Rep. James Comer

Internal Revenue Service Processing Returns Instead Of Removing Innocent Taxpayers' Income Every Season Act of 2022 or the IRS PRIORITIES Act of 2022 This bill prohibits the Internal Revenue Service from hiring new enforcement personnel (i.e., special agents in the criminal investigation division, revenue officers, or revenue agents) until all individual tax returns for 2019 and 2020 are processed.

Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2022 This bill addresses federal information security management, notification and remediation of cybersecurity incidents, and the roles of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). CISA must perform, on an ongoing and continuous basis, assessments of federal risk posture. The bill requires evaluation by each agency of whether additional cybersecurity procedures are appropriate at least once every three years. An agency, as expeditiously as practicable and without unreasonable delay, and within 45 days after it has a reasonable basis to conclude that a breach has occurred, must (1) determine whether notice to any individual potentially affected by the breach is appropriate based on a risk assessment; and (2) as appropriate, provide written notice to each individual potentially affected. Notification may be delayed under specified circumstances. Each agency must provide any information relating to a major incident to CISA, the OMB, the Office of the National Cyber Director, the agency's office of inspector general, the Government Accountability Office, and Congress. An agency's contractors and grant recipients must notify the agency of an incident involving federal information within a specified time frame. Each agency shall develop training for individuals at the agency with access to federal information or information systems on how to identify and respond to an incident. CISA must establish a program to provide ongoing, hypothesis-driven threat-hunting services on the network of each agency. The bill establishes specified pilot programs to enhance federal cybersecurity.

Protecting Horses from Soring Act of 2021 This bill revises requirements concerning the inspection of horse shows, exhibitions, sales, and actions for sored horses (e.g., horses suffering from pain when moving due to substances or devices placed on their limbs). Specifically, this bill replaces a requirement for the Department of Agriculture to prescribe regulations governing the appointment of inspectors with a requirement for the Horse Industry Organization, which is established by this bill, to appoint inspectors.

This bill posthumously provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of the 13 service members who died on August 26, 2021, while stationed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.

Fairness for Federal Contractors Act of 2021 This bill prohibits executive agencies from requiring contractors to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to study the degree to which Executive Order 14042 (Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors) caused disruptions to federal contracts, supply chains, and transportation systems.

This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Labor emergency temporary standard for preventing the transmission of COVID-19 in employment settings. Under the standard issued on November 5, 2021, employers with 100 or more employees must require their onsite employees to either be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.

This concurrent resolution declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over the air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.

Protect and Serve Act of 2021 This bill establishes a new criminal offense for knowingly assaulting a law enforcement officer and causing serious bodily injury (or attempting to do so) in circumstances that affect interstate commerce. It imposes criminal penalties—a prison term, a fine, or both—on a violator.

This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to require a member of the Armed Forces to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill also prohibits adverse action (e.g., punishment) being taken against a member of the Armed Forces because the member refuses to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act This bill allows states, tribes, territories, and localities to use certain COVID-19 relief funds for new categories of spending, including for natural disasters and infrastructure projects. It also makes changes to expenditure deadlines and other aspects of this funding. Specifically, recipients may use funds for emergency relief from natural disasters and associated negative economic impacts of natural disasters. In addition, recipients may use a portion of their COVID-19 relief funds for designated infrastructure projects, such as nationally significant freight and highway projects. Furthermore, the bill allows recipients to expend COVID-19 relief funds on these types of infrastructure projects until September 30, 2026. Under current law, recipients must expend the funds by December 31, 2024. Other changes in the bill include (1) modifying eligibility and allocation requirements for funding set aside for counties and Indian tribes that are near public lands, (2) allowing Indian tribes an additional year to expend their COVID-19 relief funds, and (3) establishing a process for government entities to decline COVID-19 relief funds and requiring any declined funds to be used to reduce the federal deficit.