Bill H.R.2988 titled “Whistleblower Protection Improvement Act of 2021” was received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs by the Senate. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney. The bill also expands the list of recipients to whom an employee may make a protected disclosure to include a supervisor in the employee's direct chain of command. It also includes personnel actions involving furloughs of more than 14 days but less than 30 days, and furloughs of 13 days or less that are not due to funding lapses, as appealable adverse actions that are subject to certain procedural requirements.
Bill H.R.302 titled “PPSA Act of 2021 Preventing a Patronage System Act of 2021” was received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs by the Senate. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Gerald Connolly. On October 21, 2020, the President issued an executive order titled Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service. The order places executive agency positions that are of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character, and that are not normally subject to change as a result of a presidential transition, under a new schedule in the excepted service (Schedule F) instead of the competitive service. The order also requires any such positions in the excepted service to be reclassified to Schedule F.
Bill H.R.8326 titled “Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act” was received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs by the Senate. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
Bill H.R.884 titled “National Aviation Preparedness Plan Act of 2022” was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs by the Senate. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Rick Larsen. The Government Accountability Office must conduct a study assessing the plan, including (1) whether the plan meets the obligations of the United States under international conventions and treaties, and (2) the extent to which the United States aviation system is prepared to respond to an outbreak of a covered communicable disease.
Bill S.4882 titled “A bill to amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations for the United States Fire Administration and firefighter assistance grant programs” was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs by the Senate. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Gary Peters with Rob Portman as cosponsor.
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee moves forward in some way on one bill per day.
Most bills have a hearing where those involved explain why they are for or against the bill. Roughly 8,000 bills are addressed by committees each year but only about 800 make it to the floor of Congress, according to ushistory.org.
A 2019 report from the Brookings Institute argued committees aren’t capable of delving fully into the issues they address and are forced to rely on lobbyists.
| Bill Name | Sponsor | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Whistleblower Protection Improvement Act of 2021 | Rep. Maloney, Carolyn B. | Senate |
| PPSA Act of 2021 Preventing a Patronage System Act of 2021 | Rep. Connolly, Gerald E. | Senate |
| Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act | Rep. Maloney, Carolyn B. | Senate |
| National Aviation Preparedness Plan Act of 2022 | Rep. Larsen, Rick | Senate |
| A bill to amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations for the United States Fire Administration and firefighter assistance grant programs. | Sen. Peters, Gary C. | Senate |
