Sen. Jack Reed

Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act of 2022 This bill expressly classifies broadband internet as a telecommunications service rather than an information service for purposes of regulation by the Federal Communications Commission. (Current law treats providers of telecommunications services as common carriers and subjects them to more stringent requirements.)

Insider Trading Prohibition Act This bill generally provides statutory authority for the prohibition against securities trading, as well as related communications to others, by a person who has access to material, nonpublic information and is aware or recklessly disregards that the information is material and nonpublic. Further, that person must either be aware or recklessly disregards that the information has been obtained wrongfully or that the trading would be wrongful. The bill also provides, for purposes of establishing a violation of this prohibition, that it is not necessary for such a person to know specifically how such information was obtained or whether a personal benefit was paid or promised.

Weatherization Assistance Program Improvements Act of 2022 This bill expands the Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program, including by establishing a Weatherization Readiness Fund. If the dwellings of low-income households have significant defects or hazards that prevent the installation of weatherization (e.g., energy efficiency) measures under the program, then states may use the fund for repairing such defects and hazards.

Stronger Enforcement of Civil Penalties Act of 2021 This bill increases civil and administrative monetary penalties for securities laws violations. The bill also adds a fourth tier of monetary penalties for violations by a person that, within the five-year period preceding the violation (1) was criminally convicted for securities fraud; or (2) became subject to a judgment or order imposing monetary, equitable, or administrative relief in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) action alleging fraud. In addition, the bill expands penalties for violations of certain federal court injunctions or SEC orders.

Global Food Security Reauthorization Act of 2022 This bill reauthorizes through FY2028 activities to implement the Global Food Security Strategy, a whole-of-government strategy to promote global food security, resilience, and nutrition. The bill also modifies aspects of the strategy, such as requiring the strategy to seek to improve the efficiency and resilience of agricultural production. The bill also reauthorizes through FY2028 activities related to the Emergency Food Security Program, an international market-based assistance program.

Right to Contraception Act This bill sets out statutory protections for an individual's right to access and a health care provider's right to provide contraception and related information. Contraception refers to an action taken to prevent pregnancy, including the use of contraceptives (i.e., a device or medication used to prevent pregnancy), fertility-awareness based methods, and sterilization procedures. Generally, the bill prohibits measures that single out and impede access to contraception and related information. However, a party may defend against a claim that a measure violates the bill's prohibitions by demonstrating, through clear and convincing evidence, that the measure significantly advances the safety of contraception and cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. The bill also specifies that the prohibition preempts inconsistent state and local laws and applies in spite of other federal laws, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. The Department of Justice, individuals, or health care providers may bring a lawsuit to enforce this bill, and states are not immune from suits for violations.

Preventing Illegal Weapons Trafficking Act of 2022 This bill requires federal agencies to develop a strategy to address the trafficking of firearm modification devices that are used to convert weapons into machine guns. It also requires specific reporting on these devices, and it provides for the seizure and forfeiture of proceeds relating to machinegun trafficking.

Benjamin Berell Ferencz Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Benjamin Berell Ferencz in recognition of his service to the United States and the international community during the post-World War II Nuremberg trials and his lifelong advocacy for international criminal justice and the rule of law.

Cambodia Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2022 This bill directs the President to impose sanctions on foreign persons (i.e., entities and individuals) responsible for acts to undermine democracy in Cambodia, including acts that constitute serious human rights violations and acts to support the establishment of facilities in Cambodia that could be used by China's military. The sanctions shall be directed at foreign persons, including current or former Cambodian government, military, and security forces officials, responsible for such actions, as well as entities controlled or owned by such persons. The sanctions shall include blocking the assets of sanctioned persons and restricting the entry of sanctioned individuals into the United States, and shall not apply to the importation of goods. The President may waive the sanctions with respect to a person if it is in the national interest of the United States. The President may suspend the sanctions if Cambodia makes meaningful progress toward ending government efforts to undermine democracy, ending human rights violations, and meeting other specified conditions. The President must report to Congress on the presence of China's military in Cambodia, including the involvement of China's military in upgrading or constructing certain facilities in Cambodia.

Green Retrofits Act This bill reauthorizes a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) water and energy conservation demonstration program through FY2027. Prior to its FY2019 expiration, the program allowed HUD to execute agreements with specified entities to reduce utility costs through improvements at multifamily subsidized housing projects. The reauthorization makes a number of changes to the original program, including increasing the cap on eligible residential units from 20,000 to 35,000 and extending the cap on agreement terms from 12 to 15 years. The bill also creates a green retrofit program that allows HUD to provide grants or loans to owners of multifamily subsidized housing projects. The grants or loans must be used to perform in-home health and green retrofits to the property.