Preserving the Readiness of our Armed Forces Act of 2022 This bill provides that a member of the National Guard (or another reserve component) must maintain access to pay and benefits while a request for a religious or health accommodation is pending. Additionally, a member of an active or reserve component of the Armed Forces may not be involuntarily separated from the Armed Forces based solely on COVID-19 vaccination status until specified recruiting goals are achieved.
Preventing Underhanded and Nefarious Iranian Supported Homicides Act of 2022 or the PUNISH Act of 2022 This bill extends sanctions and national emergencies related to Iran established by specified executive orders and limits the authority of the President to waive sanctions related to Iran. The bill requires the Department of State to periodically report whether Iran or any foreign person has supported specified activities, including murder or politically motivated detention in Iran of a U.S. citizen.
Protecting Kids from Fentanyl Act This bill allows states and local educational agencies to use unexpended COVID-19 elementary and secondary school emergency relief funds for additional purposes. In particular, these funds may be used for (1) purchasing naloxone or other opioid antagonists; (2) providing training to school nurses, teachers, school administrators, and school resource officers on how to administer naloxone or other opioid antagonists; and (3) providing fentanyl awareness classes or materials to students.
National Council on African American History and Culture Act of 2022 This bill establishes a National Council on African American History and Culture in the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The duties of the council shall include gathering timely and authoritative information concerning historical developments and cultural trends in African-American history and culture; evaluating the various programs and activities of the NEH to determine the extent to which such programs and activities are contributing, or not contributing, to the successful preservation and celebration of African-American history and culture; and developing and recommending to the NEH national policies to foster and promote the understanding of African-American history, the preservation of African-American culture, and the celebration of African Americans as contributors to the country's economic, cultural, and political success.
This joint resolution nullifies the final rule issued by the Council on Environmental Quality titled National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations Revisions and published on April 20, 2022. The rule restores regulatory provisions issued under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) that were in effect before being modified in 2020 by the Update to the Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act rule.
Countering Assad's Proliferation Trafficking And Garnering Of Narcotics Act or the CAPTAGON Act This bill requires the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and other appropriate federal agencies to report to Congress a strategy to disrupt and dismantle narcotics production and trafficking networks linked to the regime of Bashar al Asad in Syria.
Working to Integrate Networks Guaranteeing Member Access Now Act or the WINGMAN Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide veterans with the option to grant read-only access to their records in the databases of the Veterans Benefits Administration to covered congressional employees. The covered congressional employees must be employed in the office of the Member of Congress who represents the district where the veteran resides. Under the bill, a covered congressional employee is (1) a permanent, full-time employee of a Member of Congress who is responsible for assisting constituents with federal agencies and departments; (2) designated by the Member; and (3) someone who satisfies the criteria required by the VA for recognition as an agent or attorney. However, the bill specifies that a covered congressional employee may not be recognized as an agent or attorney with respect to veterans' benefit claims.
Social Security Fairness Act of 2021 This bill repeals provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government. The bill eliminates the government pension offset , which in various instances reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own. The bill also eliminates the windfall elimination provision , which in some instances reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who also receive a pension or disability benefit from an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes. These changes are effective for benefits payable after December 2021.
TCJA Permanency Act This bill makes permanent provisions affecting individual and business taxpayers that were enacted in 2017 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. The bill makes permanent reductions in individual and capital gain tax rates. The bill increases the standard tax deduction for individual taxpayers. It also increases and modifies the child tax credit and raises the contribution base for the tax deduction for charitable contributions. The bill allows additional contributions to ABLE accounts (tax-exempt accounts designed to enable individuals with disabilities to save and pay for disability-related expenses). It exempts from taxation combat zone benefits of members of the Armed Forces serving in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and limits the deduction for moving expenses to active duty members of the Armed Forces. Additionally, the bill expands the types of elementary and secondary school expenses eligible for payment from qualified tuition programs (529 programs); lowers to $750,000 the amount of mortgage debt eligible for an interest expense tax deduction; reinstates after 2023 the exclusion of income from the gross income of student loan borrowers for loan debt discharged due to death or total and permanent disability; makes permanent the limitation on the tax deduction for state and local taxes and denies a deduction for foreign real property taxes; makes permanent the tax deduction of the income of certain pass-through business entities; repeals the tax deduction for personal tax exemptions and the exclusion of employer-provided bicycle commuter fringe benefits; terminates certain miscellaneous itemized tax deductions; doubles the estate and gift tax exemption amount; and makes permanent the increase of the alternative minimum tax exemption amount for individual taxpayers.
Access to Mental Health Services Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), jointly with other relevant agencies, to conduct outreach about the federal requirements relating to the availability of, and limitations for, coverage of mental health and substance use disorder crisis services under private health insurance plans. HHS also must report about the coverage of such services under private insurance plans, including what services are covered, the types of providers furnishing the services, and common reimbursement approaches.
Fair Access In Residency Act or the FAIR Act This bill requires hospitals to certify that they accept residency applications from both osteopathic and allopathic medical schools and to disclose the number of applicants and acceptances from each type of program in order to receive graduate medical education payments under Medicare.
Protect the UNBORN (Undo the Negligent Biden Orders Right Now) Act or the Protect the UNBORN Act This bill prohibits federal implementation of and funding for specified executive orders that address access to reproductive health care services, including services related to pregnancy or the termination of a pregnancy.
