zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Establishes an Appeals Task Force to evaluate the backlog of appeals of claims within the Board of Veterans' Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court).

Requires the Task Force to study: (1) the anticipated surge in appeals of claims; and (2) possible improvements to the appeals process, including whether substantive and structural changes to the overall appeals process are required.

Directs the Task Force to submit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals, and the Court a feasible, timely, and cost effective plan to eliminate the backlog of appeals based on the remedies and solutions it identifies. Requires the Secretary, Chairman, and Court to: (1) fully consider those remedies and solutions, (2) implement those the Secretary deems appropriate, and (3) submit to Congress justification for failing to implement any such remedy or solution.

Date: 2015-01-22
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Honoring Our WWII Merchant Mariners Act of 2015

Establishes in the Treasury the Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund from which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is to make one payment of $25,000 to each individual who, between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946, was a documented member of the U.S. merchant marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service) serving as a crewmember of a vessel that was operated in U.S. waters by the War Shipping Administration or the Office of Defense Transportation and under contract to, or the property of, the United States. Requires such individuals to: (1) apply for such benefit within one year after the enactment of this Act, and (2) not have received benefits under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944.

Requires the Secretary to include, in annual budget documents submitted to Congress, detailed information on the Fund's operation.

Date: 2015-01-27
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Affairs Retaliation Prevention Act of 2015

Authorizes a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee to file a whistleblower complaint with his or her immediate supervisor. Gives that supervisor two business days to determine and notify the employee as to whether there is a reasonable likelihood that the complaint discloses a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or substantial and specific danger to public health and safety. Requires that supervisor to include in the employee notification specific actions that the supervisor will take to address a complaint deemed reasonably valid.

Authorizes an employee whose supervisor fails to make a timely determination regarding the complaint or address the complaint to the employee's satisfaction, to file such complaint with the next-level supervisor, who shall make a determination regarding the complaint in accordance with the procedures this Act requires the immediate supervisor to follow.

Authorizes an employee to file a whistleblower complaint with the VA Secretary if the employee has filed such complaint with each level of supervisors between the employee and the Secretary in accordance with such procedures.

Requires each employee who receives a positive determination from a supervisor regarding a complaint to be: (1) informed by the Secretary of the employee's ability to volunteer for a transfer, and (2) given transfer preference.

Directs the Secretary to carry out the following adverse actions against VA employees who are determined to have committed a prohibited personnel action relating to whistleblower complaints: (1) not less than a 14-day suspension, and not more than removal, for a first offense, and (2) removal for a second offense. Gives employees no more than five days following notification of such a proposed adverse action to dispute it.

Requires the Secretary to charge an offending employee a fee that takes into account the costs borne by the federal government due to such prohibited personnel action.

Requires the Secretary, when evaluating a supervisor's performance, to take into account any failure to follow this Act's procedures or any commission of a prohibited personnel action relating to a whistleblower complaint. Denies awards or bonuses to supervisors found to have committed such prohibited personnel actions.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide each VA employee with annual training regarding whistleblower complaints; (2) provide annual training on merit system protection that the Special Counsel certifies as satisfactory; and (3) publish on the VA's website and prominently display at VA facilities the rights of an employee to file, and to petition Congress regarding, a whistleblower complaint.

Date: 2015-01-27
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Access to Community Care Act of 2015

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to use the Secretary's existing authority to furnish health care to veterans at non-VA facilities to provide health care at non-VA facilities to veterans who reside more than 40 miles driving distance from the closest VA medical facility providing the care they seek.

Date: 2015-01-27
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to use the Secretary's existing authority to furnish health care to veterans at non-VA facilities to provide health care at non-VA facilities to veterans who reside more than 40 miles driving distance from the closest VA medical facility providing the care they seek.

Date: 2015-01-27
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Help Hire our Heroes Act

Amends the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 to extend, from March 31, 2014, to 180 days after this Act's enactment, the veterans retraining assistance program.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to transfer funds for such program from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.

Date: 2015-01-28
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Servicemember Assistance for Lawful Understanding, Treatment, and Education Act or the SALUTE Act

Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General to award grants for developing, implementing, or enhancing veterans' treatment courts or expanding operational mental health or drug courts to serve veterans to ensure that such courts effectively integrate substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, sanctions and incentives, and transitional services, in a judicially supervised court setting with jurisdiction over offenders who are veterans.

Authorizes the Attorney General to award such grants to states, state courts, local courts, local governments, and Indian tribal governments for court programs that involve

 continuing judicial supervision over offenders who are veterans with substance abuse or mental health problems; coordination with appropriate federal, state, or local prosecutors; coordination with the Veterans Health Administration; and the integrated administration of other sanctions and services, including substance abuse and mental health treatment, supervised release involving the possibility of prosecution, confinement, or incarceration based on non-compliance with program requirements or failure to show satisfactory progress, and offender management. Prohibits the use of grant funds to provide judicial supervision over, treatment of, or other services to violent offenders.

Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study to assess the effectiveness and impact of such grant program.

Date: 2015-01-28
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Makes eligible for beneficiary travel through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) a veteran whose travel to a specialized outpatient or residential program at a VA facility is in connection with treatment or care for military sexual trauma.

Date: 2015-02-02
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Access to Speedy Review Act

Requires the Board of Veterans' Appeals, for purposes of scheduling a veteran's appeal hearing at the earliest possible date, to determine whether to provide such hearing: (1) at its principal location or at another Department of Veterans Affairs facility or other federal facility, and (2) through the use of videoconferencing or by an appellant's personal appearance.

Requires the Board to notify the appellant of such decisions. Allows the appellant to request a different location or type of hearing. Requires the Board to grant such request and ensure that the hearing is scheduled at the earliest possible date.

Date: 2015-02-04
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Express Appeals Act

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) carry out a five-year pilot program to provide the option of an alternative appeals process to determine appeals of claims for disability compensation more quickly, and (2) inform claimants about such program.

Describes appeals filed under the pilot program as "fully developed appeals."

Authorizes a claimant to elect to file a fully developed appeal by filing with the Secretary: (1) a notice of disagreement along with the claimant's written election to have the appeal determined under the pilot program, (2) all evidence that the claimant believes is needed for the appeal, and (3) a statement of the argument in support of the claim. Requires the Secretary to transfer jurisdiction over a fully developed appeal directly to the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

Requires a claimant to make such election: (1) at any time during the traditional appeal process if the claimant has filed a traditional appeal before the pilot program commences, or (2) when the claimant files the notice of disagreement if the claimant has not filed a traditional appeal.

Directs the Secretary to inform a claimant who seeks to change a traditional appeal to a fully developed appeal as to whether any time will be saved. Allows a claimant who elects to file a fully developed appeal to elect to revert to a traditional appeal at any time.

Requires the Board of Veterans' Appeals to: (1) maintain fully developed appeals on a separate docket; (2) hear fully developed appeals in the order received; (3) decide not more than one fully developed appeal for each four traditional appeals decided, though this ratio may be adjusted for fairness purposes beginning one year after the pilot program begins; and (4) decide, to the extent practicable, each fully developed appeal within one year of a claimant's filing the notice of disagreement.

Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the effects of new evidence submitted or additional information needed after a fully developed appeal is filed, and (2) a prohibition against the Board providing hearings for fully developed appeals.

Directs the Board to establish an office to develop federal records, independent medical opinions, and new medical exams that the Board deems necessary to decide a fully developed appeal.

Date: 2015-02-05
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes the President to award the Medal of Honor to James Megellas for acts of valor on January 28, 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

Date: 2015-02-05
Topic: Defense (Other)
Veterans Employment and Training Service Longitudinal Study Act of 2015

Directs the Secretary of Labor to enter into a contract with a non-governmental entity to conduct a longitudinal study of a statistically valid sample of each of the following groups of individuals over a period of at least five years: (1) veterans who have received intensive job counseling, training, and placement services; (2) veterans who did not receive intensive services but who otherwise received services; and (3) veterans who did not seek or receive services.

Requires the study to include the collection of specified information for each individual who participates in the study, including:

 the average number of months served on active duty, the distribution of disability ratings, unemployment benefits received, the average number of months employed and average individual and household annual income, employment status, whether the individual believes that any service received helped the individual to become employed, use of educational assistance, participation in a vocational rehabilitation program, conditions of discharge or release from the Armed Forces, and demographic information. Directs the Secretary to submit annual reports on the outcomes of the study that include any information the Secretary determines is necessary to determine long-term outcomes of the individuals in such groups.

Date: 2015-02-10
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide collaborative recovery coordinator training at a qualified nursing or medical school selected by the VA, to lead the systematic evidence review of care coordination and a consensus conference to build the model on evidence-based guidelines. Designates such school to lead: (1) the literature review and development of evidence-based guidelines for recovery coordination, training modules for care coordination, and software that is compatible with VA systems for recovery coordination; and (2) a consensus conference on evidence-based care coordination.

Directs the VA to: (1) subcontract with an appropriate entity for the development of care coordination software, (2) carry out a conference for recovery coordinator tool validation, and (3) carry out a software pilot program.

Authorizes the qualified nursing or medical school to train 45 recovery coordinators.

Directs the VA and the Department of Defense (DOD), in carrying out the Federal Recovery Coordination Program, to jointly develop, and enter a memorandum to carry out, a plan to ensure that:

 the Program is operated jointly by the Secretaries; the administration of the Program is not delegated to an individual outside the respective office of each Secretary; the Program assists members of the Armed Forces with severe or catastrophic injuries or illnesses who are unlikely to return to active duty and who will most likely be medically separated and members and veterans whose individual circumstances (including illness, injury, mental health, family situation, and unique benefit needs) cause difficulties in transitioning to civilian life; the VA Secretary and the Secretaries of the military departments refer members and veterans to the Program at the earliest possible time; and each federal agency provides a Federal Recovery Coordinator of the Program with the information, coordination, and cooperation necessary for the Coordinator to assist participating members and veterans.

Date: 2015-02-12
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide trained guide dogs to veterans who are blind by reason of a service-connected disability, are enrolled for VA hospital care and medical services, and elect to receive such a dog.

Date: 2015-02-12
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to extend indefinitely the requirement that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) furnish hospital care and medical services through non-VA facilities to veterans who reside: (1) in a state without a VA medical facility that provides hospital care, emergency medical services, and surgical care; and (2) more than 20 miles from such a facility.

Date: 2015-02-12
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Children of Military Service Members Commemorative Lapel Pin Act

Requires a lapel button, to be known as the children of military service members commemorative lapel button, to be designed, as approved by the Department of Defense (DOD), to identify and recognize child dependents of members of the Armed Forces who serve on active duty for more than 30 days. Expresses the sense of Congress that DOD should expedite the design and manufacture of the button, as well as mechanisms to facilitate its issuance.

Makes such button available retroactively to the child of any member satisfying such eligibility conditions before the enactment of this Act.

Requires DOD to notify members with qualifying service since September 11, 2001, of the availability of the button.

Date: 2015-02-13
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Air Travel Streamlining Act of 2015

Requires: (1) the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to waive the application fee for veterans with a service-connected disability rated at 50% or more who apply to participate in TSA's Pre-check program, and (2) the Administrator and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a system to verify such a veteran's disability rating and whether such veteran's disability is service-connected.

Date: 2015-02-13
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Deems Milton Holland (who, while a sergeant major of the 5th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry, was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Civil War) to have held the grade of captain in the regular Army, effective as of September 29, 1864, and continuing until his separation from the Army.

Prohibits any entitlement to bonuses, gratuity, pay, or allowances because of  such posthumous commission.

Date: 2015-02-13
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Protecting Business Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2015

Extends subcontracting limitations that apply to certain small businesses awarded contracts under various Small Business Administration (SBA) programs to small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans with or without service-connected disabilities who are awarded Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) contracts.

Requires, for purposes of applying such subcontracting limitations to veterans with small businesses awarded such VA contracts, that: (1) small businesses owned and controlled by veterans be treated in the same manner as small businesses owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities, and (2) "similarly situated entities" include subcontractors for small businesses owned and controlled by a veteran with or without a service-connected disability (contract amounts expended by small businesses on subcontractors that are similarly situated entities are not considered toward subcontracting limits).

Directs the VA Secretary, before awarding such a contract, to obtain from the offeror a certification: (1) specifying and promising to comply with the subcontracting performance requirements applicable to such offeror, and (2) acknowledging that the certification is subject to criminal laws concerning false or fraudulent statements or representations. Subjects small businesses to fines, imprisonment, or both for not acting in good faith.

Requires the VA's Chief Acquisition Officer and the Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization to: (1) establish a process to monitor the subcontracting requirement compliance of veterans' small businesses that are awarded VA contracts, and (2) refer violations to the VA's Inspector General. Directs the Inspector General to submit annual reports to Congress regarding such violations.

Date: 2015-02-20
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Biological Implant Tracking and Veteran Safety Act of 2015

 Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) adopt the unique device identification system developed for medical devices by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or implement a comparable standard identification system, for identifying biological implants intended for use in medical procedures conducted in VA medical facilities; (2) permit a vendor to use any of the accredited entities identified by the FDA as an issuing agency in adopting or implementing such a system; (3) implement a compatible system for tracking the implants from the human donor or animal source to implantation; and (4) implement inventory controls compatible with such tracking system so that all patients who have received, in a VA medical facility, a biological implant subject to a recall by the FDA can be notified of the recall.

Sets forth requirements for vendors from which the VA may procure biological implants of human origin, and for vendors from which the VA may procure biological implants of non-human origin, including that such a vendor:

 uses the standard identification system adopted or implemented by VA under this Act; is registered as required by FDA procedures; consents to periodic inspections and audits by the VA regarding the accuracy of records and the handling of products; agrees to cooperate with all biological implant recalls conducted on the vendor's own initiative, on the initiative of the original product manufacturer used by the vendor, by the request of the FDA, or by a statutory order of the FDA; agrees to notify the VA of any adverse event report it provides to the FDA, or of any warning letter from the FDA issued to the vendor, by not later than 60 days after the vendor receives such report or warning letter; and agrees to retain all records associated with the procurement of a biological implant by the VA for at least five years after the date of the procurement. Requires the VA to: (1) procure such implants under General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedules if they are available under such Schedules, (2) accommodate reasonable vendor requests to undertake specified outreach efforts to educate VA medical professionals about the use and efficacy of implants that are listed on such Schedules, and (3) procure biological implants that are unavailable under such Schedules using competitive procedures in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

Makes any VA procurement employee found responsible for a biological implant procurement transaction with intent to avoid, or with reckless disregard of, the requirements of this Act ineligible to hold a certificate of appointment as a contracting officer or to serve as the representative of an ordering officer, contracting officer, or purchase card holder.

Date: 2015-02-20
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Information Security Improvement Act 

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) carry out certain information security activities, (2) ensure that officials and staff of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) possess specified qualifications in such areas, and (3) coordinate the staffing of related information technology and security offices.

Requires the Secretary to ensure that: (1) the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology, the head of the Office of Information Security (OIS), and relevant field staff possess certain levels of information technology education, certifications, and experience; (2) Office of Information and Technology (OIT) staff are assigned to the OIS; and (3) subordinate OIT offices maintain appropriate information security functions.

Directs the Secretary to ensure that subordinate OIT offices maintain functions to: (1) integrate the VA's security architecture into the VA's overall enterprise architecture strategy, (2) restrict the development of new data warehouses and data marts holding sensitive personal information of veterans, (3) reduce the number of data marts holding such personal information, and (4) deploy an incident response capability.

Defines:

 "data mart" as a subset of a data warehouse that contains information for a specific entity of an organization rather than the entire organization, and "data warehouse" as a collection of data designed to support management decision making that contains a wide variety of data presenting a coherent picture of business conditions for an entire organization at a single point in time and whose development includes systems to extract data from operating systems plus installation of a warehouse database system that provides managers with flexible data access. Requires the Secretary to safeguard VA network infrastructure, computers, and servers.

Directs the Secretary to protect the confidentiality of sensitive personal information of veterans by:

 providing upgrades or phaseouts of outdated or unsupported operating systems to protect against harmful viruses and malicious software; and securing VA web applications and the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (commonly referred to as the "Vista system," which allows for an integrated inpatient and outpatient electronic health record for patients and provides administrative tools to VA employees). Directs the Secretary to submit certifications to Congress regarding the VA's compliance with information security requirements, including actions required by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Office of Management and Budget.

Requires the Secretary to submit monthly reports to Congress regarding security vulnerabilities discovered after performing regular scans of VA computers and servers.

Date: 2015-02-20
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Ensuring VA Employee Accountability Act

(Sec. 2) Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to retain a copy of any reprimand or admonishment received by a VA employee in the employee's permanent record.

Date: 2015-02-24
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Reform Act

 This bill extends the temporary expansion of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

 Specified recall provisions for retired Court judges are amended, including changing the recall period from 90 days in a calendar year to 90 days.

 A regular service judge and a retired judge shall be treated as an employee for government life insurance purposes.

 Regular service judges, retired recall eligible judges, and certain retired but not recall-eligible judges may purchase up to an additional year of service credit for each year of federal judicial service completed.

The salary of Court judges is set at the rate applicable to federal appellate court judges. (Currently, their salary is set at the rate applicable to federal district court judges.)

Date: 2015-02-25
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Chris Kyle Medal of Honor Act

Authorizes the President to award the Medal of Honor posthumously to Navy Seal Christopher Scott Kyle for acts of valor during Operation Iraqi Freedom, notwithstanding otherwise applicable time limitations.

Date: 2015-02-26
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Real Choice for Veterans Act

Amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to change a criterion for eligibility of certain veterans to receive medical care and services from non-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities to a requirement that the veteran resides more than 40 miles from the closest VA medical facility that is able to provide the care and services the veteran seeks (currently, more than 40 miles from the closest VA medical facility).

Date: 2015-02-26
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Department of Veterans Affairs Cyber Security Protection Act 

 Directs the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Information and Technology to submit to the congressional veterans committees (under current law only to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs) quarterly reports on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) compliance with federally-required information security improvements.

Directs the Assistant Secretary to submit to such committees: (1) quarterly, a plan of action to address critical known VA information security vulnerabilities; and (2) annually, a plan for identifying and replacing VA operating systems that are out-of-date or unsupported.

 Directs the Assistant Secretary to ensure that any software or Internet applications used on VA operating systems are secure from vulnerabilities that could affect the confidentiality of sensitive personal information on veterans.

Directs the Secretary to:

 report quarterly to such committees on any incidents of failure to comply with established information security policies, any actions taken in response to such incidents, and certain related information; submit a strategic plan to such committees for improving VA information security and to update such plan at least every two years; and report to such committees within five years on information security protection and accountability of the VA for information security breeches and incidents. Requires VA contractors with access to sensitive personal information to provide protective measures to safeguard from possible information security threats any information provided by the VA that will be resident on, or transiting through, information systems controlled by that contractor.

Date: 2015-02-26
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Whistleblower and Patient Protection Act of 2015

Establishes within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) an Office of Whistleblower and Patient Protection.

Requires the Director of such Office to establish a dedicated Internet website and toll-free telephone number for any individual to file a complaint regarding an alleged prohibited personnel practice committed by a VA officer or employee or the safety of a patient at a VA medical facility.

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to refer to the Director for investigation any such complaint the Secretary receives directly. Prohibits the Secretary from referring any such complaint to any other element of the VA.

Requires the Secretary to ensure that VA employees located at a medical facility are able to efficiently refer any such complaints received to the Director. Prohibits the Director from disclosing the identity of any individual who files such a complaint without the individual's consent, except when necessary because of an imminent danger to public health or safety or imminent violation of any criminal law.

Requires the Director to: (1) investigate each complaint to determine whether there is a substantial likelihood that it discloses a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, or substantial and specific danger to public health and safety; (2) make such determination within 240 days after its receipt; (3) notify the Secretary upon making a positive determination and refer the complaint, as appropriate, to the head of the appropriate federal department or agency; and (4) coordinate with the VA's Inspector General and Special Counsel to avoid duplicative actions.

Date: 2015-02-26
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to exclude loans made to veterans from the definition of a "member business loan," thus excluding them from the limit on the total amount of member business loans a credit union may have outstanding.

Date: 2015-02-26
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Access to Timely Information Act

Deems the submission of information by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of either the House of Representatives or the Senate in response to a request by the chairman or ranking member (or designee) of such Committees or of a subcommittee such Committees to be: (1) a covered disclosure of certain records maintained on individuals submitted without the written request or prior written consent of the individual to whom the record pertains; and (2) a permitted disclosure under regulations promulgated under specified provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, including certain authorized oversight activities.

Directs the Secretary, when responding to a request for information by such a member other than a chairman, to also submit such information to the relevant House or Senate Committee chairman.

Date: 2015-02-26
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Cemetery Benefit Correction Act

Extends the requirement that the Department of Veterans Affairs  provide an outer burial receptacle for each new grave of a veteran, a veteran's spouse, or a veteran's dependent in which remains are interred in a casket in Arlington National Cemetery or in an open cemetery under the control of the the National Cemetery Administration to each such grave in an open cemetery under the control of the National Park Service.

Date: 2015-02-27
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Gold Star Fathers Act

Includes as a preference eligible for federal employment purposes a parent (currently, the mother only) of either an individual who lost his or her life under honorable conditions while serving in the Armed Forces during a war, in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized, or during the period beginning April 28, 1952, and ending July 1, 1955, or a service-connected permanently and totally disabled veteran, if: (1) the spouse of such parent is totally and permanently disabled; or (2) such parent, when preference is claimed, is unmarried or legally separated from his or her spouse.

Date: 2015-03-03
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Work for Warriors Act of 2015

 Authorizes the Department of Defense (DOD) to carry out a pilot program to enhance DOD's efforts to provide job placement assistance and related employment services to members of the National Guard and Reserves and veterans of the Armed Forces. Requires the program to follow a job placement program model that focuses on working one-on-one with a member of a reserve component to cost-effectively provide job placement services.

Requires DOD to: (1) develop outcome measurements to evaluate the success of the program, and (2) report to the congressional defense committees on program results.

Terminates the authority to carry out the program on September 30, 2018, with an authorized extension for up to two additional fiscal years.

Date: 2015-03-03
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
World War II Merchant Mariner Service Act

Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to accept additional documentation for verifying that an individual performed honorable service as a coastwise merchant seaman during the period beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on December 31, 1946, for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits under the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977. Requires such documentation to include Social Security Administration records and validated testimony in the case of the absence of Coast Guard shipping or discharge forms, ship logbooks, documents, or other official employment records.

Requires the Secretary, when determining whether to recognize service allegedly performed during such period, to recognize masters of seagoing vessels or other command officers who were authorized to document an individual for purposes of hiring for or discharging from the merchant marine.

Considers any service so recognized as active-duty service for purposes of veterans' burial benefits. Makes such veterans eligible for any appropriate military medals, ribbons, and decorations. Requires the Secretary to verify that an individual performed such service under honorable conditions without regard to their sex, age, or disability during the service period.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Disabled Veterans Commissary and Exchange Store Benefits Act

Permits a veteran with any compensable service-connected disability (and the veteran's dependents) to use commissary and exchange stores on the same basis as a member of the Armed Forces entitled to retired or retainer pay.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
VA Appeals Backlog Relief Act

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that a Department of Veterans Affairs regional office certifies a VA Form 9, Appeal to Board of Veterans' Appeals, submitted by a veteran to appeal a decision relating to a claim, within one year after receiving such form.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business Relief Act

(Sec. 2) 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 VA service-disabled small business contracting goals and preferences for: (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.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2015

Requires (current law authorizes) the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to accept, for purposes of establishing a claim for veterans disability benefits, a report of a medical examination administered by a private physician without requiring confirmation by a Veterans Health Administration physician if the report is sufficiently complete. Defines "sufficiently complete" as competent, credible, probative, and containing such information as required to make a decision on the claim for which the report is provided.

Requires the Secretary to submit: (1) a report on the progress of the VA's Acceptable Clinical Evidence initiative in reducing the necessity for in-person disability examinations, and (2) an annual report for each VA regional office regarding claims for which private medical evidence was determined to be unacceptable.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to award the Distinguished-Service Cross to Edward Halcomb for acts of extraordinary heroism from August 20, 1950, to October 19, 1950, during the Korean War, notwithstanding otherwise applicable time limitations.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Defense (Other)
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on October 26, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Dignified Interment of Our Veterans Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to study and report to Congress on matters relating to the interring of veterans' unclaimed remains in national cemeteries under the control of the National Cemetery Administration, including:

 the scope of the issues relating to veterans' unclaimed remains, including the estimated number of such remains; the effectiveness of VA procedures for working with persons or entities having custody of unclaimed remains to facilitate their interment in such cemeteries; state and local laws that affect the Secretary's ability to inter unclaimed veterans' remains in such cemeteries; and recommendations for appropriate legislative or administrative action. (Sec. 3) The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 is amended to limit FY2016 awards and bonuses to $2 million for VA employees who are members of the Senior Executive Service.

Date: 2015-03-06
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Beneficiary Fraud Enforcement Act

This bill prohibits a Veterans' Group Life Insurance insuree from designating as a beneficiary any Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee who is in a position of trust with the insured. (Such prohibition includes any doctor, caregiver, or caseworker working directly with the insured, unless such employee is the insured's spouse, child, parent, or other next of kin.)

The VA shall refer to an appropriate legal authority any incident of suspected or alleged fraud relating to a beneficiary designation under any Veterans' Group Life Insurance.

Date: 2015-03-13
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Board of Veterans' Appeals, upon determining that there is insufficient evidence to make a decision in a claimant's appeal case, to take such steps as necessary to develop the evidence needed to make a decision. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that the Board has access to such information as may be necessary to develop such evidence.

Prohibits the Board from remanding any appeal case to the Veterans Benefits Administration.

Date: 2015-03-16
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish a medallion or other device to signify the veteran status of a deceased individual, to be attached to a headstone or marker furnished at private expense, regardless of the date of death of such individual.

Date: 2015-03-16
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Boosting Rates of American Veteran Employment Act or the BRAVE Act

(Sec. 2) Authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in awarding a contract or task order for the procurement of goods or services, to give preference to offerors based on the percentage of the offeror's full-time employees who are veterans.

Requires the debarment from contracting with the VA for not less than five years of any offeror determined to have willfully and intentionally misrepresented the veteran status of its employees.

Date: 2015-03-16
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veteran Education Empowerment Act

Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to award up to 30 four-year grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or consortia of IHEs to establish, maintain, and improve Veteran Student Centers.

Permits a grantee to use a portion of the grant to provide veteran students with supportive instruction services.

Requires a grantee to be an IHE or consortium that: (1) enrolls in undergraduate or graduate courses a significant number or percentage of veterans or members of the Armed Forces, and (2) presents a sustainability plan demonstrating that its Veteran Student Center will be maintained and will continue to operate after the grant ends.

Defines a "Veteran Student Center" as a dedicated space on a campus that provides students who are veterans or members of the Armed Forces with: (1) a lounge or meeting space for themselves, their spouses or partners, and veterans in the community; (2) a centralized office for veteran services that is staffed by trained employees and volunteers and serves as a single point of contact to coordinate veterans support services; and (3) comprehensive academic and tutoring services to veterans.

Requires that office to provide such students with assistance in:

 transitioning from the military to student life, transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce, networking with other veteran students and veterans in the community, understanding and obtaining benefits provided by the IHE and federal and state government for which they may be eligible, understanding how to succeed in the IHE, and understanding their disability-related rights and protections under specified federal laws. Requires the Secretary to develop and implement a website for veteran student services at IHEs, which details best practices for serving veteran students at IHEs.

Date: 2015-03-17
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Education
Pay As You Rate Act

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, prior to adjudicating a claim that requires decisions with respect to two or more disabilities, to make interim payments based on any disability for which the Secretary has already made a decision.

Requires the Secretary, upon claim adjudication, to pay the benefits awarded less the amount of the interim payments.

Date: 2015-03-17
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Eagle Parks Pass Act

Makes the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available at a discount to certain veterans.

Makes a National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass made available under this Act valid for the life of the veteran for whom it was purchased.

Date: 2015-03-19
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to designate at least one city in the United States each year as an "American World War II City" based on the city's: (1) contributions to the war effort during World War II; and (2) efforts to preserve the history of such contributions, including through establishment of preservation organizations or museums, restoration of World War II facilities, and recognition of World War II veterans.

Designates Wilmington, North Carolina, as the first such city.

Date: 2015-03-19
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Keeping our Promises to Veterans Act of 2015

This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 regarding the veterans choice program to:

 reduce the 40-mile radius requirement to 20 miles, and require that the closest medical facility is able to provide a veteran with the care and services needed; reduce the 30-day wait-time goal to 15 days; and require the Veterans Administration (VA) to implement the prompt payment system by the earlier of February 1, 2016, or 180 days after the Comptroller General submits a certain report on the timeliness of VA payments for hospital care, medical services, and other health care furnished by non-VA health care providers.

Date: 2015-03-23
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Provides for the payment of certain accrued benefits to the estate of a deceased veteran upon the veteran's death.

Date: 2015-03-24
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

(Sec. 1) This bill makes permanent the requirement for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out, through the Readjustment Counseling Service of the Veterans Health Administration, a program to provide reintegration and readjustment services in group retreat settings to women veterans who are recently separated from service after a prolonged deployment. (Currently, such program is required as a pilot program under the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010.)

 Such services shall include:

 information on family, employment, and community reintegration; financial and occupational counseling; and information and counseling on stress reduction and conflict resolution.

Date: 2015-03-24
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act

Repeals certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or who would be entitled to retired pay except for being under 60 years of age.

 Prohibits requiring repayment of certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund. Repeals the optional authority of (and instead requires) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse. Directs the Secretary concerned to restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to a surviving child or children of a member.

Date: 2015-03-24
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes the President to award the Medal of Honor to Command Sergeant Major Ramon Rodriguez of the U.S. Army for acts of valor, sacrifice, and courage at the risk of his own life beyond the call of duty during the Vietnam War, notwithstanding otherwise applicable time limitations.

Date: 2015-03-24
Topic: Defense (Other)