This resolution expresses that the House of Representatives does not recognize Russia as the inheritor of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics' seat as a permanent member on the U.N. Security Council, and encourages the Biden Administration to take all necessary action at the United Nations to remove Russia from its position as a permanent member of the Security Council.
Require Employees To Uniformly Return Now Act or the RETURN Act This bill prohibits Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees from teleworking during the period beginning five business days after the enactment of this bill and ending on the date on which the IRS certifies that the processing backlog for 2020 income tax returns has been eliminated.
Deterring Communist Chinese Aggression against Taiwan through Financial Sanctions Act of 2022 This bill requires sanctions and other actions if China's government makes any attempt to subject Taiwan to China's control, including by invading Taiwan's territory. If China's government makes such an attempt, the bill requires certain actions, including (1) the imposition of sanctions against Chinese nationals, citizens, and entities that participate in the attempt; and (2) a prohibition against trading in the securities of Chinese entities on national securities exchanges.
Preventing Usurpation of Power and Privileges by Extralegal Territories' Sedition Act of 2022 or the PUPPETS Act of 2022 This bill designates specified entities as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorist organizations. The bill also prohibits the Department of Defense from taking any action that implies recognition of the sovereignty of such entities over territory or airspace claimed by the governments of Ukraine, Moldova, or Georgia. Entities subject to this bill include any entities holding themselves out to be the governments of any region of Ukraine that was not elected through elections in 2019 or 2020, the Pridnestrovian Moldovian Republic, the Republic of South Ossetia, or the Republic of Abkhazia.
Special Russian Sanctions Authority Act of 2022 This bill imposes sanctions pertaining to Russia and addresses related issues. The President must impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions on (1) members of the United Russia Party in the lower house of Russia's legislature, (2) Russian government officials and officers of Russia's armed forces above certain levels or ranks, and (3) and members of Russia's intelligence apparatus. The President must also impose property-blocking sanctions on (1) specified individuals, including businessperson Roman Abramovich and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin; and (2) the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company. Furthermore, the bill designates (1) the Wagner Group as a specially designated global terrorist organization, (2) Vladimir Putin as a specially designated global terrorist, and (3) any country in the Western Hemisphere with a military cooperation agreement with Russia as having engaged in a grave hostile act of a foreign power. The bill also establishes the Joint Task Force on Russian Sanctions, which must coordinate the imposition of Russia-related sanctions. The President may confiscate and liquidate any Russian government property subject to U.S. jurisdiction and transfer the resulting funds to the government of Ukraine. The President may provide military hardware to Ukraine's government to resist the Russian invasion. The Department of State must close all Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States except for the Russian embassy in Washington, DC. The Department of the Treasury must impose certain reporting requirements related to residential real estate transactions involving Russian politically exposed persons.
No Most Favored Nation Trading with Russia Act This bill withdraws normal trade relations treatment from Russia. Additionally, the bill requires the President to encourage U.S. allies and partners to (1) consider taking similar actions; and (2) condemn, at the World Trade Organization (WTO), Russia's aggression in Ukraine. Further, the President must direct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the WTO to seek suspension of Russia's membership in the WTO.
American Innovation and Choice Online Act This bill prohibits certain large online platforms from engaging in specified acts, including giving preference to their own products on the platform, unfairly limiting the availability on the platform of competing products from another business, or discriminating in the application or enforcement of the platform's terms of service among similarly situated users. Further, a platform may not materially restrict or impede the capacity of a competing business user to access or interoperate with the same platform, operating system, or hardware or software features. The bill also restricts the platform's use of nonpublic data obtained from or generated on the platform and prohibits the platform from restricting access to platform data generated by the activity of a competing business user. The bill also provides additional restrictions related to installing or uninstalling software, search or ranking functionality, and retaliation for contact with law enforcement regarding actual or potential violations of law. The bill establishes affirmative defenses for the prohibited conduct. The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice must designate whether an entity is a platform covered by the bill, and both must carry out enforcement activities. The bill also provides for civil penalties, injunctions, and the forfeit of profits for repeat offenders.
No Energy Revenues for Russian Hostilities Act of 2022 This bill prohibits, with some exceptions, the Department of the Treasury from authorizing certain energy-related transactions that would otherwise be blocked by an executive order barring transactions related to specified harmful foreign activities of the Russian government. The bill also revokes a license issued February 28, 2022, by the Office of Foreign Assets Control within Treasury that authorized certain transactions barred by the executive order. The bill allows a waiver from the limitation on an energy transaction if the transaction involves funds owed to a Russian person and the funds are to be used for the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices. The bill terminates on the earlier of five years after its enactment, or 30 days after the President reports to Congress that Russia has ceased activities destabilizing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Reducing Costs of DHS Acquisitions Act This bill requires notification of the Management Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Congress if a major acquisition program of DHS fails to satisfy any approved cost, schedule, or performance threshold. Major acquisition program means (1) a capital asset, service, or hybrid acquisition program that is estimated by DHS to require an eventual total expenditure of at least $300 million over the life-cycle cost of the program; or (2) an acquisition program identified as a program of special interest. If such a failure occurs, or is expected to occur, the bill requires a remediation plan and root cause analysis. The Management Directorate must review such plan and either approve it for continuation or provide an alternative proposed corrective action.
This concurrent resolution condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its ongoing support of proxy militias in the region. The concurrent resolution also states that these actions pose a direct threat to international peace and security and run contrary to Russia's responsibilities and obligations as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. The concurrent resolution urges the President to direct the U.S. representative to the United Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to take all necessary steps to remove Russia as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. Finally, the concurrent resolution urges other member states to support such efforts to hold Russia accountable at the United Nations.
This resolution supports reopening the U.S. Capitol Building and Senate Office Buildings to visitors under the public visitation policies that were in place before the COVID-19 pandemic.
HRES 955, introduced March 1, 2022, is a procedural resolution electing Representative Mark DeSaulnier (not Jacobs, as corrected from the text error) to serve on the House Committee on Education and Labor. This resolution formally appoints a specific member to a standing committee, directly affecting that representative's committee duties and responsibilities. The bill does not change policy or law but follows standard House procedure for committee assignments. It was passed without debate as a routine administrative action.
