Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2022 This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a process to vet applicants for certain funding that supports affordable broadband deployment in high-cost areas, including rural communities. Specifically, the process applies to applicants seeking funding under the high-cost universal service programs that provide competitive awards for broadband deployment. As part of the process, the FCC must require applicants to provide a proposal for deploying the broadband network. The proposal must contain enough detail and documentation for the FCC to ascertain whether the applicant has the technical capabilities to deploy the proposed network and deliver services. The FCC must evaluate proposals against reasonable and well-established technical standards.
Social Security Guarantee Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to issue certificates to Social Security beneficiaries that guarantee them the full monthly benefit amount to which they are entitled and at least an annual cost-of-living increase to their benefits. It also provides additional mandatory funding for those benefits. Currently, Social Security beneficiaries are entitled to their benefits, but benefits are primarily funded through a payroll tax (including assets derived from the tax held in reserve). Actuarial projections reported by the Social Security Board of Trustees indicate that in 2035 there will be insufficient tax revenue and reserved assets to cover the full amount of benefit payments.
Protecting Free Speech Act This bill terminates the Disinformation Governance Board of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and prohibits using DHS funding for the activities of any other entity that is substantially similar to the board.
Emergency Rental Assistance Accountability and Transparency Act of 2022 This bill requires the Office of Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury to conduct monitoring and oversight of the receipt, disbursement, and use of funds made available under the emergency rental assistance program pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and recoup misused funds. The bill provides funding for these activities.
This resolution (HRES 1074) is a formal House of Representatives commemoration of the Weather Channel's 40th anniversary, marking its launch on May 2, 1982. It recognizes the channel's history of innovations like the STAR weather system, early online weather services (weather.com), Emmy-winning technology, and coverage of major storms (e.g., Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey). The resolution does not create new policy or affect any specific group; it simply honors the Weather Channel's contributions to public safety through weather reporting. As a procedural resolution, it has no legal effect beyond the symbolic recognition described.
This resolution celebrates the contributions of small businesses in every U.S. community and supports the designation of National Small Business Week. Further, it supports efforts to provide small businesses with aid and assistance through certain programs and initiatives.
This resolution acknowledges that Specialist Bishop E. Evans was discovered, deceased, along the Rio Grande, near Eagle Pass, Texas. The resolution also honors the life and service of Specialist Evans and recognizes that his actions resulted in the survival of two migrants.
Iranian Nuclear and Venezuelan Energy, Sanctions and Terrorism Investigation Government Accountability Report Act or INVESTIGAR Act This bill requires the President to, no later than 14 days after reaching an agreement with Iran regarding Iran's nuclear program, report to Congress describing the possible benefits that will accrue to the regime of Nicolas Maduro as a result of the agreement. (Maduro is the president of Venezuela whose reelection in 2018 is widely condemned, including by the United States, as fraudulent.) The President must update the report every 180 days.
National Discovery Trails Act This bill amends the National Trails System Act to include national discovery trails as part of the national trails system. Such trails (1) shall be extended, continuous, interstate trails located to provide for outstanding outdoor recreation and travel and to connect representative examples of America's trails and communities; (2) shall provide for the conservation and enjoyment of significant natural, cultural, and historic resources and be so located as to represent metropolitan, urban, rural, and back country regions of the Nation; and (3) may be designated on federal lands and, with the owner's consent, on nonfederal lands. The 6,000-mile American Discovery Trail extending from Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware, to Point Reyes National Seashore in California, splitting into northern and southern routes near Cincinnati, Ohio, and rejoining at Denver, Colorado, is designated as a national discovery trail. The bill sets forth requirements for designation of a trail as a national discovery trail. The appropriate federal department for each national discovery trail shall (1) administer the trail in cooperation with at least one competent trailwide volunteer-based organization; and (2) submit a comprehensive plan for the trail's protection, management, development, and use.
Georgia Support Act This bill requires sanctions and reports related to Georgia. The President shall impose entry and property-blocking sanctions against foreign persons responsible for or complicit in serious human rights abuses in the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia that are occupied by Russia. The President shall also report to Congress every 180 days on such foreign persons. The Department of State shall report to Congress on various topics related to Georgia. The reports shall cover (1) U.S. security assistance to Georgia and an assessment of threats to the country's independence and its ability to defend itself, (2) cybersecurity cooperation between the United States and Georgia, (3) a strategy to help Georgia expand its capabilities to combat Russian disinformation and propaganda, and (4) U.S. democracy and governance assistance to Georgia.
This joint resolution nullifies the rule issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on February 3, 2021, that requires the use of face masks on planes, trains, buses, and other public conveyances and at transportation hubs to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
SRES 599 is a Senate resolution (not a law) introduced in April 2022 that honors military children during the National Month of the Military Child (observed each April). It recognizes the sacrifices of approximately 2 million military children who have experienced parental deployment since 9/11, live with disabled veterans, or have lost a military parent. The resolution urges all Americans to support military children through ceremonies and activities during April, aligning with existing Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs programs. It does not create new policies or funding but symbolically acknowledges military children's contributions and challenges.
