students at the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Section 101) and establishes a pilot honors program to recruit legal professionals (Section 102). The bill requires the VA to publish disability benefit forms (Section 201) and mandates that contractors communicate with veterans' power of attorney representatives (Section 203). It also allows veterans to consent to electronic notifications of decisions (Section 302) and facilitates contractor access to tax information for claims processing (Section 303). These provisions directly affect veterans seeking benefits, VA staff, and contractors working with the VA.

Network Equipment Transparency Act or the NET Act This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to determine (subject to available data) whether the lack of network equipment significantly impacted the deployment of broadband and other advanced telecommunications capability. The FCC must include this determination in its biennial report on the state of the communications marketplace.

Preventing PFAS Runoff at Airports Act This act temporarily allows the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to cover 100% of the costs for airports to purchase and deploy equipment to test fire suppression systems that contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) without discharging such substances. (PFAS are manmade substances and may have adverse human health effects.) The FAA must also (1) conduct outreach to inform airports of the availability of the increased cost-sharing; and (2) brief Congress on options to reimburse airports that acquired equipment without, or with reduced, federal funding and other matters.

Startup Act This bill provides conditional visas to certain immigrants with advanced educational credentials. It also establishes a grant program to promote innovation and imposes requirements on certain rulemaking activities. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may provide conditional permanent resident status to up to 50,000 aliens with advanced science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) degrees. Such aliens may remain in the country for up to one year after the expiration of a student visa to find employment, or indefinitely if already engaged in a STEM field. DHS may issue conditional immigrant visas for up to 75,000 qualified alien entrepreneurs. The bill imposes various requirements on such entrepreneurs, such as creating a number of full-time jobs for a period of time, after which the alien shall receive permanent resident status. 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 7% cap for employment-based immigrant visas. It also removes an offset that reduced the number of visas for individuals from China. The bill establishes a grant program to support the commercialization of federally-funded research. It also requires the Small Business Administration to award grants regionally to interconnected businesses within an industry sector. This bill requires federal agencies, before proposing a rule that may have a significant economic effect, to publish an analysis of the rule, including the problem the rule intends to address and a cost-benefit analysis.

Focus on the Mission Act of 2022 This bill prohibits the Department of Defense from requiring the recipient of a federal contract to provide a greenhouse gas inventory or to provide any other report on greenhouse gas emissions.

Continuity for Operators with Necessary Training Required for ATC Contract Towers Act of 2021 or the CONTRACT Act of 2021 This bill exempts certain air traffic controllers from a required reduction in their retirement annuity payment on account of earnings from certain work performed while entitled to such annuity. Under current law, retired Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers receive an annuity payment during the period between the mandatory retirement age of 56 and the Social Security minimum age of 62. Such annuity payment is required to be reduced by a certain percentage of any excess earnings during this period. The bill exempts from such reduction in annuity payments an air traffic controller who participates in the Air Traffic Control Contract Program (a public-private partnership for air traffic control services) following mandatory retirement.

Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act of 2022 This bill generally prohibits pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from engaging in certain practices when managing the prescription drug benefits under a health insurance plan, including charging the plan a different amount than the PBM reimburses the pharmacy. The bill also prohibits PBMs from arbitrarily, unfairly, or deceptively (1) clawing back reimbursement payments, or (2) increasing fees or lowering reimbursements to pharmacies to offset changes to federally funded health plans. PBMs are not subject to these prohibitions if they (1) pass along 100% of any price concession or discount to the health plan, and (2) disclose specified costs, prices, reimbursements, fees, markups, discounts, and aggregate payments received with respect to their PBM services. Further, PBMs must report annually to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) certain information about payments received from health plans and fees charged to pharmacies. The FTC and state attorneys general are authorized to enforce the provisions of the bill.