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.
This concurrent resolution recognizes the disparity between wages paid to Latina women, and its impact on women, families, and the nation and reaffirms Congress' commitment to supporting equal pay for equal work and to narrowing the gender wage gap.
Clarifying Civil Rights Remedies Act of 2022 This bill specifies that damages in certain civil rights lawsuits may include all types of compensatory damages, including for emotional harm.
Reproductive Health Travel Fund Act of 2022 This bill authorizes the Department of the Treasury to award grants to pay for travel, childcare, and other expenses of an individual seeking access to abortion services. Eligible grant recipients must be nonprofit or community-based organizations that assist individuals seeking abortion services through programs that are unbiased and medically and factually accurate. The grants may not be used to pay for abortion procedures.
HR 7075 designates a specific triangular area in Washington, D.C. (bounded by 22nd Street NW, P Street NW, and Florida Avenue NW) as "Ukrainian Independence Park," including National Park Service reservations 57D and 360 (which contains the Taras Shevchenko Memorial). The bill updates all federal references to this area to use the new name and authorizes signage highlighting Ukraine's independence and U.S.-Ukraine solidarity. This is a procedural designation bill with no substantive policy changes, solely renaming a park area.
Fair Access to Financial Services Act of 2022 This bill prohibits financial institutions from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also provides an aggrieved person with a private right of action for preventive relief.
SRES 838 is a non-binding Senate resolution expressing concern about the increasing number of book bans in schools and libraries across the U.S. It highlights that over 2,500 book restrictions affected more than 4 million students in 32 states during the 2021-2022 school year, including bans on titles addressing LGBTQ+ themes, racial history, and diverse perspectives (such as *The Handmaid’s Tale* and *Maus*). The resolution reaffirms the importance of free expression under the First Amendment and calls on schools and libraries to follow established guidelines when addressing book challenges, rather than removing materials based on political or ideological preferences. It emphasizes protecting students’ access to diverse viewpoints and educators’ ability to teach without censorship.
This resolution expresses support for the principles of Transgender Day of Remembrance by recognizing the epidemic of violence toward transgender people and memorializing the lives lost this year.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication Centers to Establish National Training Act or the AACCENT Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award three grants in geographically diverse regions to establish a network of resource centers to improve access to tools, technologies, strategies, training, and other methods used to supplement or replace speech (i.e., augmentative and alternative communication) for individuals with significant expressive communication disabilities. These are communication disabilities (other than communication disabilities that are primarily visual or auditory in nature) that prevent or significantly limit an individual from understanding or being understood using spoken words, resulting in the need for or benefit from augmentative and alternative communication.
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.
Deterring Undue Enforcement by Protecting Rights Of Citizens from Excessive Searches and Seizures Act of 2022 or the DUE PROCESS Act of 2022 This bill makes various changes to procedures governing federal civil forfeiture cases, including by raising the evidentiary standard that applies to them. It also requires the Department of Justice to create a database of and annually audit federal civil forfeiture cases.
Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic Lending Act of 2022 or the SAFE Lending Act of 2022 This bill revises requirements related to consumer financial protection and small-dollar lending, including matters concerning remotely created checks, electronic fund transfers, registration of small-dollar lenders, overdraft fees, and the collection of personal information. Under the bill, remotely created checks may only be issued by a person specifically designated in writing by a consumer and provided to the consumer's depository institution. (A remotely created check is a check not issued by the bank and not signed by the account owner.) A voluntary agreement to repay a small-dollar consumer credit transaction by an electronic fund transfer is subject to certain protections, including the right of the consumer to stop payment. Small-dollar consumer credit providers must register with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Any small-dollar consumer credit transaction is subject to the laws of the state in which the consumer resides. The bill also prohibits overdraft fees on prepaid accounts.
