Sen. Jeff Merkley

Military Spouse Hiring Act This bill expands the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to include the hiring of a qualified military spouse. (The WOTC permits employers who hire individuals who are members of a targeted group such as qualified veterans, ex-felons, or long-term unemployment recipients to claim a tax credit equal to a portion of the wages paid to those individuals.) A qualified military spouse is any individual who is certified by the designated local agency as being (as of the hiring date) a spouse of a member of the Armed Forces.

This resolution celebrates the successes of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women and the contributions they have made in the United States. The resolution also recognizes the importance of supporting equity, providing safety, and upholding the interests of these women.

Postal Banking Act This bill grants the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) the power to provide basic financial services, including low-cost, small-dollar loans, in specified amounts; small dollar lending servicing, which shall ensure that the customer's access to the products and the public interest is given significant consideration; small checking accounts and interest-bearing savings accounts in specified amounts; transactional and remittance services; and other basic financial services in the public interest. It grants the USPS the power to set interest rates and fees for the financial instruments and products provided by the USPS that meet specified requirements. The USPS (1) shall not be granted a bank charter or become an insured depository institution for the purpose of capital requirements, and (2) shall be subject to the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code regarding bank deposits and collections. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors shall transfer to the USPS such sums as necessary to carry out the services described in this bill, which shall (1) be sufficient to ensure that the products substantially decrease the number of people who do not have a bank account or use alternative financial products such as payday lending, check cashing, prepaid debt cards, and overdraft fees; and (2) be provided to the USPS through a separate account. The Government Accountability Office shall submit to Congress an annual report that includes the demographics, number of participants, and average balances and uses for such products.

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Sector Development Act of 2022 or the WASH Sector Development Act of 2022 This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish the Water and Sanitation Needs Working Group to measure and report on the number and approximate geographic distribution of households that do not have access to drinking water infrastructure or a means for the safe collection and disposal of wastewater. The EPA must also establish a program under which it awards grants to nonprofit organizations for assisting such households.

Future of Water Act of 2022 This bill prohibits the trading of futures contracts in water or water rights. A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a commodity or financial instrument at a set price at a specific time.

Ocean Regional Opportunity and Innovation Act of 2022 This bill directs the Department of Commerce to designate at least seven entities as Ocean Innovation Clusters. Ocean Innovation Clusters are hubs of operation and entrepreneurship for private, public, and academic stakeholders to collaborate on opportunities to promote and enhance the maritime industry. In designating entities, Commerce shall prioritize entities with a history of supporting cross-sector growth and development of the Blue Economy. Additionally, Commerce must designate at least one Ocean Innovation Cluster in (1) each of the regions covered by the five regional offices of the National Marine Fisheries Service, (2) the Great Lakes region, and (3) the Gulf of Mexico region. Commerce may award competitive grants for the establishment, operation, and administration of Ocean Innovation Clusters.

Prohibiting Anticompetitive Mergers Act of 2022 This bill prohibits certain business mergers, modifies the procedures for reviewing mergers, and establishes procedures for reversing certain mergers. Specifically, the bill prohibits mergers that (1) are valued at more than $5 billion in total assets, (2) result in the acquiring entity having a market share of greater than 33% (or a share of a labor market as an employer of greater than 25%), or (3) result in market concentration levels that exceed specified thresholds. The bill also expands the authority of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review pending mergers, including whether a merger is likely to harm the competitive process and the effect of a merger on relevant labor markets. Finally, the bill authorizes the FTC and the Antitrust Division of the DOJ to retroactively unwind mergers that are prohibited under the bill or that meet certain other anticompetitive criteria such as a merger that results in a greater than 50% share of a relevant market.

Cut Red Tape For Online Sales Act This bill modifies requirements for third party settlement organizations to eliminate their reporting requirement with respect to the transactions of their participating payees unless they have earned $5,000 or more. A third party settlement organization is the central organization that has the contractual obligation to make payments to participating payees (generally, a merchant or business) in a third party payment network. The bill also requires entities that report income to to issue a plain-language description of the taxability of income reported on Form 1099-K.

This bill extends through FY2021 the inapplicability of the requirement for counties to elect to receive certain payments under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. That act provides compensation to counties for the presence of untaxable federal land within their borders.

Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act This bill imposes an excise tax on the windfall profits of crude oil on taxpayers who extracted and imported more than 300,000 barrels (a barrel equals 42 U.S. gallons) of taxable crude oil (i.e., crude oil, crude oil condensates, and natural gasoline) in 2019, or who extracted and imported that amount in the current calendar quarter. The bill requires rebates of the tax collected to be paid to individual taxpayers. The bill establishes the Protect Consumers from Gas Hikes Fund to finance such rebates.