zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a grant program to provide innovative transportation options to veterans in highly rural areas in order to assist such veterans in traveling to VA medical centers for medical care. Requires the Secretary to conduct outreach to educate veterans and their family members about the availability of such transportation.

Directs the Secretary to carry out a pilot program, at rural VA medical centers, for the implementation of electronic health record systems that allow for full interoperability of personal health care information between the Department of Defense (DOD) and the VA.

Date: 2013-03-13
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes and requests the President to award the Medal of Honor posthumously to former Major Dominic S. Gentile, U.S. Army Air Forces, for acts of valor as a pilot during World War II.

Date: 2013-03-18
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veteran Excellence Through Education Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to make grants, during FY2014-FY2019, to minority-serving institutions for establishing verified delivery systems to address social and academic problems facing enrolled veterans.

Includes among authorized grant activities: (1) educational services, including courses in English as a second language, financial literacy workshops and courses, and health and wellness programs; (2) increased access to workforce services; (3) support services such as housing, transportation, and child care; and (4) establishing a veteran support team.

Requires an institution, in order to receive such a grant, to submit to the Secretary a program plan and strategy to meet the needs of enrolled veterans.

Date: 2013-03-19
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Sequester Pakistan Act - Prohibits foreign assistance for Pakistan until expenditures for the Department of Defense (DOD) military tuition assistance program for FY2013 are at least equal to FY2012 program expenditures.

Date: 2013-03-19
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: International affairs
Authorizes payment under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) beneficiary travel program of travel expenses in connection with medical examination, treatment, or care of a veteran with vision impairment, a spinal cord injury or disorder, or double or multiple amputations whose travel is in connection with care provided through a VA special disabilities rehabilitation program, if such care is provided: (1) on an inpatient basis, or (2) while a veteran is provided temporary lodging at a VA facility in order to make such care more accessible.

Requires a report from the Secretary to the congressional veterans committees on the travel program.

Date: 2013-03-20
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
World War II Merchant Mariner Service Act - Directs the Secretary 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 (SSA) records and validated testimony in the case of the absence of Coast Guard shipping or discharge forms, ship logbooks, documents, or other official employment records.

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

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

Date: 2013-03-20
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Sets forth the responsibilities of each Director and Assistant Director of Veterans' Employment and Training (assigned to each state by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs [VA] from among personnel within the Veterans' Employment and Training Service), including: (1) monitoring the performance of veterans' training and employment programs, with special emphasis on services to disabled veterans; (2) addressing performance deficiencies and establishing higher performance goals; (3) reviewing program funding and assisting with funding requests; and (4) conducting outreach to inform employers of their rights and responsibilities with respect to the hiring of veterans.

Date: 2013-03-21
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on August 1, 2013. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Helping Heroes Fly Act - Directs the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]) to develop and implement a process to ease travel and to the extent possible provide expedited passenger screening services for severely injured or disabled Armed Forces members and veterans, and their accompanying family members or nonmedical attendants.

Requires the Assistant Secretary also to maintain an operations center to provide for the movement of such members and veterans through screening before boarding a domestic or foreign passenger aircraft.

Directs the Assistant Secretary to establish and publish certain protocols for severely injured or disabled Armed Forces members and veterans or their family members and others to contact the operations center to request expedited screening services for that member or veteran.

Declares that nothing in this Act shall affect the Assistant Secretary's authority to require additional screening of such individuals if intelligence, law enforcement, or other information indicates that it is necessary.

Directs the Assistant Secretary to report annually to Congress on implementation of the program.

Date: 2013-03-21
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Amends the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 to permit retraining assistance under the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program to be used by a veteran to pursue a program of education for training on a less than full-time basis if the program consists of at least 16 seat-time hours (or the equivalent).

Date: 2013-03-21
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act - Requires the United States to forgive any overpayment of military retired or retainer pay for any period after the death of the recipient through the last day of the month in which such death occurs, if such payment is electronically deposited to a joint account bearing the name of the decedent and the decedent's designated beneficiary.

Provides a special effective date for the first annuity payment to a survivor under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) when an overpayment is so forgiven.

Date: 2013-03-21
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the House on December 10, 2013. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

VA Expiring Authorities Extension Act of 2013 - (Sec. 4) Extends through FY2015 the authorization of appropriations to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for: (1) payment by the VA Secretary of a monthly assistance allowance to disabled veterans (veterans) and members of the Armed Forces (members) training or competing for the U.S. Paralympic Team, and (2) a program for establishing and carrying out related programs and events.

(Sec. 5) Allows any entity with significant experience in managing large-scale adaptive sports programs (under current law, only the United States Olympic Committee) to receive VA grants for planning, developing, managing, and implementing programs to provide adaptive sports opportunities for veterans and members. Extends funding assistance to include any such opportunities occurring during FY2010-FY2016. Requires a report from the Comptroller General on the use of such funds during the first program year after the date of enactment of this Act.

(Sec. 6) Extends through 2014: (1) VA authority to transport individuals to and from VA facilities in connection with vocational rehabilitation, counseling, examination, treatment, or care; (2) VA authority to operate a regional office in the Republic of the Philippines; (3) the VA requirement to provide nursing home care to any veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 70% or more and in need of such care; (4) VA authority to provide treatment, rehabilitation, and related services for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans; (5) VA authority to provide expanded services and housing assistance to homeless veterans; (6) the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans; (7) the Veterans' Advisory Commission on Education; and (8) the temporary authority for the performance of VA medical disability examinations by contract physicians.

(Sec. 13) Extends through FY2014 VA requirements resulting from default on VA-guaranteed loans.

Date: 2013-03-25
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Equal Justice for Our Military Act of 2013 - Amends the federal judicial code to allow for review by writ of certiorari of certain cases denied relief or review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Declares that the time for application for such a writ shall be as prescribed by rules of the Supreme Court.

Date: 2013-04-09
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Law
Veterans Pensions Protection Act of 2013 - Excludes from annual income, for purposes of eligibility for pensions for veterans and their surviving spouses and children, reimbursements resulting from: (1) any accident; (2) any theft or loss; (3) any casualty loss; (4) medical expenses resulting from any such accident, theft, or loss; and (5) pain and suffering (including insurance settlement payments and general damages awarded by a court) related to such accident, theft, or loss.

Date: 2013-04-09
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Filipino Veterans Fairness Act of 2013 - Deems certain service performed before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Scouts as active military service for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in determining eligibility under this Act, to take into account any relevant service documentation, including documentation other than the Missouri List (the list of all discharged and deceased veterans from the 20th century).

Date: 2013-04-09
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Work-Study for Student Veterans Act - Reauthorizes through June 30, 2018 (under current law, the authorization expires as of June 30, 2013) certain qualifying work-study activities for individuals receiving educational assistance through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Date: 2013-04-09
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Recovering Service Members Disability Benefits Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to create an exception from the required waiting period for disability insurance benefits in the case of recovering service members (of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or a Reserve component, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy while recovering from a serious bodily injury or physical illness related to the member's military service).

Date: 2013-04-11
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Social welfare
Establishes as an independent commission the Commission on America and its Veterans to: (1) submit to the President and Congress suggestions for ceremonies and events to acknowledge the wars recently fought and the heroism displayed by members of the Armed Forces; (2) report to the President and Congress on Commission findings, conclusions, and recommendations with respect to any deficiency in how the United States welcomes back such members; (3) begin convening conversations on the effect of war on members, their families, and the local communities, as well as addressing the reintegration experience and the gap between the military, veterans, and civilian life; and (4) submit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) recommendations regarding activities of the Office of Armed Services and Veterans Public Outreach (established under this Act).

Date: 2013-04-11
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veteran's I.D. Card Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to issue a veteran's identification card to any veteran who requests such card and is neither entitled to military retired pay nor enrolled in the VA system of patient enrollment. Requires such card, among other things, to: (1) display their name and photograph, and (2) serve as proof that the veteran honorably served in the Armed Forces and has a DD-214 form or other official document in their personnel file that describes their military service. Directs the Secretary to charge a card fee. States that such card shall not serve as proof of entitlement to any benefits.

Date: 2013-04-17
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
VA Claims Efficiency Through Information Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to maintain on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) website publicly accessible information concerning pending and completed claims of compensation for a veteran's service-connected disability or death. Requires such information to include the number of claims pending and completed, and the average number of days between submission and completion, within certain periods.

Requires the information provided to be updated at least every seven days.

Date: 2013-04-18
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Transportation Service Act - Makes permanent (under current law, expires on January 10, 2014) the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to transport individuals to and from facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in connection with vocational rehabilitation, counseling, examination, treatment, or care.

Date: 2013-04-24
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
VA Claims, Operations, and Records Efficiency Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to make the service treatment records, personal records, unit records, and medical records (service records) of each member of the Armed Forces available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) in an electronic format. Provides post-discharge or release timelines for such availability. Requires each service record provided to include a DOD certification of the record's completeness.

Deems such service record release a permitted disclosure under requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

Date: 2013-04-25
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act of 2013 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to exclude as family income for Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing assistance purposes any Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) payments made to veterans in need of regular aid and attendance for expenses related to such aid and attendance.

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

Directs the HUD Secretary to regularly publish data regarding local utility consumption and costs in order to establish appropriate allowances for tenant-paid utilities for assisted families.

Date: 2013-04-25
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Housing and community development
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to submit to Congress quarterly reports on the number of, and average response time to, requests made by the Secretary to the head of another federal department or agency for information required in adjudicating a claim for veterans' disability compensation.

Date: 2013-04-25
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Accountability Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report semiannually to the congressional veterans committees on covered travel made by VA employees while on official business. Defines covered travel as travel: (1) outside the United States or its territories, possessions, or territorial waters, if paid for by the VA or another element of the government; or (2) to any location, if paid for by any person or entity other than the government. Requires each report to include the name of each employee and the destination, purpose, duration, total cost, and identity of a payor other than the government.

Directs the Secretary to report each case of reportable infectious disease or condition (a disease or condition that a state requires to be reported) that occurs at a VA medical facility to the appropriate state entity and to report to the accrediting organization of such facility each case classified as a health-care-associated infection sentinel event. Requires the Secretary, upon a failure to report, to pay to a state the same penalty that a non-federal facility of such state would pay for a failure to report. Allows a state to file a civil action against the VA for the recovery of such amount. Requires the VA Inspector General to investigate and suspend and impose other appropriate administrative disciplinary action against a director of a Veterans Integrated Service Network who has failed to comply with such requirement.

Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations to ensure that any visual recording made by the Secretary of a patient during the course of furnishing care through the VA is carried out only with the full and informed consent of that patient. Allows the Secretary to waive such requirement if the recording is made: (1) upon a determination by a physician or psychologist that the recording is medically necessary or necessary for the patient's safety, (2) pursuant to a warrant or order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (3) in a public setting where a person would not have a reasonable expectation to privacy (such as a waiting room or hallway) and the recording is for general security purposes not particularized to the patient.

Date: 2013-04-26
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Claims Efficiency Through Automation Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to include in a required annual VA activities and costs report to Congress a report on the automatic processing of claims for compensation during the preceding year, including each medical condition for which claims were processed and the number of claims for each condition.

Date: 2013-04-26
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to post notices of average times for the processing of compensation claims, as well as the percentage of claims approved, in a conspicuous place in each VA regional office and claims intake facility and on the VA website.

Requires the Secretary to notify each person submitting a claim of the above information, as well as the person's eligibility to receive up to an extra year of benefit payments upon filing a claim that is fully developed.

Requires the notice information to be updated at least quarterly.

Date: 2013-04-26
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
VA Regional Office Accountability Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to include in a required annual report on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) expenditures and activities a report on each VA regional office that failed to reach administrative goals concerning the timeliness and accuracy of veterans' claims adjudication.

Date: 2013-04-30
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Gold Star Fathers Act of 2013 - Includes as a preference eligible for federal employment purposes a parent (currently, the mother only) of either an individual who lost his or her life under honorable conditions while serving in the Armed Forces during a war, in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized, or during the period beginning April 28, 1952, and ending July 1, 1955, or a service-connected permanently and totally disabled veteran, if: (1) the spouse of such parent is totally and permanently disabled; or (2) such parent, when preference is claimed, is unmarried or legally separated from his or her spouse.

Date: 2013-05-06
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to establish a process for determining whether individuals who served in the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines or in the Philippine Scouts while in the service of the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II and who are not included in the Missouri List are eligible for certain benefits relating to their U.S. service.

Date: 2013-05-07
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Honoring Our WWII Merchant Mariners Act of 2013 - Establishes in the Treasury the Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund for payments by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) of a monthly benefit of $1,000 to each individual who, between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946, was a documented member of the U.S. merchant marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service) serving as a crewmember of a vessel that was operated in U.S. waters by the War Shipping Administration or the Office of Defense Transportation and under contract to, or the property of, the United States. Requires such individuals to: (1) apply for such benefit within one year after the enactment of this Act, and (2) not have received benefits under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944.

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

Date: 2013-05-09
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Volunteer Veterans for Cemetery Service Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) or the Secretary of the military department concerned to accept voluntary services performed by a veteran or veterans organization at a national cemetery, including the veteran's sharing with visitors of the story of the veteran's military service.

Date: 2013-05-13
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), during the six-year period after the enactment of this Act, from requesting a medical examination in connection with a claim for veterans' disability compensation when the claimant submits medical evidence provided by a non-VA medical professional that is competent, credible, probative, and otherwise adequate for making a claim decision.

Requires the Secretary, during the same period: (1) to assign a prestabilization disability rating of total, 50%, or 30%, as appropriate; (2) to provide temporary minimum disability ratings for veterans not assigned a permanent rating; and (3) to not count any veteran assigned a prestabilization or temporary minimum rating under any backlog of unassigned ratings.

Authorizes the Secretary, during the same period, to certify benefit payments by mail or account deposit before the first day of the month for which such payments are due.

Date: 2013-05-14
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Dignity and Honor Act - Increases the amounts payable through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for: (1) burial and funeral expenses of certain veterans, and (2) such expenses in connection with a veteran's death due to a service-connected disability.

Date: 2013-05-15
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education Improvement Act of 2013 - Extends through the end of 2015 the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education.

Requires the Committee to include veterans representative of the post-9/11 operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Date: 2013-05-16
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Honor Those Who Served Act of 2013 - Revises veterans' burial benefits provisions to allow a person to request a headstone or marker from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to commemorate an eligible individual if such person is: (1) the decedent's next of kin; (2) a person authorized by the next of kin to make such request; (3) a personal representative authorized by the decedent to make such request; (4) in the case of a decedent for whom there is no person under (1) through (3) identified, a state veterans agency, a military researcher, a local historian, a genealogist, or other person familiar with methods necessary to prove the identity of the decedent; or (5) in the case of a veteran who served on active duty at least 62 years before the date on which the headstone or marker is requested, any person.

Allows for the request of a headstone or marker without an emblem of religious belief.

Date: 2013-05-16
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes enrollment in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) patient enrollment system (and thereby, eligibility for VA hospital care and medical services) for veterans who served during World War II who are not otherwise eligible for such care.

Date: 2013-05-21
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Safe Housing for Homeless Veterans Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) from making a grant or providing other assistance to any entity for the provision of housing or housing services to homeless veterans unless such entity submits to the Secretary a certification that the building proposed for such housing or services is in compliance with all local codes relevant to operations and level of care provided, as well as any other local requirements regarding the condition of the structure and the operation of the supportive housing or service center. Directs the Secretary to include, in a currently-required annual report on assistance to homeless veterans, an evaluation of the safety and accessibility of such facilities.

Date: 2013-05-21
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes and requests 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: 2013-05-21
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Pay As You Rate Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), prior to adjudicating a claim which requires decisions with respect to two or more disabilities, to make interim payments based on any disability for which the Secretary has already made a decision.

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

Date: 2013-05-22
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a three-year pilot program to establish 12 VA claims adjudication centers of excellence by selecting the three highest performing regional offices in each of the four areas of the Veterans Benefits Administration. Requires each center to focus on adjudicating claims relating to one medical condition selected by the Secretary.

Provides for appropriate employee specialized training with respect to such medical conditions. Prohibits any employee from working concurrently at more than one center, but allows an employee to move from one center to another as long as the employee receives the training appropriate for that center.

Authorizes the Secretary to assign additional full-time employees to a center as necessary.

Requires the Secretary to select the focus medical conditions within 90 days after the enactment of this Act.

Date: 2013-05-22
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes and requests the President to award the Medal of Honor to First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing for acts of valor during the Civil War.

Date: 2013-05-22
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Access to Speedy Review Act - Requires the Board of Veterans' Appeals, for purposes of scheduling a veteran's appeal hearing at the earliest possible date, to determine whether to provide such hearing: (1) at its principal location or at another Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facility or other federal facility, and (2) through the use of videoconferencing or by an appellant's personal appearance.

Requires the Board to notify the appellant of such decisions. Allows: (1) the appellant to request a different location or type of hearing, and (2) the Board to grant such request while ensuring that the hearing is scheduled at the earliest possible date.

Date: 2013-05-22
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Defense Base Act Insurance Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends the Defense Base Act (the Act) to require satisfaction through the Government Defense Base Act self-insurance program of insurance and benefits requirements imposed on defense contractors with respect to on-job injuries.

Directs the Secretaries of Defense (DOD) and Labor to jointly: (1) develop and execute an implementation strategy for a self-insurance program for insurance required by the Act, and (2) report to Congress on such strategy and on the implementation of this Act.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Back to Work Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the work opportunity tax credit for hiring qualified veterans (veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability and other federal assistance), and (2) allow employers who hire qualified veterans an exemption from employment and railroad retirement taxes for such veterans' first-year wages. Appropriates amounts to the Social Security Old-Age and Survivors Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund to cover any revenue loss to such Funds resulting from this Act.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Taxation
Ending VA Claims Disability Backlog and Accountability Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement the Strategic Plan to Eliminate the Compensation Claims Backlog (Plan) to ensure that, by Memorial Day (May 25) 2015, each VA disability claim is approved or denied within 125 days after its submission, with an accuracy rate of 98%. Requires a supplemental report from the Secretary to Congress on specific measures to assess implementation of the Plan and a detailed timeline to implement each initiative contained in the Plan.

Directs the Secretary to enter into agreements with the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration and the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to ensure that such Commissioner and DOD Secretary transfer to the VA disability or medical records the VA Secretary will use to evaluate a disability claim by not later than 30 days after the VA Secretary requests such records.

Requires the two Secretaries to submit to Congress, and implement, a plan to reduce to 30 days the time needed to provide members of the National Guard and the VA Secretary with the medical records of such members.

Requires the VA Secretary to establish a three-year training program for newly-hired VA claims processors.

Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress every 90 days on the Secretary's progress in implementing the Plan.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Includes within authorized work-study activities, for individuals entitled to work-study allowances through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in connection with VA rehabilitation, education, or training programs, the following activities carried out at offices of Members of Congress: (1) the distribution of information to members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their dependents concerning available benefits and services under governmental and nongovernmental programs; and (2) the preparation and processing of papers and other documents, including those used to assist in the preparation and presentation of veterans' benefits claims.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Makes eligible for interment at Arlington National Cemetery (Virginia) an individual who: (1) served honorably in the U.S. Army, (2) served at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as a Tomb Guard, and (3) was awarded the Tomb Guard Identification Badge or a certificate of participation if service occurred prior to the introduction of such Badge.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Education Flexibility Act - Provides that if an individual eligible for educational assistance under the all-volunteer force educational assistance program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is enrolled in an educational institution and the period of such individual's entitlement (ten years after discharge or release from active duty) would expire during a quarter or semester of enrollment, that period shall be extended to the end of that quarter or semester. Allows such an extension until the earlier of the end of the course or 12 weeks, in the case of an educational institution not regularly operated on a quarter or semester basis.

Repeals the delimiting period for the use of assistance under the post-Vietnam era veterans' educational assistance program (generally 10 years after the veteran's last discharge or release from active duty).

Applies the assistance extension provided under the all-volunteer force educational assistance program to the post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance program.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Servicemember Assistance for Lawful Understanding, Treatment, and Education Act or the SALUTE Act - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General to award grants for developing, implementing, or enhancing veterans' treatment courts or expanding operational mental health or drug courts to serve veterans to ensure that such courts effectively integrate substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, sanctions and incentives, and transitional services, in a judicially supervised court setting with jurisdiction over offenders who are veterans.

Authorizes the Attorney General to award such grants to states, state courts, local courts, local governments, and Indian tribal governments for court programs that involve: (1) continuing judicial supervision over offenders who are veterans with substance abuse or mental health problems; (2) coordination with appropriate federal, state, or local prosecutors; (3) coordination with the Veterans Health Administration; and (4) the integrated administration of other sanctions and services, including substance abuse and mental health treatment, supervised release involving the possibility of prosecution, confinement, or incarceration based on non-compliance with program requirements or failure to show satisfactory progress, and offender management. Prohibits the use of grant funds to provide judicial supervision over, treatment of, or other services to violent offenders.

Sets forth application and reporting requirements.

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

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Directs the Secretary of the Army to establish a chain of command for Army national military cemeteries, including a military commander of the Army National Military Cemeteries to replace the current civilian director upon the termination of the tenure of such director.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Honoring Ezeagwula and Long Act or the HEAL Act - Designates the attack that occurred at a recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 1, 2009, in which Private William Long of the U.S. Army was killed and Private Quinton Ezeagwula was wounded, as an international terrorist attack carried out by an enemy of the United States. Entitles Long and Ezeagwula to be awarded the Purple Heart.

Date: 2013-06-04
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Economic Opportunity Administration Act of 2013 - Establishes in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) a Veterans Economic Opportunity Administration (VEOA), headed by the Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity, to administer VA programs of economic opportunity assistance to veterans and their dependents and survivors. Requires VEOA to administer the following VA programs: (1) vocational rehabilitation and employment programs; (2) educational assistance programs; (3) veterans' housing loan and related programs; and (4) veterans' small business programs, including the program to increase participation in VA contracts by small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans who have service-connected disabilities and by veterans who do not have such disabilities.

Limits the aggregate number of full-time equivalent employees authorized for the Veterans Benefit Administration and VEOA for FY2014.

Date: 2013-06-12
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Proper Replacement Of Medals and Performance Tracking Act or the PROMPT Act - Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned, when recipients of certain military decorations or medals (or in some cases when the recipient's immediate next of kin) requests a replacement of such decoration (e.g., when the original medal is lost, stolen, or destroyed), to ensure that: (1) all actions to be taken with respect to the request, including verification of the service record of the recipient, are completed within one year; and (2) the replacement is mailed to the person making the request within a specified period after such verification.

Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to submit to Congress: (1) an annual report regarding compliance by the military departments with such replacement performance standards; and (2) a plan to implement such standards, including an estimate of FY2015 funds necessary to meet or exceed such standards.

Date: 2013-06-13
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Preference for Local Veteran Contractors Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to give a preference to a local (within a 60-mile radius) contractor in the award of a contract for: (1) the construction or maintenance of a VA facility, or (2) services provided to a particular VA facility or campus. Requires the Secretary, upon awarding such a contract to a non-local contractor, to publish a public explanation of why a local contractor was not awarded the contract.

Includes veterans who are local contractors within a required VA priority for awarding contracts to small businesses.

Date: 2013-06-13
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Prioritizing Urgent Claims for Veterans Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), in processing veterans claims for compensation, to provide priority over other claimants to: (1) veterans who have attained age 70, (2) veterans who are terminally ill, and (3) veterans who have life-threatening illnesses.

Date: 2013-06-14
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Health Access Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, when it is determined that Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities are not capable of furnishing economic hospital care or medical services because of geographical inaccessibility or the care or services required, to determine whether or not to furnish such care or services to a veteran in a non-VA facility. Requires such determination to be made within 30 days following the request for such care or services.

Date: 2013-06-18
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Disabled Veterans' Access to Medical Exams Improvement Act - Amends the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 to extend until December 31, 2016, the authority of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide for persons other than VA employees (i.e., contract physicians) to conduct medical disability examinations of applicants for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Permits licensed, VA-contracted physicians to conduct such examinations at any location in any state, the District of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States, so long as the examination is authorized under the contract.

Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1996 to provide similar authorities with respect to permissible examination locations to licensed physicians under the pilot program authorizing the VA to use contract physicians to perform medical disability examinations of applicants for benefits under laws carried out through the Under Secretary for Benefits. Expands from 10 to 15 the maximum number of VA regional offices through which the Secretary is authorized to carry out such pilot program.

Directs the Secretary to conduct an annual data analysis (including an analysis of backlogged claims, pending workloads, and the timeliness of completed cases) to determine the regional offices requiring support.

Date: 2013-06-18
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Helping Homeless Veterans Act of 2013 - Extends the following Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs and services through FY2014: (1) homeless veterans reintegration programs, (2) referral and counseling services for veterans at risk of homelessness who are transitioning from certain institutions (including penal institutions), (3) financial assistance for supportive services for very low-income veteran families in permanent housing, and (4) a grant program for homeless veterans with special needs.

Extends the following VA programs and services through 2014: (1) treatment and rehabilitation for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans, (2) housing assistance for homeless veterans, and (3) the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans.

Date: 2013-06-25
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2013 - Defines a "covered individual" as a Vietnam resident who is affected by health issues related to Agent Orange exposure which took place between January 1, 1961, and May 7, 1975, or who lives or had lived in or near geographic areas in Vietnam that continue to contain high levels of Agent Orange, or who is affected by such health issues as the child or descendant of such resident.

Directs the Secretary of State to provide assistance: (1) to address the health care needs of covered individuals, (2) to institutions in Vietnam that provide health care to such individuals, (3) to repair and rebuild substandard homes in Vietnam for covered individuals and their families, and (4) to remediate geographic areas of Vietnam that contain high levels of Agent Orange.

Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide assistance to support research relating to health issues of individuals affected by Agent Orange.

Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) make grants to appropriate public health organizations and Vietnamese-American organizations to conduct a broad health assessment of Vietnamese-Americans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange and their children or descendants; and (2) establish centers in U.S. locations where large populations of Vietnamese-Americans reside to provide assessment, counseling, and treatment for conditions related to Agent Orange exposure.

Amends veterans benefits provisions to provide benefits to the children of male (currently only female) Vietnam veterans who are affected by certain birth defects. Requires the VA Secretary to require any health care provider with whom the Secretary enters into a contract for the provision of health care to such children to provide the VA access to the medical records of such children for research into the intergenerational effects of Agent Orange exposure.

Date: 2013-06-26
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: International affairs
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Extends a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) program of counseling and care and services for veterans for sexual trauma that occurred during active duty or active duty for training to veterans who experienced such trauma during inactive duty training.

Date: 2013-06-26
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a task force to assess retention and training of claims processors and adjudicators that are employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other federal agencies.

Directs the task force to:

 identify key skills required by claims processors and adjudicators throughout the federal government; identify reasons for employee attrition from claims processing positions; develop a government-wide strategic and operational plan for promoting employment of veterans in claims processing positions; establish performance measures to assess such plan and its implementation and revise such plan as appropriate; coordinate with educational institutions to develop training and educational programs to prepare members of the Armed Forces for such employment; identify and coordinate offices of the Department of Defense (DOD) and the VA to provide information about, and promotion of, available claims processing positions to members of the Armed Forces transitioning to civilian life and to veterans with disabilities; and establish performance measures to evaluate the task force's effectiveness.

Date: 2013-06-26
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veteran Spouses Equal Treatment Act - Amends the definition of "spouse" for purposes of veterans' benefits provisions to require an individual to be considered a spouse if the marriage of the individual is valid in the state in which the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any state, if the marriage is valid in the place in which the marriage was entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a state. Includes as a state the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. territories and possessions.

Date: 2013-06-27
Topic: Defense (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security