This act makes changes to the Joint Commission on Reducing Violent Crime Against Indians, which was established to increase intergovernmental coordination to identify and combat violent crime within Indian lands and against Indians. Specifically, the act extends the joint commission for an additional 18 months. It also extends the deadline, from 18 months to 36 months, for the joint commission to make publicly available and submit recommendations to the Department of the Interior, the Department of Justice, and specified congressional committees. Additionally, the act allows the joint commission to accept and use gifts or donations of services or property from Indian tribes or tribal entities, academic institutions, or other not-for-profit organizations.
Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare System Act of 2022 This act designates the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Anchorage, Alaska, as the Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare System.
Don Young Recognition Act This act designates (1) the volcanic peak known as Mount Cerberus as Mount Young; (2) the Jobs Corps center located at 800 East Lynn Martin Drive in Palmer, Alaska, as the Don Young Alaska Job Corps Center; and (3) the federal office building located at 101 12th Avenue in Fairbanks, Alaska, as the Don Young Federal Office Building.
State Offices of Rural Health Program Reauthorization Act of 2022 This act reauthorizes through FY2027 grants awarded to state offices of rural health for improving health care in rural areas.
National Cemeteries Preservation and Protection Act of 2022 This act addresses the administration and jurisdiction of national cemeteries. Specifically, the act requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay a plot or interment allowance for a veteran if the veteran was buried before March 15, 2022, in a cemetery on trust land owned by, or held in trust for, a tribal organization, and the organization that maintains or operates the cemetery applies for such allowance. Such allowance is only authorized if a plot or interment allowance was not already paid for the burial of such veteran. The act also authorizes the VA to designate green burial sections in national cemeteries (i.e., sections of cemeteries in which the remains of individuals have been prepared for interment in a manner not involving chemicals or embalming fluids and have been interred in a natural manner or completely biodegradable burial receptacle). The act authorizes the Department of the Army to transfer certain lands to the VA to expand the Fort Bliss National Cemetery. In addition, the act authorizes the Department of the Interior to transfer certain land to the VA for the land to be used as a national cemetery. Finally, the act prohibits persons who have committed certain crimes from being interred or memorialized in a cemetery in the National Cemetery Administration or in Arlington National Cemetery.
Respect for Child Survivors Act This act requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to use a multidisciplinary team with investigations of child abuse and related crimes. The act also reauthorizes grants for children's advocacy centers (CACs). CACs use a multidisciplinary response to coordinate the investigation, treatment, and prosecution of child abuse cases. (Sec. 2) This section requires the FBI to use a multidisciplinary team with any investigation of child sexual exploitation or abuse, the production of child sexual abuse material, or child trafficking. The FBI must also use a trained child adolescent forensic interviewer in these investigations. These requirements do not apply if a multidisciplinary team or an interviewer is unavailable or is otherwise inconsistent with applicable federal law. In implementing these requirements, the FBI must use and coordinate with multidisciplinary teams based at CACs. (Sec. 3) This section modifies and reauthorizes through FY2028 grants for regional and local CACs, as well as for technical assistance and training. Grants for CACs are administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) within the Department of Justice. It adds a finding stating that a key to a child victim healing from abuse is access to supportive and healthy families and communities. The section modifies grant provisions for regional CACs, including by directing the OJJDP to maintain (in addition to establish) regional CACs; adding, as a new program objective, the provision of technical assistance, training, coordination, and organizational capacity support for state chapters; and requiring the OJJDP to consider, as an additional selection criteria, proposals for regional CACs that best result in supporting state chapters. The section also modifies grant provisions for local CACs, including by adding as new grant purposes (1) the establishment and maintenance of a network of care for child abuse victims, and (2) the development and dissemination of practice standards for care and best practices in program evaluation. Finally, the section modifies the criteria that the OJJDP may use to evaluate local CAC programs.
Katimiîn and Ameekyáaraam Sacred Lands Act This act takes approximately 1,031 acres of specified lands in Siskiyou and Humboldt Counties, California, into trust for the benefit of the Karuk Tribe. Land taken into trust may be used for traditional and customary uses for the benefit of the tribe. Additionally, the land taken into trust must allow for continued access by the Forest Service for managing the component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System that flows through the land. The Department of Agriculture must enter into a memorandum of understanding with the tribe to establish mutual goals for the protection and enhancement of the river values of such component. Further, the act prohibits gaming on the land taken into trust.
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 5302 Galveston Road in Houston, Texas, as the "Vanessa Guillen Post Office Building."
Justice for Victims of War Crimes Act This act broadens the scope of individuals who are subject to federal prosecution for war crime offenses. Currently, the federal war crimes statute provides federal jurisdiction over war crime offenses committed anywhere (i.e., inside or outside the United States) if the victim or offender is a member of the Armed Forces or a U.S. national. First, this act extends federal jurisdiction over war crime offenses committed anywhere to offenses where (1) the victim or offender is an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence; or (2) the offender is present in the United States, regardless of the nationality of the victim or the offender. Second, the act expands federal jurisdiction over war crime offenses to include offenses that occur in whole or in part within the United States, regardless of whether the victim or offender is a member of the Armed Forces, a U.S. national, or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. The act allows an indictment for certain war crime offenses to be instituted any time, making the statute of limitations inapplicable. To undertake a prosecution for war crime offenses, the act requires written certification that prosecution is in the public interest and is necessary to secure substantial justice. The certification is not subject to judicial review.
Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Reauthorization Act of 2022 or the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act This act reauthorizes through FY2028 and modifies pediatric cancer research and related programs, including to expand collection of and access to relevant biospecimens and to support the transition of pediatric cancer survivors to primary care.
Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2022 This act authorizes, ratifies, and confirms the Hualapai Tribe water rights settlement agreement negotiated between the tribe, the United States, Arizona, and others, thus satisfying the tribe's claims for groundwater and surface water rights to water in Arizona, including the Verde River, the Bill Williams River, and the Colorado River. The act outlines the tribe's water rights, including the right to divert, use, and store 4,000 acre-feet of agricultural priority water of the Central Arizona Project that was previously allocated to nontribal agricultural entities, but retained by the Department of the Interior for reallocation to tribes in Arizona pursuant to the Central Arizona Project Settlement Act of 2004. Interior must reallocate this priority water to the tribe, firm through 2107 a specified amount of the water, and enter into a water delivery contract with the tribe. The act directs Interior to establish the Hualapai Water Trust Fund Account. Amounts deposited in the trust fund account shall be made available to the tribe for specified purposes, including to construct the Hualapai Water Project. The project must be designed to divert, treat, and convey up to 3,414 acre-feet of water per year from the Colorado River for municipal, commercial, and industrial uses on the Hualapai Reservation. Additionally, the act establishes in the Treasury the Hualapai Water Settlement Implementation Fund Account. Amounts in this account must be used to carry out groundwater monitoring and an estimate for groundwater withdrawals in the Truxton Basin outside the boundaries of the tribe's reservation. The act adds certain land in Arizona to the tribe's reservation and also authorizes Interior to take specified land into trust for the benefit of the tribe. In the future, land located outside the reservation may only be taken into trust through an act of Congress. The act outlines (1) waivers, releases, and retentions of claims by the tribe and the United States under the settlement agreement; and (2) a limited waiver of sovereign immunity by the United States and the tribe with respect to certain claims. The act repeals the settlement agreement (except for provisions related to land added to the reservation and land taken into trust) if Interior does not publish by April 15, 2029, a statement of findings that specified conditions have been fulfilled (including that Interior has executed the required water delivery contract).
Abolish Trafficking Reauthorization Act of 2022 This act reauthorizes various antitrafficking programs, establishes a national strategy on cybercrime against individuals, and expands information sharing and data collection requirements regarding human trafficking. TITLE I--GRANTS RELATING TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION AND ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING (Sec. 101) This section allows funds provided by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for human trafficking training and technical assistance programs to be used for programs funded through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services that build law enforcement capacity to identify and respond to human trafficking, such as the Interdiction for the Protection of Children Program. (Sec. 102) This section allows a victim of human trafficking (e.g., sex trafficking) to pursue a civil claim against persons who attempt or conspire to benefit from the human trafficking in addition to persons who benefit from the human trafficking. (Sec. 103) This section generally requires grantees and subgrantees that receive funding from DOJ or the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to assist victims of trafficking in the United States to protect the confidentiality and privacy of the individuals they serve and their families. (Sec. 104) This section authorizes HHS to make grants to states to develop, improve, or expand programs that help child welfare agencies identify and respond to (1) children who are victims of child abuse and neglect and of sexual abuse because they are identified as victims of sex trafficking or severe forms of trafficking in persons; and (2) child-welfare-involved children who are (or are at risk of being) victims of one or more forms of trafficking in persons. This section also expresses the sense of Congress that health care and social service licensing boards and professional membership associations should facilitate access to trafficking-specific training. (Sec. 105) This section reauthorizes the Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund through FY2027. It also makes permanent the requirement for courts to impose a special assessment on nonindigent persons or entities convicted of certain federal trafficking-related offenses including peonage, slavery, or trafficking in persons; sexual abuse; sexual exploitation and other child abuse; transportation for illegal sexual activity; and certain human smuggling offenses. The special assessments are deposited into the Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund and support programs for victims of human trafficking. Additionally, this section reauthorizes through FY2027 various grants, programs, and activities that combat human trafficking and assist victims, including training for airport and airline personnel to identify and report human trafficking; the Human Exploitation Rescue Operation (HERO) Child-Rescue Corps Program; grants for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network; the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center; the Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts To Combat Trafficking in Persons; additional benefits through HHS and DOJ for domestic victims of severe forms of trafficking; and research on domestic and international trafficking in persons. TITLE II--COMPENSATION OF VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING (Sec. 201) This section modifies federal bankruptcy laws to specify that a debtor may not discharge in bankruptcy debts for an injury to an individual related to a trafficking offense under federal criminal law. This includes an injury caused by an instance in which the debtor knowingly benefitted financially, or by receiving anything of value, from participation in a venture that the debtor knew or should have known engaged in an trafficking offense under federal criminal law. TITLE III--CYBER HARASSMENT PREVENTION Subtitle A--Cybercrime Statistics (Sec. 311) This section requires DOJ to develop a national strategy to reduce, investigate, and prosecute cybercrimes against individuals. The strategy supplements the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking and the National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction. Additionally, this section specifies that the House and Senate Judiciary Committees are appropriate committees to which the National Academy of Sciences must submit its report on cybercrime taxonomy. Subtitle B--Prioritizing Online Threat Enforcement (Sec. 321) This section requires DOJ to ensure that there are at least 10 additional agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate cybercrimes against individuals. DOJ must also ensure that there is at least one attorney in each U.S. Attorney office who is responsible for investigating and prosecuting cybercrimes against individuals. Finally, this section requires DOJ to implement a training program for FBI agents related to investigating and prosecuting cybercrimes against individuals, including relevant forensic training. (Sec. 322) This section requires the Office for Victims of Crime within DOJ to report on the nature, extent, and amount of funding under the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 for victims of cybercrimes against individuals. The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 established the Crime Victims Fund, which provides funding to support victims of crime through various federal programs and state and local victim assistance and compensation initiatives. (Sec. 323) This section allows the Department of State to exchange information with foreign governments pursuant to a bilateral or multilateral agreement that provides for the sharing of information related to individuals who are convicted of sex offenses against minors. Further, it specifies that an individual may not be issued or reissued a passport without a unique identifier solely because the individual has moved or otherwise resides outside the United States. (Sec. 324) This section requires DOJ to disseminate information and provide training and technical assistance to help states and local governments (1) investigate, prosecute, pursue, prevent, understand, and mitigate the impact of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse of cybercrime victims; the exploitation of cybercrime victims; and the deprioritization of cybercrime; and (2) assess, address, and mitigate the physical and psychological trauma to victims of cybercrime. TITLE IV--OTHER FEDERAL IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING (Sec. 401) This section requires DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide incentive pay to individuals who are appointed to positions requiring significant cyber skills, including to protect victims of trafficking, prevent trafficking in persons, or prosecute technology-facilitated crimes against children. (Sec. 402) This section prohibits federal agencies from requiring a survivor of human trafficking who is less than 18 years of age or a homeless youth to obtain the consent or signature of a parent or guardian to receive a government-issued identification card. Additionally, it prohibits federal agencies from charging a fee for the identification card. (Sec. 403) This section allows DOJ to use amounts in its Assets Forfeiture Fund to reimburse operating expenses and program costs incurred by crime-tip organizations that meet certain criteria (e.g., annually waive their qualification for awards for information leading to forfeiture and payments from equitably shared forfeiture funds) and offer rewards for information about violations of federal criminal laws prohibiting human trafficking. (Sec. 404) This section requires DOJ to include additional information in its annual report on U.S. government efforts to combat human trafficking. First, with respect to noncitizen victims of human trafficking whose application for continued presence, T nonimmigrant status (a T-visa), or U nonimmigrant status (a U-visa) are denied, DOJ must include the reason for the denial and the length of time for the denial to be issued. Second, DOJ must include disaggregated data regarding the number of victims trafficked by third parties and by family members, victims trafficked by victim age, and victims trafficked by the type of trafficking. (Sec. 405) This section requires DOJ and HHS to report biennially on the status of various data collection and reporting requirements related to trafficking. (Sec. 406) This section requires DOJ and DHS to each establish a team of at least 10 agents to exclusively investigate labor trafficking.
