This non-binding resolution, introduced in March 2022, calls for the House wing of the U.S. Capitol and House Office Buildings to reopen to the public, citing the unprecedented closure since March 2020 as the longest in history. It urges removing visitor restrictions like logs and prioritizing public access, noting that other state capitols and public venues operated safely during the same period. As a "sense" resolution, it does not mandate action but expresses the House’s position on restoring public access to a democratic symbol. The resolution specifically targets the House wing (not the full Capitol) and aims to encourage the Capitol Police and House leadership to act.
Teacher Debt Relief Act This bill allows an eligible teacher to use the same teaching service to qualify for both the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
Healthcare Ownership Transparency Act This bill requires health care corporations that participate in Medicare to disclose private equity interests and related financial information. Specifically, the bill requires corporations, as part of the Medicare enrollment and revalidation processes for providers and suppliers, to disclose information about debts, assets, financial transactions, and other information. Providers that are controlled by private equity funds (e.g., venture capital funds) must disclose similar information as well as specific information relating to the private equity fund, such as the percentage of equity contributed by the partners of the fund. The Government Accountability Office must use this information to periodically evaluate the extent to which health care consolidation is taking place and the effects of private equity in health care on costs, staffing, and other factors. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must also establish a task force to address and limit the role of private equity and consolidation in health care. HHS may prohibit certain mergers or acquisitions until the task force has had sufficient time to assess whether there are abusive practices in specific health care sectors or by health care entities.
Bringing Oligarch Accountability Through Seizure Act or the BOATS Act This bill prohibits Russian vessels from entering or operating in the navigable waters of the United States or transferring cargo in any port or place under U.S. jurisdiction, except for national security purposes. Violation of this prohibition subjects a vessel to seizure and forfeiture. Any Russian vessel seized and forfeited to the United States shall be sold at an auction to any entity that is not affiliated with Russia. The proceeds of such auction may only be used for humanitarian aid to Ukraine that is provided by other member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Choice in Affordable Housing Act of 2022 This bill establishes programs and grants to incentivize landlord participation in the Housing Choice Voucher program (i.e., Section 8 tenant-based housing assistance). The bill authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide one-time incentive payments to landlords, security deposit payments, bonuses to public housing agencies that employ landlord liaisons, and amounts for other recruitment purposes. Additionally, the bill allows dwelling units to meet Housing Choice Voucher program inspection requirements by satisfactory inspection through participation in other housing programs. Landlords not yet participating in a low-income housing assistance program may request inspection by a public housing agency to determine whether the dwelling meets requirements prior to selection by a tenant. Finally, HUD must expand the use of an alternative method of calculating fair market rent for purposes of the Housing Choice Voucher program.
Safer Seas Act This bill addresses sexual assault and sexual harassment in the U.S. maritime industry. Among other provisions, the bill requires the U.S. Coast Guard to revoke or suspend a license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner's document to an individual who has been convicted of sexual assault within the previous 10 years and to revoke or suspend such credentials to an individual who has been convicted of sexual harassment within the previous 5 years; provides protection of seaman against discrimination for those who report or intend to report sexual assault or sexual harassment incidents; directs the Coast Guard to promulgate regulations related to possession and consumption of alcohol by crewmembers aboard documented vessels; requires non-passenger carrying, ocean-going, commercial vessels to install and maintain a video surveillance system with audio capability in areas adjacent to bedrooms and limit access to the surveillance to law enforcement officials and victims of sexual assault or sexual harassment; and creates new reporting mandates and procedures for crew and vessel owners to report sexual assault or sexual harassment.
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 This bill authorizes Department of Defense (DOD) activities and programs for FY2022 and addresses various other issues. For example, the bill provides multiyear procurement authority for certain helicopters and destroyers; imposes various cost and operational limits on the F-35 aircraft program; requires DOD to establish a consortium of institutions of higher education to study irregular warfare; generally prohibits DOD from disposing of certain waste, including hazardous waste, in open-air burn pits outside of the United States; requires DOD to impose a temporary moratorium on burning perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (commonly referred to as PFAS); expands Selective Service registration to include women; requires the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard to appoint special victim prosecutors; requires that a formal complaint alleging sexual harassment committed by a service member against another service member be investigated by an independent investigator; authorizes the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy to take actions to provide nonmedical counseling services to military families through the DOD Family Readiness System; directs DOD to implement certain recommendations for reducing gender-related inequities in out-of-pocket uniform costs; requires DOD to provide a basic needs allowance to low-income service members; extends temporary authorities for providing premium pay and benefits to certain DOD civilian employees; establishes within the General Services Administration the National Digital Reserve Corps to help address the digital and cybersecurity needs of executive agencies; extends authority for DOD to support stabilization activities in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Somalia; and imposes sanctions on entities (and certain officers and shareholders of such entities) responsible for operating, constructing, or operating the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
This joint resolution nullifies the rule titled Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination , which was issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on November 5, 2021. The rule requires health care providers, as a condition of Medicare and Medicaid participation, to ensure that staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
This resolution expresses that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the energy independence of the United States is critical to national security and should include the production and use of all available energy sources, including coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear energy, and renewables, as well as strategic minerals critical to electric vehicles and other clean energy sources; and President Biden should take immediate action to restore the energy security of the United States and provide U.S. allies with an affordable and secure supply of energy.
No Profits for Taliban-Controlled Mines Act This bill directs the President to prohibit the use of rare earth minerals that originate from Taliban-controlled areas of Afghanistan in domestically sold or manufactured components.
Minorities in Aviation Education Act of 2022 This bill establishes grants for increasing the exposure of students who are underrepresented in aviation to that industry. The Department of Transportation must award the grants to state and local governments or educational agencies.
Women's Health Protection Act of 2021 This bill prohibits governmental restrictions on the provision of, and access to, abortion services. Specifically, governments may not limit a provider's ability to prescribe certain drugs, offer abortion services via telemedicine, or immediately provide abortion services when the provider determines a delay risks the patient's health. Furthermore, governments may not require a provider to perform unnecessary medical procedures, provide medically inaccurate information, comply with credentialing or other conditions that do not apply to providers whose services are medically comparable to abortions, or carry out all services connected to an abortion. In addition, governments may not (1) require patients to make medically unnecessary in-person visits before receiving abortion services or disclose their reasons for obtaining such services, or (2) prohibit abortion services before fetal viability or after fetal viability when a provider determines the pregnancy risks the patient's life or health. The bill also prohibits other governmental measures that are similar to the bill's specified restrictions or that otherwise single out and impede access to abortion services, unless a government demonstrates that the measure significantly advances the safety of abortion services or health of patients and cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. The Department of Justice, individuals, or providers may bring a lawsuit to enforce this bill, and states are not immune from suits for violations. The bill applies to restrictions imposed both prior and subsequent to the bill's enactment.
