Sen. Rick Scott

Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act or the PROTECT Act of 2022 This bill alters federal sentencing for individuals who commit certain child pornography offenses. It generally requires judges to impose a sentence that is not less than the minimum period specified in the sentencing guideline range. The bill also increases certain criminal penalties for possession of child pornography.

Baltic Defense and Deterrence Act This bill requires the Department of State to establish and implement an initiative to increase security and economic ties with the Baltic countries (i.e., Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). The bill also requires the Department of Defense to establish and implement an initiative to deepen security cooperation with the Baltic countries.

Pretrial Release Reporting Act This bill requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics to submit a report to Congress on individuals who are granted bail or pretrial release from state courts and are charged with violent felony offenses (e.g., murder or rape).

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.

Protecting Medicaid Beneficiaries Act of 2022 This bill requires states and U.S. territories to implement asset verification programs and resources tests for all enrollees as a condition of Medicaid eligibility (such requirements are currently generally limited to individuals who are eligible for Medicaid on the basis of being aged, blind, or disabled, and do not apply in all U.S. territories). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must distribute any resulting federal savings to states for two years; states may use the funds to support maternal and child health under Medicaid or for other purposes that are approved by the CMS. The CMS must also track and report on any savings. The Government Accountability Office must report on the efficacy of the asset verification programs.

Secure America's Financial Exchanges Act or the SAFE Act This bill requires an issuer of securities, as a condition of listing its securities on a national exchange, to disclose (1) any financial support from China and the terms of any such support, and (2) whether any officer or director holds or previously held a position with the Chinese government or with the Chinese Communist Party.

Safe Connections Act of 2022 This bill establishes requirements concerning access to communication services for survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and related harms. At a survivor's request, a mobile service provider must separate from a shared mobile service contract the survivor's line (and the line of any individual in the survivor's care) from the abuser's line unless separation is operationally or technologically infeasible. A survivor requesting this must (1) verify through appropriate documentation that an individual under the contract committed or allegedly committed an act of domestic violence, trafficking, or a related criminal act against the survivor; and (2) assume financial responsibility for services after a line separation. A provider may not charge fees or impose other requirements on such requests. Additionally, a provider must separate the line within two business days of receiving a request; allow requests to be made remotely (if feasible); meet conditions related to confidentiality of, disposal of, and other matters concerning communications about requests; and make information about the process for requests available through consumer-facing communications (e.g., websites). The bill (1) provides liability protection for providers' acts or omissions undertaken to comply with such requests, and (2) requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt rules for these requests. Additionally, the FCC must (1) expand access to federally subsidized communication services for survivors facing financial hardship, and (2) evaluate this expanded access. The FCC must also consider rules requiring communication service providers to omit from consumer-facing logs calls and texts to hotlines for domestic violence and similar issues while retaining internal records.

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).

Military Spouse Hiring Act This bill expands the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to include the hiring of a qualified military spouse. (The WOTC permits employers who hire individuals who are members of a targeted group such as qualified veterans, ex-felons, or long-term unemployment recipients to claim a tax credit equal to a portion of the wages paid to those individuals.) A qualified military spouse is any individual who is certified by the designated local agency as being (as of the hiring date) a spouse of a member of the Armed Forces.

This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that (1) it opposes the establishment of a new Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem, (2) any establishment of a new consulate or diplomatic mission in Jerusalem should not move forward without congressional approval through the passage of new legislation, and (3) the presence of a United States diplomatic mission devoted to a non-state actor in Israel's sovereign capital would be an affront to the territorial integrity of a long-standing U.S. partner and ally.