SRES 593 is a Senate resolution honoring former U.S. Senator Kaneaster Hodges, Jr. of Arkansas, who served from 1977 to 1978. The resolution expresses the Senate’s "profound sorrow" at his death and directs the Secretary of the Senate to transmit an enrolled copy to his family. It also calls for the Senate to adjourn as a mark of respect. This is a ceremonial resolution with no policy provisions or direct impact on legislation or constituents.
No Free TRIPS Act This bill prohibits the U.S. government from negotiating or concluding any withdrawal from or modification to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) without explicit authorization from Congress. The TRIPS Agreement is one of several international agreements that led to the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In October 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, several WTO members proposed a waiver of some TRIPS obligations, including obligations related to national patent laws.
Traveler's Gun Rights Act This bill allows an individual who does not have a physical residence in a state to use the address for a private mailbox or post office box maintained by that individual for purposes of obtaining a firearm from a federally licensed dealer.
IHS Contract Support Cost Amendment Act This bill allows tribes to receive contract support costs for activities that would otherwise be carried out by the Department of the Interior or the Department of Health and Human Services for direct operation of a program, but for which the costs are not fully covered by the amount of funds required by the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.
This resolution designates April 16 through April 24, 2022, as National Park Week. The resolution also encourages the people of the United States and the world to responsibly visit, experience, recreate in, and support the treasured national parks of the United States.
Rural Hospital Support Act This bill modifies and extends certain payment adjustments for rural hospitals under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system. Specifically, the bill indexes payment adjustments for sole community hospitals and Medicare-dependent hospitals to FY2016 operating costs, if it results in higher payments for such hospitals. The bill also makes payment adjustments for Medicare-dependent hospitals and low-volume hospitals permanent (the adjustments currently expire at the end of FY2022).
Investments in Rural Transit Act of 2021 This bill increases the federal share of operating costs to 80% for projects in certain rural areas with high transit dependency that receive grants under the Formula Grants for Rural Areas program of the Federal Transit Administration. The program provides capital, planning, and operating assistance to states to support public transportation in rural areas with populations of less than 50,000. To qualify for the increased federal share, a project must serve an area that is an area of persistent poverty (a county in which at least 20% of the population has lived in poverty during the most recent 30-year period); a county in which at least 25% of residents are age 65 or older, a county designated as a health professional shortage area on the basis of a primary care or mental health care shortage, or a county with low population density of not more than 20 people per square mile of land area.
National Opportunity to Restore Uranium Supply Services In America Act of 2022 or the NO RUSSIA Act of 2022 This bill provides statutory authority (and reallocates funding) for the Office of Nuclear Energy to establish a strategic reserve of uranium to ensure the availability of domestic supplies of uranium. The bill also requires the office to establish another program to support domestic production, conversion, and enrichment of uranium for nuclear reactors and eliminate reliance on Russian uranium. The office may not source uranium for the reserve or the program from companies that are controlled by, owned by, or otherwise affiliated with China or Russia.
Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act This bill establishes procedures to reduce the number of federal regulations. Specifically, it requires each agency to establish a regulatory reform task force chaired by a designated regulatory reform officer. Each task force must, among other duties (1) review each existing agency regulation; (2) estimate the potential cost savings of repealing or modifying each regulation; and (3) identify regulations that are appropriate for repeal, replacement, or modification based on cost, effectiveness, and impact on employment. The bill further prohibits agencies from issuing a new regulation with an economic impact of at least $100 million without identifying two regulations for repeal that will offset the cost of the proposed new regulation. Agencies also must submit a list of all planned regulatory actions for inclusion in the semiannual Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, including (1) the estimated economic effect of each action, and (2) proposed deregulatory actions to offset the cost of each proposed new regulation. Additionally, the Office of Management and Budget must establish an annual regulatory budget for each federal agency that specifies the net allowable increase in regulatory costs for each agency during the next fiscal year.
Real Emergencies Act This bill denies the President authority to declare a national emergency, an emergency or major disaster, or a public health emergency on the premise of climate change.
Small Lenders Exempt from New Data and Excessive Reporting Act or the Small LENDER Act This bill exempts certain financial institutions and transactions from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reporting requirements with respect to data about small business credit applications. Under the bill, the requirements apply only to financial institutions that originate at least 500 credit transactions to small businesses in each of the preceding two years. The bill further defines small businesses as those with annual revenue of $1 million or less. Currently, the CFPB has proposed a rule that the requirements apply only to financial institutions that originate at least 25 annual credit transactions to small businesses in each of the preceding two years. The rule further defines small businesses as those with annual revenue of $5 million or less.
Middle Market IPO Underwriting Cost Act This bill requires the Securities and Exchange Commission to study and report on the costs encountered by small- and medium-sized companies when undertaking initial public offerings and certain offerings exempt from securities registration requirements.
