zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income stipends received for service as an election judge for any federal, state, or local election or for completing a training course to become an election judge. Defines "election judge" to include poll workers and other individuals performing similar functions.

Date: 2007-10-30
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Taxation
Excludes Members of Congress (including the Vice President and any member of the Senate or the House of Representatives) from the federal employees health benefits (FEHB) program.Authorizes payment or reimbursement of expenses for the cost of health benefits for Members of Congress and eligible family members on vouchers approved and signed by the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, as the case may be.

Date: 2007-11-15
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Congress
Aerial Firefighter Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to provide for death and disability benefits for aerial firefighters who serve the Forest Service or any agency of the Department of the Interior and suffer death or disability in the line of duty. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide for similar eligibility of aerial firefighters for public safety officer death benefits, applicable to a public agency.

Date: 2007-12-05
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Congressional Disclosures Protections Act of 2007 - Amends federal personnel law to: (1) define "covered disclosure" with respect to federal whistleblower protections to mean a disclosure of information made by an employee to either House of Congress or to a congressional committee or staff member which such employee reasonably believes evidences a violation of any law, gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety; (2) allow federal employees to seek de novo review of their whistleblower claims within one year of filing such claims; (3) expand legal remedies for whistleblowers, including triple damages for lost wages, triple attorney fees, and triple compensatory damages; and (4) require the Office of Special Counsel to provide legal representation to whistleblowers, upon request. Amends the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No Fear Act) to expand the reporting requirements of federal agencies relating to reimbursement of the expenses of employees who have filed whistleblower claims.

Date: 2007-12-13
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends federal civil service law to provide for the indexation of deferred annuities, including survivor annuities, under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) and for individuals becoming subject to FERS by election.Terminates the entitlement of a survivor who remarries before age 55 (currently, who remarries at any age) to an annuity based on the service of a deferred annuitant who dies before establishing a valid claim for a CSRS annuity.

Date: 2007-12-18
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2007 - Provides that a federal employee and his or her domestic partner shall be entitled to benefits available to, and shall be subject to obligations imposed upon, a married federal employee and his or her spouse.Defines "domestic partner" to mean an adult unmarried person living with another adult unmarried person of the same sex in a committed, intimate relationship. Defines "benefits" to include federal health insurance and enhanced dental and vision benefits, retirement and disability benefits, family, medical, and emergency leave, group life insurance, long-term care insurance, compensation for work injuries, and benefits for disability, death, or captivity. Excludes members of the uniformed services from the definition of "employee."Sets forth requirements for filing: (1) an affidavit of eligibility as such a domestic partner, which shall include a certification that the employee and the domestic partner are each other's sole domestic partners and intend to remain so indefinitely; and (2) a statement upon dissolution of such a domestic partnership.

Date: 2007-12-19
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends the Federal Law Enforcement Pay Reform Act of 1990 to revise the special pay adjustments for (percentage differentials payable to) federal law enforcement officers in specified consolidated metropolitan statistical areas. Includes Capitol Police as law enforcement officers under such Act. Eliminates the limitation on the aggregate of basic pay and premium pay with respect to availability pay for federal criminal investigators.

Date: 2007-12-19
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Citizenship Processing Backlog Reduction Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive the application of provisions relating to annuities and pay on reemployment or any similar legal provision under a government retirement system on a case-by-case basis with respect to any annuitant who is reemployed on a temporary basis to: (1) process applications for naturalization filed from January 31-September 30, 2007; or (2) otherwise help the Secretary to reduce or eliminate the existing backlog of applications for naturalization.Provides that: (1) an annuitant as to whom such a waiver is in effect shall not be considered an employee for purposes of any government retirement system; and (2) no waiver under this Act may be granted after December 31, 2008, or remain in effect after December 31, 2009.

Date: 2007-12-19
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Immigration
Provides that no automatic pay adjustment shall be considered to have taken effect in FY2009 in the rates of basic pay for Members of Congress under the statutory pay system (thus eliminating the pay adjustment for Members for such fiscal year).

Date: 2008-01-22
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Congress
Members of Congress Personal Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2008 - Provides that no automatic pay adjustment shall be considered to have taken effect in FY2008 in the rates of basic pay for Members of Congress under the statutory pay system (thus eliminating the automatic pay adjustment for Members for such fiscal year).

Date: 2008-01-22
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Congress
Civil Service Reform Commission Act of 2008 - Establishes the Civil Service Reform Commission to study and report to the President and Congress on: (1) the federal compensation system; (2) recruiting individuals for the federal workforce; (3) expediting and improving hiring processes; (4) retaining a high-quality federal workforce and providing continuing professional education to maintain the quality of such workforce; (5) policies and barriers related to the termination of under-performing workers; (6) the role and oversight of federal contractors and issues related to contractor assumption of traditionally federal duties; and (7) proposed legislation to implement recommended improvements.

Date: 2008-02-14
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2002 to authorize the Committee on House Administration, by regulation, to provide for the payment of salaries with respect to a month on a date other than the date provided under the Act as may be necessary to conform to generally accepted accounting practices. (Currently, the usual day for paying salaries in or under the House of Representatives is the last day of each month; except that if the last day of a month falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal public holiday, the Chief Administrative Officer of the House pays such salaries on the first weekday which precedes the last day.) Makes technical amendments to the federal criminal code with respect to the one-year ban on lobbying contacts by certain former officers and staff of the Senate and personal, committee, and leadership staff of the House of Representatives. Changes from at least 60 days to more than two months during the one-year period before their service terminated their payment of a salary equal to or greater than 75% of the salary of the Member of the chamber in which he or she was employed. Makes the same change with respect to specified employees of other legislative offices. Amends Rule XXXVII (Conflict of Interest) of the Standing Rules of the Senate to make the same change with respect to its one-year ban on lobbying contacts by a former Senate officer or employee (with any Senator or Senate officer or employee).

Date: 2008-02-26
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Congress
Includes an unmarried dependent child who is under 25 years of age (currently, under age 22) or incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical disability that existed before age 25 (currently, before age 22) as a member of a federal employee's family who is eligible for coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

Date: 2008-03-06
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Entitles federal employees who satisfy age and service requirements for immediate or early retirement under the Federal Employees' Retirement System or the Foreign Service Pension System and who are separated from service or transferred to a position not subject to either of those retirement systems to a lump-sum payment for 15% of the amount of their accumulated sick leave exceeding 500 hours.Prohibits such a payment from exceeding $10,000. Excludes hours of sick leave that are creditable in the computation of any other compensation or benefit.

Date: 2008-03-10
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Congressional Review Act Improvement Act - Repeals the requirement that federal agencies must submit rules (and related reports) that are published in the Federal Register to both Houses of Congress before such rules can take effect (thus making the Comptroller General the sole recipient of such rules).Requires the Comptroller General to submit to each House of Congress a weekly report containing a list of the rules received by the Comptroller General, including a notation indicating whether or not a rule is a major rule. Requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate to publish in the Congressional Record each report received from the Comptroller General and a statement of referral to the committee or committees responsible for the review of the rules in each such report.

Date: 2008-03-11
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Congress
Directs the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives to establish a program under which an employing office of the House of Representatives may agree to have payments made from the applicable House accounts to reimburse employees for child care expenses incurred while they are carrying out official duties.

Date: 2008-03-12
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Congress
Fair Share Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code and title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Benefits) of the Social Security Act to treat certain foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies performing services under a contract with the U.S. government as U.S. employers for purposes of Social Security and Medicare employment taxes.

Date: 2008-03-13
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Taxation
Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2008 - Allows federal employees to substitute any available paid leave for any leave without pay available for either the: (1) birth of a child; or (2) placement of a child with the employee for either adoption or foster care. Makes available for any of the 12 weeks of leave an employee is entitled to for such purposes: (1) eight administrative weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth or placement involved; and (2) any accumulated annual or sick leave.Amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to allow the same substitution for covered congressional employees.Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to allow the same substitution for Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Library of Congress employees.Requires GAO to study and report on the feasibility and desirability of providing an insurance benefit to federal employees which affords partial or total wage replacement with respect to periods of qualified leave. Defines "qualified leave" as leave that: (1) is available by reason of the need to care for the spouse, child, or parent of the employee having a serious health condition or by reason of a serious health condition affecting the employee that renders such employee unable to perform the functions of his or her position; and (2) would otherwise be leave without pay.

Date: 2008-04-08
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2008 - Allows federal employees to substitute any available paid leave for any leave without pay available for either the: (1) birth of a child; or (2) placement of a child with the employee for either adoption or foster care. Makes available for any of the 12 weeks of leave an employee is entitled to for such purposes: (1) four administrative weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth or placement involved; and (2) any accumulated annual or sick leave. Authorizes the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to increase the amount of paid parental leave available to up to eight administrative workweeks, based on the consideration of: (1) the benefits provided to the federal government of offering increased paid parental leave, including enhanced recruitment and retention of employees; (2) the cost to the federal government of increasing the amount of paid parental leave that is available to employees; (3) trends in the private sector and in state and local governments with respect to offering paid parental leave; and (4) the federal government's role as a model employer. Amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to allow the same substitution for covered congressional employees.Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to allow the same substitution for Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Library of Congress employees.

Date: 2008-04-14
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Allows federal employees to use up to two days of sick leave per year to perform community service for a charitable organization participating in the Combined Federal Campaign.

Date: 2008-04-29
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to ensure that executive agency employees who receive their pay by electronic funds transfer are given the option of receiving their pay stubs electronically.

Date: 2008-05-15
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: ( 1) modify the exemption from the 10% penalty for premature distributions from governmental employee benefit plans to qualified public safety employees to eliminate the restriction that such plans be defined benefit plans; and (2) exempt from tax penalties certain periodic payments made to qualified public safety employees before the enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (i.e., August 17, 2006).

Date: 2008-05-22
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Taxation
Military Family Support Act of 2008 - Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish a program to authorize a caregiver (a federal employee at least 18 years of age capable of providing care to a child or other dependent family member of a member of the Armed Forces) to use: (1) any available sick leave for the provision of such care in the same manner as annual leave is used; and (2) any federal leave available to that caregiver as though that period of caregiving is a medical emergency. Requires the program to: (1) provide a process for reasonable notice of the need for leave; and (2) protect employees from discrimination or retaliation for the use of leave under this Act and provide the opportunity to appeal a denial of its use. Requires the service member for whom the caregiving is provided to be performing service in support of a contingency operation or in situations for which hostile fire or imminent danger pay is authorized and to designate the caregiver for his or her family. Terminates the program on December 31, 2012.Provides for an offsetting reduction in FY2008 appropriations for the Department of Defense for research, development, test and evaluation.

Date: 2008-06-19
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Disabled Public Safety Officers Fairness Act of 2008 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide for payment of disability benefits to public safety officers who became permanently and totally disabled prior to the enactment of such Act.

Date: 2008-06-24
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Labor and employment
Provides that no automatic pay adjustment shall be considered to have taken effect in FY2009 in the rates of basic pay for Members of Congress under the statutory pay system (thus eliminating the pay adjustment for Members for such fiscal year). Expresses the sense of Congress that any savings resulting from the enactment of this Act should be dedicated to reducing the federal budget deficit.

Date: 2008-06-26
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Congress
Thrift Savings Plan Enhancement Act of 2008 - Revises requirements for participation in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) to require the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to provide regulations for automatic enrollment of new participants to make contributions at the default percentage of basic pay. Allows a default investment in an alternative fund or funds (in lieu of the Government Securities Investment Fund (G Fund)), as the Board may designate in regulations, if an election has not been made with respect to any TSP sums available for investment. Requires the Board to include in the TSP, by regulation, a qualified Roth contribution progam (under which an employee may elect to make designated Roth contributions in lieu of elective deferrals under the retirement plan). Authorizes the Board to permit the addition of self-directed investment options under the TSP if it determines that such an addition would be in the best interests of participants. Limits such investment options to: (1) low-cost, passively-managed index funds that offer diversification benefits; and (2) other appropriate retirement investment vehicles for participants. Deems a participant, in the case of a default investment in the G Fund or an alternative fund, to have: (1) elected to invest in such fund; and (2) executed the acknowledgement of risk otherwise required.

Date: 2008-07-15
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Non-Foreign Area Retirement Equity Assurance Act of 2008 or the Non-Foreign AREA Act of 2008 - Revises federal employee locality-based comparability payments provisions to include U.S. territories and possessions, including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, within a pay locality. Revises the calculation of allowances based on living costs and conditions of environment for pay of employees stationed outside the continental United States or in Alaska to apply it only to areas designated as of December 31, 2008. Provides a formula for adjustment of such rate using a transition schedule for calendar years 2009-2011. Requires adjustment of special rates of pay in such areas in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) or by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for VA personnel. Allows a temporarily raised limitation on the amount of special rates during the transition period.Expresses the sense of Congress that application of this Act to an employee should not result in a decrease in take home pay.Defines as covered employees for purposes of this Act those who are or will be eligible for a cost-of-living allowance (COLA).Allows an employee subject to this Act's transition schedule and who retires from service during the period from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2011, to elect to have the COLA paid during that period considered as basic pay for purposes of annuity computation.Provides procedures for employees to make an irrevocable election to be covered by this Act.

Date: 2008-07-16
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Requires disregard of any hours worked by a firefighter under a qualified trade-of-time arrangement for purposes of any determination relating to federal eligibility for or the amount of any overtime pay.

Date: 2008-07-17
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Healthy Air for Federal Workers Act - Prohibits the smoking of tobacco products in any area outside of any federal executive, legislative, or judicial building which is within 25 feet of any of the building's entrances, exits, windows that open, or ventilation intakes that serve an enclosed area of the building where smoking is prohibited. Excludes the smoking of tobacco products which occurs solely for purposes of research on smoking conducted by an agency. Requires the Administrator of General Services, in conjunction with agency heads, regarding executive branch buildings, and the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, regarding judicial branch buildings, to inform all employees and visitors to such buildings about the smoke-free policy, educate employees about the dangers of exposure to secondhand smoke, and undertake necessary related activities.

Date: 2008-07-22
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Administrative Law Judges Retirement Act of 2008 - Sets forth separate provisions governing Government and employee contributions, annuity eligibility requirements (ten years of service and age 60), early retirement, and annuity computation (2.5% and 1.7%, respectively, of average pay for each year of service) for administrative law judges under the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees' Retirement System.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
National Commission on State Workers' Compensation Laws Act of 2008 - Establishes the National Commission on State Workers' Compensation Laws. Requires the Commission to: (1) review the findings and recommendations of the previous National Commission on State Workmen's Compensation Laws; and (2) study and evaluate state workers' compensation laws to determine their adequacy and whether additional remedies should be available to ensure the payment of benefits and medical care.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Labor and employment
Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2008 or the No FEAR Act of 2008 - Amends the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002, or No FEAR Act of 2002, to require a federal agency, after receiving a final finding of discrimination, to arrange with the Department of the Treasury for a two-year payment schedule for reimbursing the Judgment Fund for its payment to a federal employee, former federal employee, or applicant for federal employment who has prevailed in an anti-discrimination or whistle blower protection complaint. Requires a federal agency to: (1) give written notification of the rights and protections available to federal employees to any employee of a contractor receiving more than half of its annual gross revenues from federal contracts; and (2) notify its employees annually by email or voice mail of the agency's Internet site. Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report annually to specified congressional and executive entities on the total costs incurred during the fiscal year associated with processing and litigating cases involving prohibited personnel practices. Requires each federal agency to establish performance goals reflective of its efforts to implement such Act. Specifies the No FEAR Institute as a source of training and counseling for federal employees regarding their rights and remedies under antidiscrimination, retaliation, and harassment, as well as whistleblower protection laws. Prescribes disciplinary action an agency must take against a culpable official in: (1) a case in which the official's discriminatory or retaliatory acts have contributed to a loss of life or limb or any other substantial diminishment of an employee's mental or physical health; or (2) other cases of discrimination. Prescribes monetary penalties for each week an agency failed to take action against employees who falsify evidence in a proceeding under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and any agency that becomes aware of a criminal violation to refer the matter to the Department of Justice for prosecution when agency officials are found liable for intimidating or harassing employees that testify before Congress. Directs the Comptroller General to ensure that a No FEAR Oversight Office is created within GAO. Sets the liability limits for federal workplace discrimination cases under Title VII at $300,000 per each claim or alleged violation.

Date: 2008-08-01
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Payments System Protection Act of 2008 - Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) from proposing, prescribing, or implementing any regulation against funding unlawful Internet gambling, including proposed regulations published in the Federal Register on October 4, 2007, except to the extent such regulation: (1) pertains to unlawful Internet sports gambling; or (2) is developed on the record jointly by the Secretary and the Board, after opportunity for an agency hearing with an administrative law judge (or similar official), complete with a definition of "unlawful Internet gambling," and after conducting a full economic impact study of the proposed regulations under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Requires the Secretary and the Board jointly to prescribe interim final regulations governing unlawful Internet sports gambling. Defines "unlawful Internet sports gambling" as bets or wagers placed over the Internet on a lottery, sweepstakes, or other betting, gambling, or wagering scheme based, directly or indirectly on competitive games in which athletes participate (excluding parimutuel animal racing or jai-alai games), or on performances of such athletes in such games. Declares ineffective any regulations to implement certain policies and procedures governing restricted transactions unless such regulations: (1) require the Secretary to compile and maintain a list of unlawful Internet sports gambling businesses; and (2) do not require any person to block or refuse to honor any transaction, or prohibit the acceptance of any product or service of such person, other than in connection with a business on a specified list maintained by the Secretary.

Date: 2008-09-11
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Healthcare Enhancement for Local Public Servants Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend eligibility for tax-free distributions from governmental employee benefit plans for health and long-term care insurance to any retired state or local public employee (currently, limited to retired public safety officers); (2) provide for a tax deduction of such distributions rather than an exclusion from gross income; (3) allow nonitemizing taxpayers to claim such tax deduction; and (4) allow an annual inflation adjustment to the $3,000 distribution limit beginning after 2009.

Date: 2008-09-18
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Taxation
Provides that the pay used to compute monthly compensation based on the death of a federal employee who died from personal injury sustained in the line of duty as a public safety officer, or any survivor annuity under such circumstances, shall be determined based on the pay grade or level which is one grade higher than would otherwise apply.Entitles anyone who is eligible for such monthly compensation or annuity as the survivor of a public safety officer who died on or after January 1, 1974, to: (1) have such compensation or annuity recomputed upon application submitted within 12 months after enactment of this Act; and (2) a lump-sum payment for the period between January 1, 1974, and the date as of which regular monthly compensation or survivor annuity payments are adjusted to reflect the recomputation.

Date: 2008-10-03
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Requires government contributions for health benefits for an individual who first becomes an annuitant by reason of retirement from employment with the United States Postal Service on or after July 1, 1971, or for a survivor of such an individual or of an individual who died on or after that date while employed by the Postal Service, to be paid first from the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund up to the amount contained in the Fund, with any remaining amount paid by the Postal Service (current law requires such contributions to be paid by the Postal Service through September 30, 2016).

Date: 2008-12-09
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Executive Branch Family Leave Act - Entitles a federal employee of the executive branch to paid leave of: (1) eight weeks for giving birth; (2) at least five days for a father for the birth of a child; (3) at least five days for adopting a child; and (4) eight hours during any 12-month period to accompany a child to medical or school appointments.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007 - Amends the federal judicial code to: (1) allow a person appointed as U.S. attorney to serve until the qualification of a U.S. attorney for such district appointed by the President, or the expiration of 120 days after appointment by the Attorney General, whichever is earlier; and (2) provide that, if an appointment so expires, the district court for such district may appoint a U.S. attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled.Applies this Act to any person serving as a U.S. attorney on the day before the enactment of this Act who was appointed by the Attorney General under current law.

Date: 2007-01-09
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Law
Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to eliminate automatic pay adjustments for Members of Congress.

Date: 2007-01-10
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Congress
Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) suicide among veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious problem; and (2) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should take into consideration the special needs of veterans suffering from PTSD in developing and implementing the program required under this Act. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a comprehensive program for reducing the incidence of suicide among veterans. Requires the program to include: (1) a national mental health campaign to increase mental health awareness in the veteran community; (2) mandatory training on suicide and suicide prevention for appropriate Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees and contractor personnel; (3) family education and peer support counseling; (4) veterans' health assessments, counseling, and treatment programs; (5) suicide prevention counselors; (6) research on suicide prevention; (7) treatment programs for veterans suffering from substance abuse; (8) 24-hour veterans' mental health care availability; and (9) a toll-free hotline. Requires a report from the Secretary to Congress on VA programs and activities to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans.

Date: 2007-02-01
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends the the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to provide direct and guaranteed loans, loan guarantees, and grants to complete the construction and rehabilitation of rural critical access hospitals.

Date: 2007-02-15
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Housing and community development
LIHEAP Emergency Reform Act - Amends the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to authorize the Governor of a state to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for: (1) certification of an energy emergency in that state; and (2) an allotment of certain appropriated amounts. Directs the Secretary to adopt prescribed procedures for equitable consideration of such applications.

Date: 2007-02-16
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Social welfare
Senate Family Leave Act - Amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) to entitle a covered legislative branch employee, other than an employee of the House of Representatives, and in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), to paid leave of: (1) eight weeks for giving birth; (2) at least five days for a father (or partner) for the birth of a child; (3) at least five days for adopting a child or taking it into foster care; and (4) eight hours during any 12-month period to accompany a child to medical or school appointments. Applies such leave separately for each child of the employee. Extends certain FMLA employment and benefits protections to such an employee. Prescribes a remedy for any violation of such protections. Applies the paid leave requirements of this Act to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Library of Congress, and each of their employees who has met certain length of employment requirements.

Date: 2007-03-14
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Rhode Island Federal Worker Fairness Act of 2007 - States that the wage schedules and rates applicable to prevailing rate employees in the Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, wage area shall be the same as the wage schedules and rates applicable to prevailing rate employees in the Boston, Massachusetts, wage area.

Date: 2007-03-20
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Federal Supervisor Training Act of 2007 - Revises provisions relating to specific training programs for federal agency supervisors. Requires the head of each federal agency to establish: (1) a program to provide interactive instructor-based training to supervisors on developing and discussing relevant goals and objectives with the employee, communicating and discussing progress on performance goals and objectives and conducting performance appraisals, mentoring and motivating employees and improving employee performance and productivity, effectively managing employees with unacceptable performance, and addressing reports of a hostile work environment, reprisal, or harassment; (2) a program to provide training to supervisors on prohibited personnel practices and processes to enforce employee rights; and (3) a program under which experienced supervisors mentor new supervisors. Requires: (1) supervisors to complete such programs every three years; and (2) regulations prescribed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to include measures by which to assess the effectiveness of agency supervisor training programs. Requires the Director to issue guidance to federal agencies on competencies supervisors are expected to meet in order to effectively manage, and be accountable for managing, the performance of employees. Requires each agency to: (1) develop competencies to assess the performance of each supervisor and, in developing such competencies, to consider such guidance developed by the Director and any other qualifications or factors determined by the agency; (2) assess the overall capacity of the supervisors in the agency to meet such guidance; (3) develop and implement a supervisor training program to strengthen issues identified during such assessment; and (4) measure the effectiveness of that program in improving supervisor competence. Instructs each agency, every year or on any basis requested by the Director, to submit a report to OPM on the progress of such agency in implementing the requirements specified above, including measures used to assess program effectiveness.

Date: 2007-03-22
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Federal Workforce Performance Appraisal and Management Improvement Act of 2007 - Revises provisions relating to the establishment of performance appraisal systems by certain federal agencies. Requires agencies to establish one or more new performance appraisal systems to promote high performance. Revises provisions relating to the responsibilities of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for the development of performance appraisal systems. Revises provisions relating to specific mandatory training programs for supervisors. Revises provisions relating to federal employee pay rates and systems with respect to employees whose performance rating is below the fully successful level to, among other things, prohibit a pay increase for such employees.

Date: 2007-03-29
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Senior Professional Performance Act of 2008 - Amends provisions relating to locality-based comparability payments for federal employees to exempt senior-level (SL) and scientific and professional personnel (ST) employees from limitations on total basic and comparability pay established at level III of the Executive Schedule. Increases the rate of basic pay for certain senior-level positions to level III. Permits a further increase to level II for agencies with a performance appraisal system that has been certified as making meaningful distinctions based on relative performance. Protects employees who are transferred to an agency subject to existing pay limitations from pay reductions. Provides that appointments to positions classified above GS-15 may be made on approval of the appointee's qualifications by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on the basis of qualification standards developed by the agency involved in accordance with criteria prescribed by the Director. Makes the amendments to senior-level pay provisions effective 180 days after enactment. Prohibits a reduction in the rate of basic pay for certain senior-level positions as a result of amendments made by this Act. Limits an agency's certification of performance appraisal systems to 24 months, with an additional extension of up to six months by the Director. Allows extensions of certifications scheduled to expire at the end of 2008 or 2009.

Date: 2007-03-29
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Makes a U.S. citizen employed by the Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission eligible to obtain federal health insurance.

Date: 2007-04-12
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Veterans' Justice Assurance Act of 2007 - Repeals, for judges appointed after the enactment of this Act, the 15-year term limit for members of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). Increases the annual salary for the Court's chief judge. Eliminates the 180-day per-year limit on service of retired Court judges who voluntarily return to such service. Requires recalled judges to receive the pay of current judges only during the period of recall, less the amount of any applicable annuity. Prohibits recall service in excess of five years for judges who are recalled involuntarily. Requires the chief judge to establish guidelines for determining whether recall-eligible judges should be recalled on either a voluntary or involuntary basis. Removes the $30 annual limit on practice and registration fees for those admitted to practice before the Court. Requires an annual report from the chief judge to the congressional veterans' committees summarizing the Court's workload. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Court should be provided with appropriate office space, without undue disruption, inconvenience, or cost. Requires a report from the Administrator of General Services to the veterans' committees on the feasibility of leasing additional space for the Court, and using the entire building in which the Court is now housed as a Veterans Courthouse and Justice Center.

Date: 2007-05-03
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Law Enforcement Officers Retirement Equity Act - Redefines the term "law enforcement officer" under provisions of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) to include: (1) federal employees not otherwise covered by such term whose duties include the investigation or apprehension of suspected or convicted individuals and who are authorized to carry a firearm; and (2) such employees of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whose duties are primarily the collection of delinquent taxes and the securing of delinquent returns. Requires that such service which is performed by an incumbent law enforcement officer be treated: (1) on or after the enactment date of this Act, for all purposes, as service performed as a law enforcement officer, irrespective of how such service is treated under the following; and (2) before, on, or after such date, for purposes of CSRS and FERS, as service performed as such an officer, but only if an appropriate written election is submitted to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) five years after such date or before separation from government service, whichever is earlier. Provides that nothing under current law respecting mandatory separation from government service under CSRS or FERS shall cause the involuntary separation of an officer before the end of the three-year period beginning on such date.

Date: 2007-05-10
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Federal Law Enforcement Pension Adjustment Equity Act of 2007 - Amends the Law Enforcement Pay Equity Act of 2000 to apply a prohibition against treatment of the conversion of positions and members of the U.S. Park Police and the Secret Service Uniformed Division to a new salary schedule and the associated initial adjustments in basic pay rates with respect to any payment made prior to January 1, 2007, as an increase in salary for purposes of increased annuitant pension benefits. (Thus permits cost-of-living adjustments in pension benefits for annuitants of the U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division for payments made in 2007 and in subsequent years.)

Date: 2007-05-10
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Thomas P. O'Hara Public Land Career Opportunity Act of 2007 - Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to provide competitive status to certain permanent federal employees in Alaska after: (1) if the appointment is full-time, the completion of two years of competitive and satisfactory full time service; or (2) if the appointment is less than full time, the period that is equivalent to two years of competitive and satisfactory full time service.

Date: 2007-05-21
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Public Servant Retirement Protection Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to repeal the current windfall elimination provision (WEP) (that reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security) for individuals first performing non-covered service beginning one year after enactment of this Act. Establishes a new formula for the treatment of non-covered earnings in determining Social Security benefits. Applies such formula to individuals subject to the current WEP if the benefit under the new formula would be higher.

Date: 2007-06-19
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Social welfare
Improving Access to Workers' Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act - Amends the Federal Employees' Compensation Act to include nurse practitioners and physician assistants as eligible providers of medical, surgical, and hospital services and supplies under such Act.

Date: 2007-07-17
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to include within the meaning of the term member of the Special Exposure Cohort a Department of Energy (DOE) employee, DOE contractor employee, or atomic weapons employee who was so employed for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days before January 1, 2006, at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California. Provides that a claim that an individual qualifies for compensation or benefits under such Act shall be considered notwithstanding any denial of any other claim for compensation with respect to such individual.

Date: 2007-07-19
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Law
Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2008 - Provides that: (1) specified diseases, including heart disease, lung disease, tuberculosis, hepatatis, human immunodeficiency virus, and specified cancers, of federal employees in fire protection activities shall be presumed to be proximately caused by such employment; (2) the disability or death of such an employee due to such a disease shall be presumed to result from personal injury sustained while in the performance of duty; and (3) such presumptions may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence. Defines an "employee in fire protection activities" as a firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, rescue worker, ambulance personnel, or hazardous material worker, who: (1) is trained in fire suppression; (2) has the legal authority and responsibility to engage in fire suppression; (3) is engaged in the prevention, control, and extinguishment of fires or response to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk; and (4) performs such activities as a primary responsibility of his or her job.Directs the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to examine the implementation of this Act and appropriate scientific and medical data related to the health risks associated with firefighting and to report to Congress on: (1) an analysis of the injury claims made under this Act; (2) an analysis of the available research related to the health risks associated with firefighting; and (3) recommendations for any administrative or legislative actions necessary to ensure that those diseases most associated with firefighting are included in the presumption created by this Act.

Date: 2007-08-01
Topic: Government Operations (Employees)
Subject: Government operations and politics