This resolution recognizes November 2022 as National Native American Heritage Month and the Friday after Thanksgiving as Native American Heritage Day.
Maddy summaryThis resolution (SRES 840) is a non-binding Senate expression of support for afterschool programs and the Lights On Afterschool event held on October 20, 2022. It acknowledges the role of high-quality afterschool programs in providing safe, engaging learning opportunities for children, supporting working families, and aiding pandemic recovery efforts. The resolution does not create new policies, allocate funding, or change existing programs - it simply formally recognizes the importance of these programs through the annual Lights On Afterschool celebration. It directly affects the broader community by affirming congressional backing for afterschool initiatives.
Maddy summaryThis resolution designates the week beginning October 16, 2022, as "National Character Counts Week" in the U.S. Senate. It encourages schools, families, youth organizations, and community groups to observe the week by focusing on character education and core values like trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. The resolution is symbolic and non-binding, calling for voluntary activities but not creating new laws or requirements. It directly addresses educational institutions and community organizations that promote character development among youth.
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.
This resolution expresses support for the designation of National Youth Justice Action Month. It acknowledges that the collateral consequences normally applied in the adult criminal justice system should not automatically apply to youth arrested for crimes before the age of 18.
National Advisory Council on Indian Education Improvement Act or the NACIE Improvement Act This bill revises the membership and duties of the National Advisory Council on Indian Education. Specifically, the bill requires the council to (1) include at least one member who is the president of a tribal college or university, and (2) submit its annual report to the Department of Education (ED) and the Department of the Interior. ED and Interior must consider the council's report when preparing their budget materials.
Data on Interactions and Accountability for Law Enforcement with Individuals with Disabilities Act This bill expands activities to collect data about interactions between law enforcement officers and individuals with disabilities. In particular, the bill establishes a temporary advisory council within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a methodology for collecting and reporting data on interactions between law enforcement officers and individuals with disabilities. HHS must award a grant to an independent research organization or institution of higher education to test the validity and reliability of the council's methodology. The council must also provide the Department of Justice with best practices to collect disability status in cases where a death or injury occurred because of an interaction with law enforcement. The bill also requires certain federal initiatives that collect information about interactions with law enforcement (e.g., the National Use-of-Force Data Collection) to include disability status. Further, the Bureau of Justice must award a grant to an independent third-party organization (e.g., an institution of higher education) for identifying trends using certain survey data in violence committed by law enforcement officers against individuals with disabilities.
Maddy summaryThis resolution designates October 26, 2022, as "Day of the Deployed" to honor currently deployed U.S. military personnel and their families. It serves as a ceremonial recognition of service members' sacrifices, particularly those deployed since the 9/11 attacks and in recent operations like Eastern Europe in early 2022. The resolution calls on the public to reflect on military service and observe the day with appropriate activities. As a procedural resolution (not a policy bill), it does not create new laws or alter existing programs. This designation continues an annual tradition established by the Senate since 2011.
Resilient Transit Act of 2022 This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation to provide grants to assist states and local governments in financing public transportation resilience improvement projects that increase the resilience of public transportation systems from the impacts of changing conditions, such as sea level rise, flooding, wildfires, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters.
Empowering and Enforcing Environmental Justice Act of 2022 This bill provides statutory authority for the Department of Justice's Office of Environmental Justice. It also establishes grants to improve the capacity of state, local, and tribal governments to enforce environmental laws involving environmental justice matters.
