Sen. John Cornyn

This resolution recognizes (1) the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15-October 15, 2022; and (2) the integral role of Latinos and their manifold heritage in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.

Maddy summarySRES 784 is a Senate resolution designating the week beginning September 12, 2022, as "National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week." It recognizes Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) - colleges and universities with at least 25% Hispanic undergraduate enrollment - as vital to higher education access, economic mobility, and community development. The resolution calls for public ceremonies and activities during this week to honor HSIs' contributions, particularly during Hispanic Heritage Month. This is a symbolic recognition with no policy changes or funding impacts.

Keeping Everyone Safe and Securing Lives by Emergency Readiness Act or the KESSLER Act This bill directs the President to supplement disaster response plans to account for catastrophic incidents. Specifically, the President must supplement each Federal Interagency Operational Plan to include an annex containing a strategy to ensure the health, safety, and general welfare of the civilian population affected by catastrophic incidents by providing for the basic needs of the civilian population that is impacted by catastrophic incidents in the United States; coordinating response efforts with state and local governments, the private sector, and nonprofit relief organizations; promoting personal and local readiness and non-reliance on government relief during periods of heightened tension or after catastrophic incidents; and developing international partnerships with allied nations for the provision of relief services and goods. The strategy must include specified elements, including a description of actions the President will take to ensure the basic needs of the U.S. civilian population in a catastrophic incident are met. The Department of Homeland Security shall lead an exercise, as part of a national exercise program, to test and enhance the operationalization of the strategy. The President must provide recommendations for (1) actions that should be taken to prepare the United States to implement the strategy, increase readiness, and address preparedness gaps; and (2) additional authorities that should be considered to more effectively implement the strategy.

Preventing Adversary Influence, Disinformation, and Obscured Foreign Financing Act of 2022 or the PAID OFF Act of 2022 This bill requires certain persons to register as agents of a foreign principal if the foreign principal in question is a foreign adversary. For the purposes of this bill, a foreign adversary is a foreign government or person (individual or entity) that has engaged in a long-term pattern of conduct significantly adverse to U.S. national security or the security and safety of U.S. persons. Currently, the Foreign Agents Registration Act exempts certain agents from the act's registration requirements, including agents (1) engaged only in private and nonpolitical activities to advance a foreign principal's bona fide trade or commerce interests, or (2) engaged in certain lobbying activities and where the agent has registered as a lobbyist. Under this bill, these exemptions shall not apply if the foreign principal is a foreign adversary.

This act extends until September 30, 2022, the special assessment of $5,000 on nonindigent persons or entities convicted of certain offenses involving sexual abuse or human trafficking. Currently, the special assessment expires on September 11, 2022.

Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act of 2022 This act eliminates the statute of limitations for a minor victim of a human trafficking offense or federal sex offense to file a civil action to recover damages.

Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act This bill makes the distribution of fentanyl resulting in death a first degree murder. An individual who is guilty of first degree murder by distributing fentanyl is subject to death or life in prison.

American Defense Programs, Logistics, and Acquisitions for our Nation's Security Act of 2022 or the American Defense PLANS Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to enter into an arrangement with a federally funded research and development center to conduct a study of the programs, acquisitions, and budget of DOD and make recommendations regarding how DOD can ensure program development cycles and acquisition of new technologies keep pace with the rate at which DOD technologies become outdated or are replaced.

This resolution remembers Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and her more than 70 years of service in support of the British people and the Commonwealth of Nations. The resolution also expresses gratitude to Queen Elizabeth II for her efforts to maintain strong bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and the United States. Finally, the resolution extends condolences to the family of Queen Elizabeth II, to the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and to the peoples of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Simplify Timelines and Assure Regulatory Transparency Act or the START Act This bill sets forth a variety of provisions to expedite the environmental review of energy projects, such as the Mountain Valley Pipeline project.