Passed and signed by the president
- March 31, 2021: PPP Extension Act, Pub.L. 117–6 (text) (PDF), H.R. 1799
- May 20, 2021: COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, S. 937
- June 17, 2021: Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, Pub.L. 117–17 (text) (PDF), S. 475
- October 27, 2021: Reinforcing Nicaragua's Adherence to Conditions for Electoral Reform (RENACER) Act, S. 1064
- November 15, 2021: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, H.R. 3684
- December 22, 2021: Capitol Police Emergency Assistance Act, S. 3377
- December 23, 2021: Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, H.R. 6256
- December 27, 2021: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, S. 1605
- March 15, 2022: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (including Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act), H.R. 2471
- March 29, 2022: Emmett Till Antilynching Act, H.R. 55
- April 6, 2022: Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, H.R. 3076
- May 9, 2022: Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022, S. 3522
- June 25, 2022: Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, S. 2938
- August 9, 2022: CHIPS and Science Act, H.R. 4346
- August 10, 2022: Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022, S. 3373
- August 16, 2022: Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, H.R. 5376
- December 2, 2022: Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, H.R. 8454
- December 7, 2022: Speak Out Act, S. 4524
- December 13, 2022: Respect for Marriage Act, H.R. 8404
- December 23, 2022: James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, H.R. 7776
- December 29, 2022: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (including the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act, and Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act), H.R. 2617
A large number of bills passed on chamber, but not the other. Click here for a list. Later we will try to figure out why some bills passed the house, but not the senate, and vice versa.
Here's a look at the bills above again, but this time in terms of public policy. What does each law intend to accomplish?
- American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. This was a stimulus bill designed to inject money into the economy due to the Covid related shutdown.
- PPP Extension Act. Also a Covid related stimulus bill - the Paycheck Protection Program. This focused on businesses with the intent to keep them afloat and continue to pay employees during the shutdown..
- COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, S. 937 A criminal justice bill passed in response to increases in hate crimes against Asian Americans due to allegations that Covid was a play by the Chinese government. It authorized the Justice Department to review such claims and to create an online database documenting these incidents.
- Juneteenth National Independence Day Act. An additional national holiday was established commemorating the day that enslaved individuals in Galveston were told that they had been emancipated.
- Reinforcing Nicaragua's Adherence to Conditions for Electoral Reform (RENACER) Act. An example of foreign policy. Sanctions were established and extended against the government of Nicaragua due to corruption and human rights violations.
- Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, H.R. 3684 Funding was made available for infrastructure development across the country. The funding woull also serve as an additional means of stimulating the economy.
- Capitol Police Emergency Assistance Act. Law enforcement policy: the Act authorizes the Chief of the Capitol Police to request the assistance of Federal agencies in emergencies.
- Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. International trade policy. Also human rights policy. The products of forced labor in China involving the Uyghur cannot be sold in the United States.
- National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022. A budget bill. It authorized, but did not appropriate, funding for defense purposes for fiscal year 2022. The fiscal year runs from October 1, 2022 until September 30, 2023.
- Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 Part of the appropriations process. Congress authorized specific levels of funding to be drawn from the U.S. Treasury for specific purposes. The bill includes a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which had lapsed in 2019.
The bill amends the definition of the term “tobacco product” under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act to define a tobacco product as “any product made or derived from tobacco or containing nicotine from any source, that is intended for human consumption." Making electronic vapor products that contain synthetic nicotine subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation.
It built upon the earlier legislation concerning reporting to and reporting from the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, requiring quarterly classified reporting to Congress beginning no later than 13 June 2022. In July 2022 the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) was (re-)established.
- Emmett Till Antilynching Act. Criminal justice policy. Lynching is defined as a federal hate crime: Whoever conspires to commit any offense under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) shall, if death or serious bodily injury (as defined in section 2246 of this title) results from the offense, be imprisoned for not more than 30 years, fined in accordance with this title, or both.
- Postal Service Reform Act of 2022. Altered how the Post Office was to handle retirement pay. Alleviated burdens imposed by previous legislation.
- Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022. Foreign policy, military assistance: facilitates the supply of materiel to the Ukrainian government in a manner similar to the World War II Lend-Lease Act in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, S. 2938. A public safety measure: It implemented several changes to the mental health system, school safety programs, and gun safety laws. . . . . Gun safety laws in the bill include extended background checks for gun purchasers under 21, clarification of Federal Firearms License requirements, funding for state red flag laws and other crisis intervention programs, further criminalization of arms trafficking and straw purchases, and partial closure of the boyfriend loophole.
- CHIPS and Science Act. Encouraging domestic manufacturing: The act provides roughly 280 billion dollars in new funding to boost domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors in the United States.
- Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022. Funding to improve health care and care for veterans: an Act of Congress intended to significantly improve healthcare access and funding for veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during military service.
- Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
An omnibus bill with multiple purposes all framed around a reduction in inflation.
- aims to curb inflation by reducing the deficit, lowering prescription drug prices, and investing into domestic energy production while promoting clean energy.
- It is a budget reconciliation bill . . . . The bill was the result of negotiations on the proposed Build Back Better Act, which was reduced and comprehensively reworked from its initial proposal.
- The law, as passed, will raise $738 billion and authorize $391 billion in spending on energy and climate change, $238 billion in deficit reduction, three years of Affordable Care Act subsidies, prescription drug reform to lower prices, and tax reform.[2][4] The law represents the largest investment into addressing climate change in United States history.[5] It also includes a large expansion and modernization effort for the Internal Revenue Service
- Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act. A criminal justice act: allowing medical research on cannabis.
- Speak Out Act: Criminal Justice. prevents the enforcement of non-disclosure agreements in instances of sexual assault and harassment.
- Respect for Marriage Act: Equal Treatment before the law: It repeals the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), requires the U.S. federal government and all U.S. states and territories to recognize the validity of same-sex and interracial civil marriages in the United States, and protects religious liberty.
- James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year. Approves - but does not appropriate - funding for defense, and includes funding for the Ike Dike.
- Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023
- - Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022,
- - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act,
- - State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act,
- - and Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act
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- Click here for all public laws passed by the 117th Congress.
