Sen. Christopher Murphy

National Heritage Area Act This act establishes a National Heritage Area System. The Department of the Interior may provide technical and financial assistance to local coordinating entities to support the establishment, development, and continuity of such areas. The National Heritage Area System shall be composed of each National Heritage Area, National Heritage Corridor, National Heritage Canalway, Cultural Heritage Corridor, National Heritage Route, and National Heritage Partnership designated by Congress before or on enactment of this act; and each National Heritage Area designated by Congress after enactment of this act. A National Heritage Area shall not be considered to be a unit of the National Park System nor subject to the authorities applicable to such units. Interior may carry out or review a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of each proposed heritage area for designation as a National Heritage Area. Interior must review and certify whether the proposed area meets specified requirements, including that it has natural, historic, and cultural resources that represent distinctive aspects of the heritage of the United States. An area shall be designated as a National Heritage Area only by an act of Congress. Interior shall conduct studies to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating specified areas in Hawaii as the Kaena Point National Heritage Area and in Virginia and North Carolina as the Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area. The act also (1) establishes or extends specified National Heritage Areas, (2) redesignates the America's Agricultural Heritage Partnership in Iowa as the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area, and (3) extends the deadline for the management plans for certain heritage areas.

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021 This act provides for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley. After it is awarded, the medal shall be given to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Billy's Law or the Help Find the Missing Act This act provides statutory authority for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to maintain the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) consistent with its existing purpose and structure. NamUs is a national information clearinghouse and resource center for cases involving missing persons and unidentified or unclaimed remains. NamUs is administered by the National Institute of Justice within DOJ. The act also establishes new requirements. First, it requires a law enforcement agency that submits a missing child report to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) to also submit the missing child report to NamUs. The NCIC is a computerized index of criminal justice data and files for reports of missing and unidentified persons. Current law requires law enforcement agencies to submit missing child reports to the NCIC database but not to the NamUs databases. Second, the act establishes requirements to facilitate data sharing between the NCIC database and the NamUs databases with respect to missing and unidentified persons. Specifically, the act requires DOJ to give the National Institute of Justice access to the NCIC missing person and unidentified person records for the purpose of validating cases and reconciling data with NamUs. Additionally, the act requires DOJ to assess the NCIC and NamUs systems and governing statutes, policies, and procedures and create a plan for NCIC to automatically transmit certain records to NamUs. Third, the act requires DOJ to report to forensic medicine service providers and law enforcement agencies on best practices for collecting, reporting, and analyzing data and information on missing persons and unidentified human remains. DOJ must also report to Congress biennially on the status of the NCIC database and the NamUs databases. The report must describe the process of information sharing between the NCIC database and NamUs databases.

Iran Hostages Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the 53 hostages of the Iran Hostage Crisis (November 4, 1979-January 21, 1981) in recognition of their bravery and endurance throughout their captivity.

Fair Play for Women Act This bill addresses issues concerning sex discrimination in sports. For example, the bill prohibits intercollegiate athletic associations from engaging in certain acts of sex discrimination, including discrimination through (1) the rules it sets for intercollegiate athletics; (2) the facilities, amenities, and goods or services provided for competitions; or (3) the distribution of revenues or other benefits. The bill also requires institutions of higher education to periodically report to the Department of Education certain data related to men's and women's sports programs.

Expanding the Voluntary Opportunities for Translations in Elections Act or the Expanding the VOTE Act This bill expands access to voting materials for individuals with limited proficiency in the English language, including by establishing incentive grants for states and political subdivisions to provide translated voting materials. Additionally, the bill directs the Government Accountability Office to study the impact of (1) reducing the threshold requirement under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and (2) expanding the definition of language minorities to include native speakers of additional languages.

Student Loan Forgiveness for Farmers and Ranchers Act This bill establishes a student loan forgiveness program for certain farmers or ranchers. Specifically, to receive loan forgiveness under this bill, a borrower must (1) make 120 monthly loan payments under a specified repayment plan while employed full-time at a qualified farm or ranch; and (2) fall within certain categories of individuals such as a beginner farmer or rancher, an individual underrepresented in the agricultural profession, or a veteran farmer or rancher.

American Security Drone Act of 2021 This bill bans the procurement or use by the federal government of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that are manufactured or assembled by certain entities, including entities subject to influence or control by China, with exceptions. The ban includes associated elements that are required for the operator to operate safely and efficiently in the national airspace system. The Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Justice are exempt from the restriction under specified circumstances. The bill sets forth further exemptions regarding the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. Federal funds may not be used to procure certain UAS from a foreign entity, with exceptions. All executive agencies must account for existing inventories of UAS manufactured or assembled by a foreign entity in their personal property accounting systems. Inventory data related to UAS manufactured or assembled by a foreign entity may be tracked at a classified level. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council shall prescribe regulations or guidance to implement this bill's requirements pertaining to federal contracts. Government-issued purchase cards may not be used to procure any UAS from a foreign entity. The Office of Management and Budget shall (1) establish a government-wide policy for the procurement of UAS, taking into account information security; and (2) contract with a federally funded research and development center to study certain UAS-related issues.

Fair Elections Now Act of 2022 This bill establishes the Freedom from Influence Fund, which shall provide funding to Senate candidates who meet specified conditions and agree to abide by certain requirements, such as limits on types of campaign funding sources. The bill also imposes a tax on certain U.S. government contracts.

Angel Tax Credit Act This bill allows a new business-related tax credit for 25% of equity investments of $25,000 or more in a domestic corporation or partnership that (1) has its headquarters in the United States, (2) has gross revenues for the taxable year of less than $1 million, (3) employs fewer than 25 full-time employees, (4) has been in existence for less than 7 years as of the date of the investment, (5) has more than 50% of its employees performing substantially all of their services in the United States, and (6) is engaged in a high technology trade or business. The bill limits the allowable amount of such credit to $250,000 in any taxable year and imposes an overall limitation on such credit of $500 million for each of calendar years 2023 through 2027.