jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-05-15 00:00:00

Directs the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a plan to measure Department of Defense (DOD) efforts to achieve a dynamic, sustainable level of members of the Armed Forces that will reflect the diverse population of the United States eligible to serve, including gender-specific, racial, and ethnic populations. Requires the Secretary, in developing and implementing the plan, to develop a standard set of metrics and collection procedures that are uniform across the military departments. Requires progress made in implementing such plan to be included in currently-required annual DOD manpower requirements reports.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-05-15 00:00:00

Gender Equality in Combat Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to report to the congressional defense committees on the implementation of a termination of the ground combat exclusion policy for female members of the Armed Forces (DOD policy under which female members are excluded from units and positions below brigade level whose primary mission is to engage in direct combat on the ground).
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-05-17 00:00:00

Dignified Burial of Veterans Act of 2012 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish a casket or urn of sufficient quality for a dignified burial for the burial in a national cemetery of a deceased veteran in any case where the Secretary is unable to identify the veteran's next-of-kin and determines that sufficient resources for such casket or urn are not otherwise available. Directs the Secretary to report to the congressional veterans committees on VA compliance with industry standards for caskets and urns.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-05-17 00:00:00

Extends through FY2018 the authorization of appropriations to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for: (1) payment of a monthly assistance allowance to disabled veterans training or competing for the U.S. Paralympic Team, and (2) assistance to the United States Paralympics, Inc., to plan, develop, manage, and implement a sports program for disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-05-21 00:00:00

Provides civil relief for violations of the protections on consumer credit extended to members of the Armed Forces and their dependents, including actual and punitive damages as well as equitable and declaratory relief.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-05-21 00:00:00

Veterans' Small Business Opportunity Act of 2012 - Treats the surviving spouse of a service-disabled veteran who acquires the ownership interest in a small business of the deceased veteran as such veteran, for purposes of eligibility for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) service-disabled small business contracting goals and preferences, for a period of: (1) 10 years after the veteran's death, if such veteran was either 100% disabled or died from a service-connected disability; or (2) 3 years after such death, if the veteran was less than 100% disabled and did not die from a service-connected disability.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-05-23 00:00:00

Servicemembers Access to Justice Act of 2012 - Waives a state's sovereign immunity with respect to the enforcement of uniformed services members' employment or reemployment rights or benefits under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). Makes unenforceable agreements between an employer and employee requiring arbitration of disputes arising under USERRA. Provides exceptions. Requires the validity and enforceability of such an agreement to be determined by a court (as opposed to the arbitrator). Provides increased liquidated damages, and authorizes punitive damages, against state or private employer violations of USERRA. Provides a right to a jury trial in such cases. Requires (under current law, authorizes) the award of attorney fees in actions to enforce USERRA. Requires (under current law, authorizes) a court to use equitable relief, including injunctions and restraining orders when appropriate, for USERRA violations. Requires federal procurement contracts to include a notice that the contractor may have USERRA obligations. Requires a Comptroller General study on the effectiveness of federal education and outreach programs on employer obligations under USERRA.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2012-05-24 00:00:00

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the period in which death gratuities (less amounts contributed to a Coverdell education savings account) and insurance proceeds payable to survivors of members of the Armed Forces or the Uniformed Services may be contributed to a Roth individual retirement account (Roth IRA) from one to three years after receipt of such gratuities or proceeds.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-05-24 00:00:00

Helping Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Return to Employment at Home Act or HIRE at HOME Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), as a condition of a grant or contract to a state for certain veterans' employment and training programs, to require the state to demonstrate the consideration of any military training received by a veteran when approving or denying a license or certification as a nursing assistant, certified nursing assistant, commercial driver, emergency medical technician EMT-B or EMT-1, or emergency medical technician-paramedic.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-05-24 00:00:00

Servicemember Employment Protection Act of 2012 - Makes unenforceable any clause of an agreement between and employer and employee requiring arbitration of a dispute arising under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Provides an exception when both parties voluntarily agree to arbitration. Requires any issue as to whether such requirement applies to an arbitration clause to be determined by federal law and the validity or enforceability of an agreement to arbitrate to be determined by a court rather than an arbitrator. Protects under USERRA an individual who is absent from employment in order to receive medical or dental treatment for an injury or illness incurred or aggravated in the line of duty. Authorizes the suspension, termination, or debarment of federal contractors for repeated failures or refusals to comply with USERRA protections.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-06-18 00:00:00

Allows services for which a homeless veteran receives a grant under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) comprehensive service programs to include furnishing care for a dependent. Requires at least 15% of the total amount of grants awarded under the programs to be expended for a grant program for homeless veterans with special needs. Extends the special needs program permanently (under current law, terminates at the end of FY2013).
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-06-18 00:00:00

Homeless Veterans Assistance Improvement Act of 2012 - Requires public or private nonprofit entities that receive grants under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) comprehensive service programs for homeless veterans to agree to meet the physical, privacy, safety, and security needs of such veterans. Requires at least 1% of VA financial assistance provided for supportive services for very low-income veteran families in permanent housing to be used for legal services to assist such families with issues that interfere with their ability to obtain or retain housing or supportive services. Allows services for which a homeless veteran receives a grant under the comprehensive service programs to include furnishing care for a dependent. Directs (under current law, authorizes) the VA Secretary to make per diem homeless veterans assistance payments to certain entities that meet the supportive services criteria, but also furnish assistance to individuals who are not veterans. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants for the operational expenses of a service center established for homeless veterans. Revises VA authority to provide dental care to veterans receiving certain other assistance through the VA to include those veterans receiving assistance under the United States Housing Act of 1937. Extends permanently the VA comprehensive service programs for homeless veterans. Extends temporarily various VA authorities and programs affecting homeless veterans.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-06-19 00:00:00

Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvements Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to facilitate collaborative research to meet the long-term reproductive health care needs of veterans who have a service-connected genitourinary disability or a condition that was aggravated in the line of active duty, such as a spinal cord injury, that affects the veterans' ability to reproduce. Includes fertility counseling and treatment within authorized VA medical services. Directs the Secretary to furnish such counseling and treatment, including the use of assisted reproductive technology, to a spouse or surrogate of a severely wounded veteran who has an infertility condition incurred or aggravated in the line of duty and who is enrolled in the VA health care system, as long as the spouse and veteran apply jointly for such counseling and treatment. Requires the Secretary to enhance the capabilities of the VA women veterans call center: (1) to respond to requests for assistance with accessing VA health care and benefits, and (2) for referral to community resources to obtain assistance with services not furnished by the VA. Amends the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 relating to a pilot program of group retreat reintegration and readjustment counseling for women veterans recently separated from service to: (1) increase from at least 3 to at least 14 the number of locations for such counseling, and (2) extend the pilot program for an additional 2 years. Requires a pilot program under such Act relating to the provision of child care assistance for certain veterans receiving VA health care to be extended until two years after the program is established in the third Veterans Integrated Service Network. (Under current law, such program terminates two years after its original commencement.) Directs the Secretary to carry out a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of providing child care assistance to veterans receiving or in need of VA readjustment counseling and related mental health services. Requires the program to continue until two years after it is begun at the last Readjustment Counseling Service Region chosen by the Secretary.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-06-28 00:00:00

Requires a state, as a condition for receipt of a grant or contract from the Department of Labor for support of disabled veterans' outreach specialists and local veterans' employment representatives, to establish a program which issues a license or credential to a veteran without requiring any training or apprenticeship if such veteran: (1) receives a satisfactory score on completion of an examination administered by that state, and (2) has at least 10 years of experience in a military occupational specialty that is similar to the civilian occupation for which such license or credential is required.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-06-28 00:00:00

Transition Assistance Advisor Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish, as part of the Transition Assistance Program of the Department of Defense (DOD), a Transition Assistance Advisor (TAA) program to provide professionals in each state to serve as statewide contacts to assist members of the Armed Forces in accessing benefits and health care furnished by DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Requires a minimum number of TAAs in each state based on the number of Army and Air National Guard members in such state. Provides additional TAA duties, including the provision of a military-to-civilian transition plan for such members and their families.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-07-19 00:00:00

Veterans Small Business Protection Act of 2012 - Treats a small business acquired by the surviving spouse or dependent from a member of the Armed Forces killed during active duty as a small business owned and controlled by a service-disabled veteran, for purposes of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) small business contracting goals and preferences. Continues such treatment for the period beginning on the date of the member's death and ending on the earlier of: (1) the date on which the surviving spouse remarries or relinquishes such ownership interest or ten years after the member's death, or (2) the date on which the surviving dependent relinquishes such ownership interest or ten years after the member's death.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-07-23 00:00:00

Battlefield Excellence through Superior Training Practices Act or BEST Practices Act - Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD), no later than: (1) October 1, 2014, to develop, test, and validate human-based training methods for training members of the Armed Forces in the treatment of combat injuries, with the goal of replacing live animal-based training methods; and (2) October 1, 2016, to use only use human-based training methods for such purposes. Prohibits the use of animals in such training after the latter date. Provides an exception when the Secretary determines that human-based training methods will not provide an educationally equivalent or superior substitute for live animal-based training methods. Requires an annual report from the Secretary to the congressional defense committees on the development and implementation of the human-based training methods, as well as any exceptions implemented.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-07-24 00:00:00

Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) (Secretary) to establish a veteran jobs corps to employ veterans: (1) in conservation, resource management, and historic preservation projects on public lands and maintenance and improvement projects for cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the National Cemetery Administration; and (2) as firefighters and law enforcement officers. Requires priority employment for veterans who served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001. Provides for such employment in coordination with the Attorney General, the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, and the Interior. Directs the Secretary to establish a steering committee for assistance in providing such employment. Directs the Secretary of Labor to commence a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of providing veterans seeking employment with access to computing facilities in order to: (1) match veterans with available jobs based on veterans' skills acquired as members of the Armed Forces, and (2) allow employers to post information about available jobs. Directs the Secretary, as a condition of a grant or contract to a state for certain veterans' employment and training programs, to require the state to demonstrate the consideration of any military training received by a veteran when approving or denying a license or certification as a nursing assistant, certified nursing assistant, commercial driver, emergency medical technician EMT-B or EMT-1, or emergency medical technician-paramedic. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish minimum funding levels for specified veterans' benefits contracts and grants to ensure that each state receives sufficient funding to support at least one disabled veterans' outreach program specialist and one local veterans' employment representative per 5,000 square miles of service delivery area within the state. Directs the Secretary of Labor, during the three-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, to provide the Transition Assistance Program to veterans and their spouses at locations other than military installations in at least three and up to five states selected by the Secretary based on the highest rates of veteran unemployment. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a 100% continuous levy upon the property and rights of Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) providers and suppliers neglecting or refusing to pay taxes. Permits the Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or limit a passport to any individual upon receiving certification from the Secretary of the Treasury that such individual has a delinquent tax debt in an amount in excess of $50,000.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-07-30 00:00:00

Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) (Secretary) to establish a veteran jobs corps to employ veterans: (1) in conservation, resource management, and historic preservation projects on public lands and maintenance and improvement projects for cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the National Cemetery Administration; and (2) as firefighters and law enforcement officers. Requires priority employment for veterans who served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001. Provides for such employment in coordination with the Attorney General, the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, and the Interior. Directs the Secretary to establish a steering committee for assistance in providing such employment. Directs the Secretary of Labor to commence a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of providing veterans seeking employment with access to computing facilities in order to: (1) match veterans with available jobs based on veterans' skills acquired as members of the Armed Forces, and (2) allow employers to post information about available jobs. Directs the Secretary, as a condition of a grant or contract to a state for certain veterans' employment and training programs, to require the state to demonstrate the consideration of any military training received by a veteran when approving or denying a commercial driver's license or a certification to be a nursing assistant or certified nursing assistant, or an emergency medical technician or paramedic. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish minimum funding levels for specified veterans' benefits contracts and grants to ensure that each state receives sufficient funding to support at least one disabled veterans' outreach program specialist and one local veterans' employment representative per 5,000 square miles of service delivery area within the state. Directs the Secretary of Labor, during the one-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, to provide the Transition Assistance Program to veterans and their spouses at locations other than military installations in at least three and up to five states selected by the Secretary based on the highest rates of veteran unemployment. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a 100% continuous levy upon the property and rights of Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) providers and suppliers neglecting or refusing to pay taxes. Repeals provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 providing for a program for the research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of technologies for ultra-deepwater and unconventional natural gas and other petroleum resource exploration and production. Permits the Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or limit a passport to any individual upon receiving certification from the Secretary of the Treasury that such individual has a delinquent tax debt in an amount in excess of $50,000.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-09-11 00:00:00

Military Religious Freedom Act of 2012 - Requires the Armed Forces to accommodate the conscience and sincerely held moral principles and religious beliefs of its members concerning the appropriate and inappropriate expression of human sexuality, and prohibits the Armed Forces from using such conscience, principles, or beliefs (beliefs) as the basis of any adverse personnel action, discrimination, or denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment. Prohibits any member from: (1) directing, ordering, or requiring a chaplain to perform any duty, rite, service, or function that is contrary to his or her beliefs; or (2) discriminating or taking any adverse personnel action against a chaplain for refusing to comply with a direction, order, or requirement that is against his or her beliefs. Prohibits a military installation or other property owned, rented, or under the jurisdiction or control of the Department of Defense (DOD) from being used to officiate, solemnize, or perform a marriage or marriage-like ceremony involving anything other than the union of one man with one woman.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-09-12 00:00:00

Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to establish a process for determining whether individuals who served in the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines or in the Philippine Scouts while in the service of the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II and who are not included in the Missouri List are eligible for certain benefits relating to their U.S. service.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2012-09-12 00:00:00

VOW to Hire Heroes Extension Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2016 the work opportunity tax credit for hiring veterans, (2) revise tax credit eligibility requirements for documenting the status of veterans and their receipt of unemployment compensation, and (3) extend the payroll tax offset for such credit to certain for-profit employers.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2012-09-20 00:00:00

Honoring Service Through National Park Access Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to make a lifetime National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available, at a cost of $10, to veterans who were separated from military service under conditions other than dishonorable.
Topic: Defense — Personnel Issues
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2012-09-21 00:00:00

Housing Assistance for Veterans Act of 2012 or HAVEN Act - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish a pilot program to award grants to nonprofit organizations that primarily serve veterans or low-income individuals. Requires such grants to be used to rehabilitate and modify the primary residence of disabled or low-income veterans (at a specified limited or no cost to such veterans). Limits grant amounts to $1 million per organization. Requires the Secretary to direct the oversight of grant fund use. Requires a minimum of 50% matching funds by participating organizations.