zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate reported version is repeated here.)

Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) Entitles any federal employee who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 30% or more, during the 12-month period beginning on the first day of employment, to up to 104 hours of leave, without loss or reduction in pay, for purposes of undergoing medical treatment for such disability for which sick leave could regularly be used. Requires the forfeiture of any such leave that is not used during such 12-month period.

Requires such employee to submit to the head of the employing agency certification that such employee used such leave for purposes of being furnished treatment for such disability by a health care provider.

Date: 2015-01-22
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to seek to enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine to conduct a comprehensive review of VA examinations that assess the cognitive impairments of individuals who submit claims for compensation for service-connected traumatic brain injury.

Requires: (1) the Institute, in conducting the review, to convene a group of experts in clinical neuropsychology and other related disciplines; and (2) the review to include a determination of the adequacy of the VA's tools and protocols used in conducting such examinations and the credentials that are necessary for health care specialists and providers to perform the portions of such examinations that assess cognitive functions.

Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress any Institute recommendations for legislative or administrative action to improve the adjudication of claims.

Requires Secretary to seek to enter an agreement with a similar nongovernmental, nonprofit organization to conduct such review if the Secretary is unable to enter into an acceptable agreement with the Institute.

Date: 2015-01-22
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Charlie Morgan Military Spouses Equal Treatment Act of 2015

Revises the definition of "surviving spouse" for purposes of veterans benefits provisions to eliminate the requirement that the person who was the spouse of a veteran at the time of the veteran's death be a person of the opposite sex.

Considers an individual to be a "spouse" if the marriage of the individual is considered valid under the laws of any state.

Date: 2015-01-27
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2015

Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability (under current law, only a disability rated at 50% or more).

Makes eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay those individuals who were retired or separated from military service due to a service-connected disability.

Date: 2015-01-27
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Increasing the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability to Veterans Act of 2016

 This bill requires the reduction of the federal annuities of individuals removed from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Senior Executive Service (SES) if they are convicted of a felony that influenced their performance while employed in such position.

The VA may order the reduction of the federal annuities of individuals who were convicted of such a felony and were subject to removal or transfer from the SES but who left the VA before final action was taken. Such annuities shall be reduced by excluding the covered service performed after the activity that subjects such an individual to transfer or removal occurs.

 An individual whose annuity is reduced may appeal the reduction to the Office of Personnel Management.

 The VA may not place an SES employee on administrative leave for more than a total of 14 days during any 365-day period. The VA may waive such prohibition if it provides Congress with a detailed explanation of the reasons the employee was placed on administrative leave and the reasons for extending such leave.

 The VA shall conduct an annual performance plan for each political appointee that is similar to the plan conducted for career appointee SES employees.

 A supervisor of an employee on probation shall determine, during the 30-day period ending on the date on which the probationary period ends, whether the employee: (1) has demonstrated successful performance, and (2) should continue past the probationary period.

 Each annual performance plan for a supervisor of an employee serving a probationary period shall hold the supervisor accountable for: (1) providing regular feedback to the employee before making a determination regarding such employee's probationary status, and (2) making a timely probationary status determination.

 The evaluation of VA managers shall include actions taken to address employee performance.

 Before terminating VA employment, an official who has participated personally and substantially in a VA acquisition that exceeds $1 million or who held a key acquisitions position at the VA shall obtain a written opinion from a VA ethics counselor regarding any restrictions on activities that the official may undertake on behalf of a contractor during the two-year period after the official terminates VA employment. A contractor may not knowingly provide compensation to such an individual during such two-year period unless the contractor determines that the individual has obtained or requested such written opinion.

Date: 2015-01-28
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Frontlines to Lifelines Act of 2015

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to revive, for a three-year period, VA's Intermediate Care Technician Pilot Program that was carried out between January 2013 and February 2014. Requires VA to: (1) expand the pilot program to include at least 250 intermediate care technicians, and (2) give priority in assigning those technicians to VA facilities at which veterans have the longest wait times.

Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to transfer credentialing data regarding DOD health care providers that are hired by VA to VA.

Authorizes VA to allow a covered nurse to practice independently, without the supervision or direction of others, under a set of VA-approved privileges, regardless of the state in which VA employs the covered nurse. Defines a "covered nurse" as an advanced practice registered nurse who is employed by VA as: (1) a nurse midwife; (2) a clinical nurse specialist, with respect to the provision of mental health care; or (3) a nurse practitioner.

Date: 2015-01-28
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
GI Bill Fairness Act of 2015

Includes as active duty for purposes of eligibility for post-9/11 veterans educational assistance service of a member of a reserve component ordered to active duty to receive authorized medical care, to be medically evaluated, or to complete a required Department of Defense health care study.

Date: 2015-02-26
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: 2015-02-26
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Education
(Sec. 1) This bill provides that if the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) makes an adverse finding that a VA employee has violated a VA policy for which the employee may be removed or suspended, or has violated a law for which the employee may be imprisoned for more than one year, the VA may not award a bonus to such employee until the earlier of the date that:

 is five years after the end of the fiscal year in which the adverse finding was made, or the finding is found to have been made in error. If an adverse finding is made, the VA, after providing notice and an opportunity for a hearing, shall direct the employee to repay any bonus he or she received during the year in which the adverse finding is made, unless such finding is found to have been made in error.

(Sec. 2) If a VA employee receives a reprimand or admonishment the VA shall retain a copy of such reprimand or admonishment in the employee's permanent record as long as he or she is employed by the VA.

Date: 2015-03-03
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2015

 Includes as part of the Republic of Vietnam its territorial seas for purposes of the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure by veterans to certain herbicide agents while in Vietnam.

Date: 2015-03-09
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Dignified Interment of Our Veterans Act of 2015

Requires the Secretary 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 the interment of such remains 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.

Date: 2015-03-10
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Requires the termination of any employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs who is found to have:

 retaliated or threatened to retaliate against any employee or applicant for employment for disclosing what the employee or applicant reasonably believes to be a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety (provided the disclosure is not specifically prohibited by law); retaliated or threatened to retaliate against any employee or applicant for exercising, or assisting another individual in exercising, any appeal, complaint, or grievance right granted by any law, rule, or regulation; or implemented or enforced certain nondisclosure policies, forms, or agreements that conflict with whistleblower protections and employee rights.

Date: 2015-03-18
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Care and Readiness Enhancement for Reservists Act of 2015 or the CARE for Reservists Act of 2015

Authorizes the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide care for behavioral health conditions to any member of the Selected Reserve for whom such Secretary determines, based on the member's most recent medical exam or mental health assessment, that the receipt of such care will ensure that the member meets applicable standards of medical readiness.

Provides funding for such care through the Defense Health Program.

 Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish counseling, which may include a comprehensive individual assessment, to any member of the Selected Reserve who has a behavioral health condition or psychological trauma. States that such counseling or assessment shall not require a prior referral.

Date: 2015-03-23
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
National POW/MIA Remembrance Act of 2015

Directs the Architect of the Capitol to: (1) enter into an agreement to obtain a chair featuring the logo of the National League of POW/MIA Families, and (2) place it in the U.S. Capitol in a suitable permanent location within two years after enactment of this Act.

Date: 2015-03-26
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Congress
Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015

Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to select a VA medical center to serve as the national center for research on the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions of the biological children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren of individuals exposed to toxic substances while serving as members of the Armed Forces that are related to such exposure.

Requires: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) or the head of a federal agency to make available to the VA for review records held by DOD, an Armed Force, or that federal agency that might assist the VA in making determinations regarding individuals and descendents afflicted with a health condition as a result of such exposure; (2) the VA and DOD or such agency head to jointly establish a mechanism for the availability and review of records by the VA; and (3) the national center to employ at least one licensed clinical social worker to coordinate access of individuals to appropriate social and health care programs and to handle case management.

Establishes an Advisory Board to oversee and assess the national center and to advise the VA regarding the center's work.

Directs DOD to declassify documents (other than documents that would materially and immediately threaten national security) related to any known incident in which at least 100 members of the Armed Forces were exposed to a toxic substance that resulted in at least one case of an associated disability.

Directs the VA to conduct a national outreach and education campaign directed toward members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their family members to communicate information on: (1) incidents of exposure of members of the Armed Forces to toxic substances, health conditions resulting from such exposure, and the potential long-term effects; and (2) the national center. Requires DOD and the Department of Health and Human Services to assist the VA in implementing such campaign.

Date: 2015-04-13
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.)

Veterans Entrepreneurship Act

(Sec. 3) Amends the Small Business Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) from assessing a guarantee fee in connection with a loan made under the SBA Express Program to a veteran or spouse of a veteran on or after October 1, 2015.

(Sec. 4) Directs the Administrator to report to Congress on: (1) the feasibility of providing financial planning and counseling to owners of small business concerns who are members of a reserve component prior to deployment; (2) the level of outreach to and consultation with female veterans by women's business centers and veterans business outreach centers; and (3) the Military Reservists Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, which shall include a discussion of SBA outreach efforts to increase participation, the number of loans made, and an analysis of the effectiveness of, and recommendations for improving, the Program.

Date: 2015-04-15
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Commerce
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 would be entitled to such pay, except for being under 60 years of age.

Prohibits recoupment by the Secretary of Defense 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: 2015-04-16
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military and Veteran Caregiver Services Improvement Act of 2015

Expands eligibility for the family caregiver program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to include members of the Armed Forces or veterans who are seriously injured or who became ill on active duty prior to September 11, 2001 (currently, limited to service after September 11, 2001).

Expands services to caregivers of veterans under such program to include child care services, financial planning services, and legal services.

 Terminates the support program for caregivers of covered veterans on October 1, 2020, except that any caregiver activities carried out on September 30, 2020, shall be continued on and after October 1, 2020.

Authorizes the transfer of entitlement to post 9/11 education assistance to family members by veterans who are retired for a physical disability or who are seriously injured veterans in need of family caregiver services, without regard to length-of-service requirements.

Authorizes the VA Secretary to pay monthly special compensation to seriously injured or ill veterans in need of personal care services and to their caregivers.

Authorizes flexible work schedules or telework for federal employees who are caregivers of veterans.

Amends the Public Health Service Act to designate a veteran participating in the program of comprehensive assistance for family caregivers as an adult with a special need for purposes of the lifespan respite care program.

Establishes in the executive branch an interagency working group to review and report on policies relating to the caregivers of veterans and members of the Armed Forces.

Directs the Secretary to provide for studies on members of the Armed Forces who commenced service after September 11, 2001, and veterans who have incurred a serious injury or illness, including a mental health injury, and their caregivers.

Date: 2015-04-23
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Legal Justice for Servicemembers Act of 2015

This bill revises whistle blower protections for members of the Armed Forces.

Prohibited personnel actions shall include:

 a superior's failure to respond to retaliatory action or harassment taken against a subordinate; and action that could be understood as an attempt to dissuade a service member from making or preparing a communication, or participating in any other activity. A service member may opt out of a military branch investigation in favor of an investigation by the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General (DODIG).

An investigating Inspector General (IG) may impose a 90-day stay of a personnel action, which may be extended by the military department concerned to complete an investigation, in order to prevent undue hardship to a service member if reasonable grounds exist to believe that a prohibited personnel action has occurred.

Periodic notice must be given to service members on the progress of IG investigations.

IG recommendations for disposition of complaints must include recommendations for disciplinary actions against the person who committed the prohibited personnel action, against a superior who knew or should have known but failed to address the action, or both.

An investigating IG shall submit a substantiated investigation to the appropriate military corrections board unless the service member requests otherwise.

Service members may request a corrections board hearing under specified circumstances.

DODIG shall prescribe uniform standards for: (1) investigation of allegations of prohibited personnel actions, and (2) staff training.

The investigative evidentiary burden of proof shall be "clear and convincing evidence."

Provisions are revised for improvements to authorities and procedures for correction of military records, including permitting a claimant to seek judicial review of a board's determination in an appropriate U.S. court.

The Inspector General Act of 1978 is amended to include the Inspectors General of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the National Guard Bureau, and the Coast Guard in the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.

Date: 2015-04-29
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Appeals Assistance and Improvement Act of 2015

This bill directs the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to establish a financial assistance program to provide legal and other assistance without charge for veterans and other persons seeking Court review who are unable to afford legal representation costs. (Programs include case screening and referral, training for attorney and related personnel, and facilitation of pro bono representation by members of the bar and law school clinical and other programs.)

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) shall establish a financial assistance program to provide legal and other assistance without charge to veterans and other persons seeking review by the Board of Veterans' Appeals who are unable to afford legal representation costs.

The Court and the VA shall each carry out such programs through an interagency agreement with the Legal Services Corporation. The Corporation may receive a reimbursable payment from the Court or VA for providing such financial assistance. Funds may not be used for the payment of attorney's fees.

VA shall provide for the expeditious treatment by the Board of any claim that: (1) is remanded to VA by the Court, or (2) has been pending before the Board for eight years or more.

The Government Accountability Office shall review the processing of appeals of VA decisions regarding service-connected disability and dependency and indemnity compensation claims.

Date: 2015-05-11
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate reported version is repeated here.)

Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase, as of December 1, 2015, the rates of veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children.

 Requires each such increase to be the same percentage as the increase in benefits provided under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, on the same effective date.

Directs the VA to publish the increased amounts in the Federal Register.

 Authorizes the VA to adjust administratively, consistent with the increases made by this Act, the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who have not received compensation for a service-connected disability.

Date: 2015-06-03
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Ensuring Department of Veterans Affairs Employee Accountability Act

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

Date: 2015-06-03
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
This bill requires that a military working dog be retired in the United States, except when a U.S. citizen living abroad adopts the dog at the time of retirement.

Amounts available to the military department concerned shall be available for such dog's transport to the United States for retirement.

Date: 2015-06-03
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: 2015-06-04
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
VOW to Hire Heroes Extension Act of 2015

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2018 the work opportunity tax credit for hiring a qualified veteran (defined as an unemployed veteran who is certified as being a member of a family receiving food stamp assistance and who is entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability), (2) revise tax credit eligibility requirements for documenting the status of veterans and their receipt of unemployment compensation, and (3) extend the payroll tax offset for such credit to certain for-profit employers.

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

Requires the Department of the Treasury to pay: (1) each U.S. possession (i.e., American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) with a mirror code tax system amounts equal to the loss to such possession due to this Act; and (2) each U.S. possession without such a tax system an amount estimated to equal the loss to such possession that would have occurred due to this Act if such a tax system had been in effect in that possession.

Date: 2015-06-04
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Taxation
Veterans Court of Appeals Support Act of 2015

This bills makes permanent the maximum number of judges presiding over the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to nine judges.

Date: 2015-07-14
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
World War II Merchant Mariner Service Act

Requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 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 DHS, 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 DHS to verify that an individual performed such service under honorable conditions without regard to their sex, age, or disability during the service period.

Date: 2015-07-15
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Connect with Veterans Act of 2015

Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a program to facilitate VA outreach to veterans, primary state agencies for the administration of veterans' benefits and services, political subdivisions of states, and Indian tribes.

Requires the VA, to carry out such program, to: (1) establish a national veterans directory, and (2) share directory information with any such entities from which a participating individual has expressed interest in receiving information.

Prohibits: (1) the VA from selling information collected under this Act, (2) the VA or any participating entity from sharing such information with a non-participating entity, or (3) any participating entity from using any such information for any political communication or from requiring any participating individual to purchase any product or service.

Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to: (1) provide to each member of the Armed Forces separating from service a form for the collection of information to be included in the directory, (2) ensure that completion of the form is voluntary, and (3) take steps to protect the privacy of individuals and the security of information.

Directs DOD and the Department of Labor jointly to take steps to integrate the collection of information under this Act into the Transition Assistance Program.

Date: 2015-07-16
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Los Angeles Homeless Veterans Leasing Act of 2015

This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out certain leases at the VA's West Los Angeles Campus in Los Angeles, California, for: (1) supportive housing; (2) health, education, family support, vocational training, and other services that principally benefit veterans and their families; and (3) a lease of real property to a California institution that has had a long-term medical affiliation with the VA at such Campus.

Date: 2015-09-09
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
This bill increases the special monthly pension for living Medal of Honor recipients.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) shall not make an annual pension increase for such recipients, effective December 1, 2016, if the increased monthly pension under this Act takes effect before such date. If the VA does not make the December 1, 2016 increase, however, annual increases shall resume as of December 1, 2017.

Date: 2015-09-10
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
This bill extends for five years the Department of Veterans Affairs presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicides, including Agent Orange, with respect to veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975.

Date: 2015-09-25
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Wounded Warrior Employment Improvement Act of 2015

Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop and publish an action plan for improving the training and rehabilitation services and assistance provided by the VA for veterans with service-connected disabilities.

Requires such plan to include:

 a comprehensive analysis of, and recommendations and a proposed implementation plan for remedying, workload management challenges at VA regional offices, including steps to reduce counselor case loads of veterans participating in a rehabilitation program; a comprehensive analysis of the reasons for the disproportionately low percentage of veterans with service-connected disabilities who served in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001, who opt to participate in a VA rehabilitation program relative to the percentage of such veterans who use their entitlement to VA educational assistance; recommendations and a proposed implementation plan for encouraging more veterans with service-connected disabilities who served in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001, to participate in VA rehabilitation programs; and a national staff training program for vocational rehabilitation counselors, that includes the provision of training to assist counselors in understanding the very profound disorientation experienced by warriors because of their injury, training to assist counselors in working in partnership with veterans on individual rehabilitation plans, and training on post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions and on moderate to severe traumatic brain injury that is designed to improve the ability of such counselors to assist veterans with such conditions.

Date: 2015-09-30
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Justice Outreach Act of 2015

This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a program to support veterans in contact with the criminal justice system by discouraging unnecessary criminalization of mental illness and other nonviolent crimes.

The program shall be carried out in partnership with local law enforcement, judicial, and community-based treatment and legal assistance organizations.

 The VA shall establish coordinators to provide program outreach.

Date: 2015-10-01
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Save Oak Flat Act

This bill amends the Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 to repeal the authorization and requirement for a land exchange between the Department of Agriculture and Resolution Copper Mining, LLC. under which 2,422 acres of Forest Service land located in Pinal County, Arizona, are to be exchanged for various parcels of land owned by Resolution Copper.

Date: 2015-11-05
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
This bill authorizes the President to award the Medal of Honor to Charles S. Kettles for acts of valor during the Vietnam War.

Date: 2015-11-05
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans Act of 2015 or the HIRE Vets Act

This bill directs the Department of Labor to establish a HIRE Vets Medallion Program to solicit voluntary information from employers for purposes of recognizing, by the award of a HIRE Vets Medallion, verified efforts by these employers to: (1) recruit, employ, and retain veterans; and (2) provide community and charitable services supporting the veteran community.

Date: 2015-11-10
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
VA Patient Protection Act of 2015

 This bill establishes an additional method for filing whistle blower complaints in which a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee may file such complaints with his or her immediate and next-level supervisors, and ultimately with the VA after having properly filed a complaint at each supervisory level.

If a supervisor makes a positive determination regarding such complaint the VA shall: (1) inform the employee of the ability to volunteer for a transfer, and (2) give preference to such transfer.

The VA may not exempt any employee from such whistle blower coverage.

The central whistle blower office shall be responsible for investigating all VA whistle blower complaints, regardless of whether such complaints are made by or against an employee who is not a Senior Executive Service member.

The VA shall carry out specified adverse actions against a supervisor who commits a prohibited personnel action relating to a whistle blower complaint.

 A supervisor who commits a prohibited personnel action shall not be paid any award or bonus for a one-year period, and any award or bonus paid during that period shall be recouped.

VA employees shall receive annual whistle blower complaint training.

Congressional testimony by a VA employee in his or her official capacity shall be considered official duty, and the VA shall provide any such employee with travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, during the period when the employee is so testifying.

Date: 2015-11-17
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reissue veterans benefits to a beneficiary in all cases of fiduciary misuse.

The VA shall pay the beneficiary or the successor fiduciary an amount equal to the misused benefits.

 VA access to fiduciary-held financial accounts shall be increased by requiring any fiduciary to authorize the VA to obtain any financial record held by an institution regarding the fiduciary or the beneficiary whenever the VA determines that such record is necessary:

 for the administration of a VA program; or to safeguard the beneficiary's benefits against neglect, misappropriation, embezzlement, or fraud.

Date: 2015-11-19
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Biological Implant Tracking and Veteran Safety Act of 2015

 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to:

 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 VA medical facilities; permit a vendor to use any of the accredited entities identified by the FDA as an issuing agency; implement a compatible system for tracking implants from human donor or animal source to implantation; and implement inventory controls compatible with such tracking system so that patients who have received a biological implant in a VA medical facility subject to FDA recall can be appropriately notified. The bill also prescribes 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. Such a vendor must:

 use the standard identification system adopted or implemented by VA under this Act; be registered as required by FDA procedures; consent to periodic VA inspections and audits regarding records and product handling; agree 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, or by FDA request or statutory order; agree to notify the VA within 60 days of any adverse event report it provides to the FDA, or of any FDA warning letter issued to the vendor; and agree to retain all records associated with the procurement of a biological implant by the VA for at least 10 years. The VA shall: (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, and (3) procure biological implants that are unavailable under such Schedules using competitive procedures in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

 Any VA procurement employee responsible for a biological implant procurement transaction with intent to avoid, or with reckless disregard of, the requirements of this Act shall be 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.

 Certain biological implants may be temporarily procured by the VA without relabeling under the standard identification system.

Date: 2015-11-30
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.)

Fiscal Year 2016 Department of Veterans Affairs Seismic Safety and Construction Authorization Act

(Sec. 2) This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out the following major medical facility projects (each with specified maximum authorized funds):

 seismic corrections to buildings, including retrofitting and replacement of high-risk buildings, in San Francisco, California; seismic corrections to facilities, including facilities to support homeless veterans, at the medical center in West Los Angeles, California; seismic corrections to the mental health and community living center in Long Beach, California; construction of an outpatient clinic, administrative space, cemetery, and columbarium in Alameda, California; realignment of medical facilities in Livermore, California; construction of a medical center in Louisville, Kentucky; construction of a replacement community living center in Perry Point, Maryland; and seismic corrections and other renovations to several buildings and construction of a specialty care building in American Lake, Washington. A specified amount is authorized to be appropriated to the VA for such projects for FY2016 or the year in which funds are appropriated for the Construction, Major Projects, account.

 Such projects may only be carried out using:

 funds appropriated for FY2016 pursuant to such authorization; funds available for Construction, Major Projects, for a fiscal year before, or a fiscal year after, FY2016 that remain available for obligation; funds appropriated for Construction, Major Projects, for FY2016 for a category of activity not specific to a project; and funds appropriated for Construction, Major Projects, for a fiscal year before, or a fiscal year after, FY2016 for a category of activity not specific to a project.

Date: 2015-12-18
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Women Airforce Service Pilot Arlington Inurnment Restoration Act of 2016

This bill directs the Department of the Army to ensure that the cremated remains of persons who served as Women's Air Forces Service Pilots are eligible for inurnment in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

Date: 2016-01-11
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Express Appeals Act of 2016

This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 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.

Appeals filed under the pilot program are described as "fully developed appeals."

A claimant may elect to file a fully developed appeal by filing with the VA: (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.

 A claimant who elects the pilot program may elect to revert to the standard appeals process at any time. Such reversion, however, shall be final.

 Such a claimant or an electing claimant who is later determined to be ineligible for the pilot program shall revert to the standard appeals process without any penalty other than the loss of docket number.

The VA shall transfer jurisdiction over a fully developed appeal directly to the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

The Board shall:

 maintain fully developed appeals on a separate docket; hear fully developed appeals in the order received; 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 decide each fully developed appeal within one year of a claimant's filing the notice of disagreement. A claimant may not submit or identify to the Board any new evidence relating to a fully developed appeal after filing such appeal unless the claimant reverts to the standard appeals process.

The Board shall establish an office to develop necessary federal records, independent medical opinions, and new medical exams.

The Board may not provide hearings for fully developed appeals.

Date: 2016-01-28
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Medal of Honor Surviving Spouses Recognition Act of 2016

This bill requires the payment of a Medal of Honor special pension to the surviving spouse of a deceased Medal of Honor recipient if that person was married to the recipient for: (1) at least one year; or (2) any period of time if a child was born of the marriage, or was born to them before the marriage.

The special pension for a living Medal of Honor recipient is increased to $1,299.61 per month.

Date: 2016-02-04
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Sexual Assault Victims Empowerment Act or the Military SAVE Act

This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to make eligible for treatment in a non-Department of Veterans Affairs entity any veteran who was the victim of a sexual trauma which occurred while the veteran was serving on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training.

Date: 2016-02-09
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide transportation on scheduled and unscheduled military flights within the continental United States and on scheduled overseas flights on a space-available basis for veterans with a service-connected, permanent disability rated as total.

 In establishing space-available transportation priorities under the travel program, DOD shall provide transportation on the same basis as such transportation is provided to members of the armed forces entitled to retired or retainer pay.

Date: 2016-02-25
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act

 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a center of excellence in the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, and rehabilitation of health conditions relating to exposure to open burn pits and other environmental exposures in Afghanistan or Iraq.

The VA shall, in selecting the center's site, consider entities that:

 are equipped with the specialized equipment needed to study, diagnose, and treat health conditions relating to such exposure; have a publication track record of post-deployment health exposures among veterans who served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom; have collaborated with a geosciences department that has a medical geology division; have developed animal models and in vitro models of dust immunology and lung injury consistent with the injuries of members of the Armed Forces who served in support of such operations; and have expertise in allergy and immunology, pulmonary diseases, and industrial and management engineering. The VA shall ensure that the center collaborates with the Department of Defense (DOD), institutions of higher education, and other appropriate public and private entities to:

 provide for dissemination within the VA of best practices for the treatment of such conditions and the training of health professionals; provide guidance for the VA and DOD health systems in determining the personnel required to provide quality health care for members of the Armed Forces and veterans with such conditions; establish, implement, and oversee a comprehensive program to train VA and DOD health professionals in the treatment of such conditions; facilitate advancements in the study of the short-term and long-term effects of such exposure; conduct basic science and translational research on such conditions for the purposes of understanding the etiology of such conditions and developing preventive interventions and new treatments; and provide medical treatment to all veterans identified as part of the burn pits registry established under the Dignified Burial and Other Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2012. The center shall have access to and make use of the data accumulated by such registry.

Date: 2016-03-15
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security