Treatment Family Care Services Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue guidance for states about funding and establishing treatment family care services. Treatment family care services are structured daily services and interventions to address mental and behavioral health disorders, medically fragile conditions, or developmental disabilities that, among other criteria, are provided in a home-based setting to children who are less than 21 years old and enrolled in any Medicaid eligibility group. Specifically, HHS must issue guidance on (1) opportunities for states to fund treatment family care services through Medicaid, federal foster care and related programs, or other HHS programs; and (2) best practices for states to establish treatment family care services programs. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to assess and report on certain training provided to foster parents and other caregivers, including recommendations for improving state processes related to approval and oversight of the training.
Stop the Nosy Obsession with Online Payments Act of 2022 or the SNOOP Act of 2022 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 more than $20,000 on more than 200 separate transactions in an applicable tax period. 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. This reverses a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 that lowered the reporting threshold to $600 with no minimum on the number of transactions.
Israel Anti-Boycott Act This bill prohibits participation by certain entities and individuals in boycotts or requests for boycotts imposed by international governmental organizations (i.e., the United Nations and the European Union). Specifically, the bill applies to covered persons the prohibition of specified actions in compliance with or in support of a boycott against a country that is friendly to the United States and that is not itself the object of a U.S. boycott. The bill defines a covered person as a domestic concern, the U.S. government or a state government, or a representative or official of such domestic concern or government. The bill also adds to the list of specified prohibited actions the act of furnishing information to any foreign country or international governmental organization that furthers an imposed boycott. Under current law, a person who violates the prohibitions against such boycotts may be subject to a monetary fine or imprisonment; however, the bill removes imprisonment as a potential penalty for certain violations.
Prohibition on Imports of Russian Oil Act This bill requires the President to prohibit the importation of petroleum products from Russia. Petroleum product means crude oil, residual fuel oil, or any refined petroleum product, including natural gas liquid product. Further, the bill authorizes the President to (1) modify or remove the prohibition for some or all petroleum products if the President notifies Congress that such modification or removal is appropriate given the situation in Ukraine, and (2) use appropriate authorities to impose civil or criminal penalties as necessary to enforce the prohibition.
This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that the International Criminal Court should immediately proceed with prosecuting Russian President Vladimir Putin with war crimes should any harm befall Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a result of actions taken or directed by any Russian entity or authority.
This resolution designates March 4, 2022, as "National Speech and Debate Education Day" to recognize the value of speech and debate programs in schools. It does not create new laws or allocate funds but encourages schools, communities, and individuals to celebrate these educational activities. The resolution highlights how speech and debate develop critical skills like communication, critical thinking, and civic engagement for students. It is a symbolic gesture with no direct impact on policy or affected populations.
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.
No Energy Revenues for Russian Hostilities Act of 2022 This bill prohibits, with some exceptions, the Department of the Treasury from authorizing certain energy-related transactions that would otherwise be blocked by an executive order barring transactions related to specified harmful foreign activities of the Russian government. The bill also revokes a license issued February 28, 2022, by the Office of Foreign Assets Control within Treasury that authorized certain transactions barred by the executive order. The bill allows a waiver from the limitation on an energy transaction if the transaction involves funds owed to a Russian person and the funds are to be used for the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices. The bill terminates on the earlier of five years after its enactment, or 30 days after the President reports to Congress that Russia has ceased activities destabilizing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Helping Experts Accelerate Rare Treatments Act of 2022 This bill requires studies on processes for approving drugs that treat rare diseases and conditions. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) must contract with an appropriate entity to study the European Union's process for evaluating the safety and efficacy of such drugs, including any flexibilities or mechanisms that are specific to rare diseases or conditions. The GAO must also conduct a study about the Food and Drug Administration's mechanisms for ensuring that patient and physician perspectives are considered when evaluating and approving drugs for rare diseases or conditions. The GAO must report to Congress the results of these studies.
This concurrent resolution condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its ongoing support of proxy militias in the region. The concurrent resolution also states that these actions pose a direct threat to international peace and security and run contrary to Russia's responsibilities and obligations as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. The concurrent resolution urges the President to direct the U.S. representative to the United Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to take all necessary steps to remove Russia as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. Finally, the concurrent resolution urges other member states to support such efforts to hold Russia accountable at the United Nations.
Department of Energy Science for the Future Act This bill supports specified research and development activities of the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. The bill establishes various programs, including a basic energy sciences research and development program; a Carbon Oxide Sequestration Research and Geologic Computing Initiative; a biological systems science and climate and environmental science research and development program; earth and environmental systems science research; a coastal zone research initiative; a Quantum User Expansion for Science and Technology program or QUEST program; a research program on the fundamental constituents of matter and energy and the nature of space and time; research activities on the nature of the primary contents of the universe, including the nature of dark energy and dark matter; a research program to discover and understand various forms of nuclear matter; a high intensity laser research initiative; and an Emerging Biological Threat Preparedness Research Initiative. The DOE Office of Science shall continue to leverage U.S. participation in the Large Hadron Collider and prioritize expanding international partnerships and investments in the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility and Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. DOE shall broaden its recruitment pool to increase participation from underrepresented institutions of higher education, including historically Black colleges and universities. DOE may not carry out certain gain-of-function research.
Energy Emergency Leadership Act This bill requires the Secretary of Energy to assign energy emergency and energy security functions to an Assistant Secretary, including responsibilities with respect to infrastructure and cybersecurity. The Department of Energy must ensure that such functions are performed in coordination with relevant federal agencies.
