President's Cup Cybersecurity Competition Act This bill authorizes an annual competition to award prizes, including cash prizes, to U.S. government cybersecurity employees and teams. To carry out the competition, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency may enter into a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement with a nonprofit, a for-profit entity, or a state or local agency to administer the competition.
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Modernization Act This bill removes gendered pronouns from the United States Code pertaining to the responsibilities of the Archivist and other senior officials at NARA.
Puerto Rico Status Act This bill provides for a plebiscite to be held on November 5, 2023, to resolve Puerto Rico's political status. Specifically, such plebiscite shall offer eligible voters a choice of independence, sovereignty in free association with the United States, or statehood. The Puerto Rico State Elections Commission shall carry out a nonpartisan voter education campaign through traditional paid media and make available at all voting locations voter education materials related to the plebiscites, and invite national and international election observers to ensure transparency and confidence in the electoral process. All voter educational materials and ballots used to carry out this bill shall be made available in English and Spanish. The bill sets forth transition and implementation provisions for each choice offered in the plebiscite.
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.
This bill designates September as "African Diaspora Heritage Month" in the U.S. Code (Section 3(a)). It requests the President and state/local officials issue annual proclamations encouraging communities to observe the month with programs and activities. The bill directly affects all Americans by creating a designated month for recognizing the African diaspora community's contributions, as outlined in the findings section. This is a procedural designation with no new funding or regulatory changes.
SRES 870 is a symbolic Senate resolution honoring former Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, who died on October 24, 2022. The resolution expresses the Senate's sympathy to his family, commends his public service career, and recognizes his work as Defense Secretary (2015-2017), including advancing gender equity in the military, supporting defense innovation, and leading efforts against the Islamic State. It does not create new laws or policies - it is purely a commemorative gesture. The Senate also adjourned in his memory as a mark of respect.
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2200 North George Mason Drive in Arlington, Virginia, as the "Jesus Antonio Collazos Post Office Building."
North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2022 This bill reauthorizes through FY2027 various activities to promote human rights in North Korea. These activities include (1) providing grants to nonprofit organizations to promote human rights, democracy, rule of law, and the development of a market economy in North Korea; (2) increasing the availability of sources of information inside North Korea that are not controlled by North Korea's government; and (3) supporting organizations that provide humanitarian assistance to North Koreans who are outside of North Korea without the permission of North Korea's government.
The Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act of 2022 This bill reauthorizes through FY2027, increases funding for, and modifies the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. This program supports home visits for expectant and new parents who live in communities that are at-risk for poor maternal and child health outcomes. Changes to the program include setting out requirements for allocating program funds; increasing the percentage of funds reserved for tribal entities; establishing a publicly available dashboard that reports program outcomes; requiring activities to reduce unnecessary data collection, reporting, and other administrative requirements of the program; and allowing for virtual home visits (provided certain conditions are met). The bill also reduces funding for the Medicare Improvement Fund.
Improving Government for America's Taxpayers Act This bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO), in its annual report to Congress, to consolidate matters for congressional consideration into one report, organized by policy topic, and to identify congressional oversight actions that can help agencies implement unimplemented priority recommendations. The GAO is also required to publish the above information and publish any known costs of unimplemented priority recommendations.
Uyghur Policy Act of 2021 This bill addresses human rights issues concerning the Uyghurs and other minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. The bill authorizes the establishment of a Special Coordinator for Uyghur Issues position within the Department of State. The State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs may, subject to appropriations, make certain funds available to human rights advocates working on behalf of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups persecuted in China. The funds, if made available, shall be used to facilitate the presence of such human rights advocates at public diplomacy forums to speak on issues related to the human rights and religious freedoms of minority groups persecuted in China. The State Department must ensure that Uyghur language training is available to Foreign Service officers. It must also ensure that a Uyghur-speaking member of the Foreign Service is assigned to U.S. diplomatic and consular missions in China.
Mark O'Brien VA Clothing Allowance Improvement Act This bill modifies the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) clothing allowance policy for veterans who, due to a service-connected disability, wear a prosthetic, use an orthopedic appliance (e.g., a wheelchair), or use a prescription skin medication that the VA determines causes irreparable damage to clothing. The bill requires the VA to continue the clothing allowance for such a veteran on an annual basis until the veteran elects to no longer receive the allowance, or the VA determines the veteran is no longer eligible for the allowance, whichever occurs first. The bill sets forth a procedure by which the VA must conduct reviews of clothing allowance claims to determine the continued eligibility of veterans. Specifically, the VA must conduct a review (1) five years after the date on which a veteran initially receives a clothing allowance and periodically thereafter, and (2) whenever the VA receives notice that the veteran no longer meets eligibility requirements. If a veteran is eligible for a clothing allowance based on a circumstance that is not subject to change, the VA does not need to review whether the veteran has continued eligibility. If the VA determines, as the result of a review of a claim, that a veteran no longer meets the eligibility requirements for a clothing allowance, the VA must provide notice of the determination and discontinue the clothing allowance. The notice must include a description of applicable actions that may be taken following the determination (e.g., filing a notice of disagreement). The bill also extends certain loan fee rates through January 15, 2031, under the VA's home loan program.
