Energy Permitting Certainty Act This bill requires the Department of the Interior to process applications for permits to drill under a valid oil or gas lease even if there are any pending civil actions, provided that the civil actions do not directly affect or involve the application or underlying lease.
This resolution honors the life and legacy of the late Representative Don Young and directs the Sergeant at Arms to designate a Don Young Reserved Seat on the floor of the chamber of the House of Representatives.
This joint resolution nullifies the rule titled Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Updating Payment Parameters, Section 1332 Waiver Implementing Regulations, and Improving Health Insurance Markets for 2022 and Beyond , which was issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Department of the Treasury on September 27, 2021. The rule expands the open enrollment period for individual health coverage and rescinds the previous interpretation of certain requirements relating to Section 1332 waivers (also known as State Innovation Waivers or State Relief and Empowerment Waivers).
Preventing Labor Union Slowdowns Act of 2022 or the PLUS Act of 2022 This bill makes it unlawful for a labor organization or its agents while representing, or seeking to represent, employees engaged in maritime employment to engage in a labor slowdown at any time, including when a collective-bargaining agreement is in effect. It also prohibits a labor organization from impeding (1) modernization efforts at a port, or (2) the servicing of any automated vessel. The bill allows a party injured by such conduct to recover two times the amount of damages sustained and reasonable attorney fees and expert witness fees.
COI Elimination Act This bill limits U.S. contributions to the United Nations pertaining to the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. Current law imposes a cap on the annual U.S. contribution to the U.N. budget. The bill lowers that cap by 25% of the amount budgeted for the commission. The bill also states that it shall be U.S. policy to seek the abolition of the commission and combat systemic anti-Israel bias in international bodies.
This joint resolution nullifies the rule titled Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Updating Payment Parameters, Section 1332 Waiver Implementing Regulations, and Improving Health Insurance Markets for 2022 and Beyond , which was issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Department of the Treasury on September 27, 2021. The rule expands the open enrollment period for individual health coverage and rescinds the previous interpretation of certain requirements relating to Section 1332 waivers (also known as State Innovation Waivers or State Relief and Empowerment Waivers).
Employee Rights Act This bill makes various changes with respect to the collective bargaining process and labor relations. For example, the bill permits an employer to refuse to collectively bargain with a union within 90 days prior to the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement if the employer receives evidence that the majority of the employees in the bargaining unit do not support the union. The bill requires support from a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit (not just a majority of the employees voting) when electing union representation. The bill also requires unions to provide bargaining unit employees with the right to vote by secret ballot, including when voting whether to engage in a strike or refusal to work. Further, union dues, fees, assessments, and other contributions may be used for only collective bargaining or contract administrative functions. Additionally, the bill establishes a process for nullifying executive orders that the Office of Management and Budget determines are likely to result in an employer ordering a plant closure or mass layoff.
Child Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization Act of 2022 This bill reauthorizes through FY2026 and expands programs and services under the Child Care and Development Fund. The bill expands eligibility to include families earning not more than 150% of the state medium income if the state provides an appropriate opportunity for families earning not more than 85% of the state median income to receive services. Additionally, the bill provides grants for states to expand the supply and capacity of child care providers.
Ensuring Sound Guidance Act This bill generally requires investment advisors and fiduciaries of employer-sponsored retirement plans to make investment decisions based only on pecuniary factors (i.e., factors that a fiduciary prudently determines are expected to have a material effect on the risk and return of an investment based on appropriate investment horizons consistent with the plan's policies and objectives). The bill allows nonpecuniary factors to be considered in certain situations, such as when a customer specifically requests that these factors be considered or when selecting investment options for certain participant-directed retirement plans.
This resolution rejects and opposes engaging Russia as a main intermediary for reviving any nuclear agreement with Iran. The resolution rejects and opposes giving Russia any sanctions exemption or waiver as a condition to any nuclear agreement with Iran. The resolution rejects and opposes any agreement that lifts sanctions on Iran and legitimizes the regime's illicit nuclear program amidst an International Atomic Energy Agency investigation into undeclared sites, facilities, and material in Iran. The resolution also reaffirms that any nuclear deal with Iran reached by the Biden administration without congressional approval or Senate ratification as a treaty is illegitimate; to take every legislative opportunity to overturn such an agreement; to restore every single sanction, restrictive measure, designation, waiver, or general license the Biden administration removes; and to limit the Biden administration's or any future administration's ability to issue waivers and licenses for Iran sanctions, designations, or restrictive measures.
This resolution expresses that the Senate encourages the President of the United States to support the transfer of aircraft, such as MiG-29s, and air defense systems to Ukraine; supports continued efforts by members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other countries around the globe to identify additional aviation and air defense capabilities to transfer to the Armed Forces of Ukraine; and stands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the people of Ukraine in their struggle against Russian aggression.
This resolution urges the government of Argentina to bring the perpetrators of the March 17, 1992, terrorist attack on the Embassy of Israel in Buenos Aires to justice (in 1999 the Supreme Court of Argentina found that the transnational terrorist organization Hezbollah was responsible for the attack). The resolution commends the Argentinian government for designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and urges other U.S. allies and partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to do the same. The resolution urges these allies and partners to condemn and counter regional governments in the hemisphere that aid and abet Iran and Hezbollah. The resolution also commends the Argentinian government for adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism and encourages other partners and allies to do the same. Finally, the resolution commends the Secretary General of the Organization of American States for appointing a Commissioner to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism in the Western Hemisphere.
