lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2013-10-29 00:00:00

Toxic Exposure Research and Military Family Support Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to:

 select a medical center in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to serve as the national center for the diagnosis, treatment, and research of health conditions of descendants (i.e., a biological child, grandchild, or great-grandchild) of individuals exposed to toxic substances while serving as members of the Armed Forces that are related to that exposure; establish an advisory board to advise the center, to determine which health conditions result from exposure to toxic substances, and to study and evaluate cases of exposure of current and former members of the Armed Forces to toxic substances; and establish an Office of Extramural Research to conduct research on wounds, illnesses, injuries, and other conditions suffered by active members of the Armed Forces resulting from exposure to toxic substances and to assist the advisory board in considering claims of exposure to toxic substances. Extends eligibility for medical care and caregiver assistance to descendants of a veteran who was exposed to toxic substances while serving as a member of the Armed Forces if: (1) the descendant has a health condition resulting from exposure to toxic substances and is homebound due to such condition, and (2) the veteran has or had the same health condition.

Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to declassify documents (other than documents that would materially and immediately threaten national security) related to any known incident in which not less than 100 members of the Armed Forces were exposed to a toxic substance that resulted in at least one case of disability.

Directs the VA Secretary, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the DOD Secretary to jointly conduct a national outreach and education campaign directed at members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their family members to communicate information on incidents of exposure to toxic substances, health conditions resulting form such exposure, and the potential long-term effects of such exposure.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2013-10-30 00:00:00

VOW to Hire Heroes Extension Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2017 the work opportunity tax credit for hiring a qualified veteran (defined as an unemployed veteran who is certified as being a member of a family receiving food stamp assistance and who is entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability), (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.

 Directs the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, to make annual reports on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of this Act in increasing the employment of veterans.

Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to pay: (1) each U.S. possession (i.e., American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) with a mirror code tax system amounts equal to the loss to such possession due to this Act; and (2) each U.S. possession without such a tax system an amount estimated to equal the loss to such possession that would have occurred due to this Act if such a tax system had been in effect in such possession.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2013-10-31 00:00:00

United We Stand to Hire Veterans Act - Requires the Secretary of Labor, in conjunction with the Secretaries of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA), to consolidate government Internet portals on employment for current and former members of the Armed Forces into one comprehensive portal for the purposes of connecting members who are seeking employment with employers who want to employ them.

Authorizes the Secretaries, in order to expedite implementation of such consolidated portal, to carry out pilot projects to evaluate the feasibility and advisability of various portal options by continuing or modifying existing programs.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2013-11-12 00:00:00

Veterans Education Counseling Act of 2013 - Modifies provisions relating to educational and vocational counseling for veterans to provide a program of counseling services to be known as the Academic Counseling and Educational Information Service. Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) make available to veterans information about the definitions, eligibility requirements, and services provided by such counseling and how such counseling services differ from those provided as part of rehabilitation and readjustment assistance programs for veterans; and (2) maintain a website on which a person is able to request such counseling services.

Establishes as the primary goal of such counseling services to provide individuals with assistance in: (1) pursuing postsecondary education and training opportunities, (2) obtaining information about and data on such opportunities, (3) selecting a program of education or training, and (4) addressing other needs relating to education.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2013-11-12 00:00:00

Servicemembers Transition Improvement Act of 2013 - Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to carry out a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of providing information on members of the Armed Forces who are separating from service to state veterans agencies to facilitate the transition of such members to civilian life. Authorizes such agencies to share such information with appropriate county veterans service offices.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2013-11-14 00:00:00

Directs the Secretaries of the military departments to ensure that information concerning the availability of mental health services to members of the Armed Forces (members), as well as privacy rights related to the receipt of such services, is provided to: (1) each officer candidate during initial training, (2) each recruit during basic training, and (3) each other member at such time as the Secretary of Defense (DOD) considers appropriate.

Requires each department Secretary to: (1) seek to eliminate perceived stigma associated with seeking and receiving mental health services, and (2) promote the use of such services on a basis comparable to the use of other medical and health services.

Directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure that such information is also provided to current members, including members of the reserve components.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Housing and community development
Date: 2013-11-14 00:00:00

Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to exclude as family income for Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing assistance purposes any Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) payments made to veterans in need of regular aid and attendance for expenses related to such aid and attendance.

Prohibits, in determining the monthly rental assistance payment for low-income families, the amount for tenant-paid utilities from exceeding the appropriate utility allowance for that family unit size as determined by the public housing agency (PHA), regardless of the size of the unit leased by the family. Requires the PHA, upon request by a family that includes a person with disabilities, an elderly family, or a family that includes a person less than 18 years old, to approve a higher utility allowance, except that in the case of a family with a disabled person the PHA shall approve the higher amount only when needed as a reasonable accommodation to make the unit accessible to and usable by that person.

Directs the HUD Secretary to regularly publish data regarding local utility consumption and costs in order to establish appropriate allowances for tenant-paid utilities for assisted families.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2013-11-14 00:00:00

Servicemember Education Reform and Vocational Enhancement Act of 2013 or the SERVE Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or a state approving agency (SAA) to approve, for purposes of veterans' educational assistance provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), a course that leads to an associate or higher degree only when such course is an eligible program offered by an institution of higher education that has entered into and is complying with a program approved by the Secretary of Education. Provides conditions under which the VA Secretary or an SAA may approve a course that does not lead to an associate or higher degree or is not approved by the Secretary of Education.

Requires educational institutions that enroll veterans to: (1) provide, upon the request of the VA Secretary, information about their educational programs, including accreditation, tuition, and graduation rates for disclosure to veterans; and (2) provide academic or career counseling to such veterans.

Requires each SAA, as a condition of receiving VA reimbursement for program approval activities, to conduct education and outreach activities to assist veterans in making well-informed choices about their education and successful transition into an educational environment. Requires: (1) SAAs to conduct annual audits of educational institutions that have VA program participants, and (2) the VA Secretary to conduct mandatory compliance reviews of such institutions.

Requires the VA Secretary, in cooperation with specified federal officials and state agencies, to commence a five-state pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of developing policy, processes, and best practices to: (1) ensure the availability of educational assistance providing on-job or vocational training for military personnel who served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001, and (2) encourage veterans to pursue such educational assistance. Requires the VA Secretary, under such pilot program, to conduct outreach to members of the Armed Forces and veterans on the availability of such educational assistance, the benefits of such assistance, and the process for obtaining such assistance.

Requires reports by the VA Secretary and the Secretary of Defense (DOD) under the post 9/11 educational assistance program to: (1) be disaggregated by for-profit and not-for-profit educational institutions; (2) include all substantiated reports of misrepresentation, waste, fraud, abuse by educational institutions at which veterans are enrolled in an educational program administered by VA or DOD; and (3) provide a list of all previously approved educational institutions serving veterans that are no longer in compliance with VA or DOD requirements for educational assistance programs.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2013-11-19 00:00:00

Support Earned Recognition for Veterans Act or the SERVe Act - Excludes from the definitions of "active duty," "active duty for training," and "inactive duty training," for veteran benefit or employment preference purposes, any service performed at a preparatory school of a service academy by a student who is not otherwise a member of the Armed Forces.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2013-11-21 00:00:00

Dignified Interment of Our Veterans Act of 2013 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study on matters relating to the identification, claiming, and interring of unclaimed remains of veterans, including: (1) estimating the number of unclaimed remains; (2) assessing the effectiveness of the procedures of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for claiming and interring unclaimed remains of veterans; (3) assessing state and local laws that affect the ability of the Secretary to identify, claim, and inter such remains; and (4) recommending appropriate legislative or administrative action.

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Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2013-12-17 00:00:00

Military Retirement Restoration Act - Repeals the provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that reduces the cost-of-living adjustment to the retirement pay of members of the Armed Forces under age 62.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat a foreign corporation managed and controlled, directly or indirectly, primarily in the United States as a domestic corporation for U.S. tax purposes if the stock of such corporation is regularly traded on an established securities market or the aggregate gross assets of such corporation during the taxable year or any preceding taxable year is $50 million or more.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2013-12-18 00:00:00

Repeals a provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that reduces the cost-of-living adjustment to the retirement pay of members of the Armed Forces under age 62.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2013-12-19 00:00:00

Keeping Our Promise to Our Military Heroes Act - Repeals the provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that reduces the cost-of-living adjustment to the retirement pay of members of the Armed Forces under age 62.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require taxpayers who are claiming the refundable portion of the child tax credit to include their social security number on their tax returns.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2013-12-19 00:00:00

Provides that the reduction in the annual adjustment to the retired pay of members of the Armed Forces under the age of 62 shall not apply to the retirement pay of members retired for a physical disability and to retirement pay used to compute benefit plan annuities of survivors of deceased members.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2013-12-20 00:00:00

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), not later than one year after the enactment of this Act, to establish and maintain a registry to be known as the Canadian Forces Base Gagetown Health Registry (Registry) containing the name of each individual who, while serving in the Armed Forces, was stationed at or underwent training at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, New Brunswick, Canada (Gagetown), during the period beginning on January 1, 1956, and ending on December 31, 2006, and who: (1) applies for care or services from the VA; (2) files a claim for compensation on the basis of any disability that may be associated with such service; (3) dies and is survived by a spouse, child, or parent who files a claim for dependency and indemnity compensation on the basis of such service; (4) requests a health examination from the VA; or (5) receives such examination and requests inclusion in the Registry. Requires the Secretary, upon request, to provide the examination, as well as consultation and counseling regarding examination results to the service member and counseling and consultation to family members of a deceased service member.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) notify individuals in the Registry of significant developments in research on the health consequences of potential exposure to a toxic substance or environmental hazard related to service at Gagetown; (2) carry out appropriate outreach activities with respect to such health examinations, consultation, and counseling; (3) provide for a study by an independent entity, not affiiated with the VA, on the potential exposure of individuals to toxic substances or environmental hazards related to service at Gagetown; and (4) submit to the House and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs an annual report on the Registry.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2014-01-15 00:00:00

Uphold Our Promise to Veterans Act - Repeals the provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that reduces the cost-of-living adjustment to the retirement pay of members of the Armed Forces under age 62.

Suspends delivery of defense articles and services to the Government of Egypt until democratic elections and a peaceful transfer of power have taken place. Prohibits assistance to the Governments of Libya and Pakistan and to any country where a U.S. diplomatic facility has been attacked until the President certifies to Congress that such country has cooperated with investigations into such attack and have taken steps to prevent any future attack.

Authorizes the sale of 8% of federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and 8% of National Forest System land.  Requires proceeds from the sale of such land to be used to reduce the annual federal budget deficit or the outstanding national debt. Terminates the authority for the sale of such lands when sales proceeds equal $3.5 million or at the end of FY2024, whichever occurs first.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2014-01-30 00:00:00

Honor Our Promise Act - Repeals the provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that reduces the cost-of-living adjustment to the retirement pay of members of the Armed Forces under age 62.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require taxpayers who are claiming the refundable portion of the child tax credit to include the name and taxpayer identification number (e.g., social security number) of their qualifying child on their tax returns.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2014-02-03 00:00:00

Streamlining Services for Older Veterans Act - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to include status as a veteran among the categories of greatest social need based on noneconomic factors.

Requires state and area plans to include information on how the state and area agencies on: (1) aging will engage in outreach to veterans eligible for services under such Act, and (2) effective and efficient procedures for the coordination of services provided under that Act with services provided to veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other providers.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2014-02-04 00:00:00

Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of 2014 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) work with federal agencies, states, and such experts as the Secretary considers appropriate to develop and implement federal and state standards that protect individuals who are eligible for increased pension for a non-service-connected disability or death or for service on the basis of need for regular aid and attendance from dishonest, predatory, or otherwise unlawful practices; and (2) submit such standards to specified congressional committees not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Requires the Comptroller General: (1) within one year after enactment of this Act, to report standards that would be effective in protecting such individuals if the Secretary fails to submit such standards within such 180 days; and (2) not later than 540 days after enactment of this Act, to complete a study on standards implemented under this Act and report the findings to such committees.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2014-03-06 00:00:00

21st Century Veterans Benefits Delivery Act - Revises or adds provisions concerning the submission of veterans' claims for benefits administered through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including by:

 modifying the Transition Assistance Program to enable online participation; adding a requirement to encourage claimants to use appropriate forms; requiring specified communications to users of the eBenefits website; extending through FY2020 VA authority for the retroactive dating of awards upon the filing of fully developed claims; requiring claim decisions to explain the benefits of filing claim appeals within 180 days; requiring the use of a specified VA form in regional offices for filing notices of disagreement with claim decisions; and requiring hearings before the Board of Veterans' Appeals to be conducted, as the Board considers appropriate or, upon request by an appellant, as the appellant considers appropriate, in person or through picture and voice transmission by electronic or other means. Revises or adds provisions concerning the practices of VA regional offices, including by:

 requiring the Comptroller General to complete an audit of Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) regional offices, requiring the VA Secretary to complete a study on service-connected disabilities that worsen with age, extending the authority for the performance of medical disability examinations by contract physicians, requiring the Secretary to develop and implement a plan to establish a uniform mail processing and scanning system throughout the regional offices, requiring the VA Inspector General to conduct a review of the practices of regional offices regarding the use of suspense dates during the disability claim assessment process, requiring the Secretary to submit semiannual reports on progress in implementing the Veterans Benefits Management System, requiring the Secretary to submit an annual report on VBA capacity to process benefits claims, requiring the Secretary to include in each Monday Morning Workload Report the number of claims for benefits that have been received by a regional office and that are pending a decision, and requiring the Secretary to make the VA reports entitled "Appeals Pending" and "Appeals Workload By Station" available to the public on a VA website. Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD), the Commissioner of Social Security, and the Archivist of the United States to appoint individuals to act as liaisons with the VA to expedite the timely provision to the VA Secretary of information required to process veterans benefits claims.

Requires the DOD and VA Secretaries to jointly submit a report that sets forth a time line with milestones for achieving interoperability between DOD's and VA's electronic health records systems.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2014-03-13 00:00:00

Veterans Hiring Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employer a 50% reduction in the rate of the employment tax for wages paid to a veteran who served on active duty in the Armed Forces and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. Makes such reduced rate effective during the period of four consecutive calendar quarters beginning with the first day of the first such calendar quarter beginning after the enactment of this Act.
Topic: Defense — Other
Subject: Commerce
Date: 2014-03-13 00:00:00

Veterans Entrepreneurship Act - Amends the Small Business Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) from assessing a guarantee fee in connection with a loan made under the SBA Express Program to a veteran or spouse of a veteran on or after October 1, 2014.

Directs the Administrator to report to Congress on: (1) the feasibility of providing financial planning and counseling to owners of small business concerns who are members of a reserve component prior to deployment; (2) the level of outreach to and consultation with female veterans by women's business centers and veterans business outreach centers; and (3) the Military Reservists Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, which shall include a discussion of SBA outreach efforts to increase participation, the number of loans made, and an analysis of the effectiveness of, and recommendations for improving, the Program.