zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Fort Hood Casualties Benefits Clarification Act - Requires that members of the Armed Forces or civilian employees of the Department of Defense (DOD) who were killed or wounded in the attack that occurred at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009, and their family members be accorded the same treatment, benefits, and honors as were accorded the victims and the families of victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Date: 2012-12-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to permit any former member of the armed forces who is entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability rated total by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to travel on military aircraft to the same extent as retired members of the Armed Forces.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes use of Department of Defense (DOD) commissary and exchange stores by former prisoners of war who have been honorably separated from service and have a service-connected disability rated at 30% or more.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Family-Friendly Employer Award Act - Establishes in the Department of Defense (DOD) an annual award to be known as the Military Family-Friendly Employer Award (Award) for non-federal employers who have developed and implemented workplace flexibility policies and practices: (1) to assist the working spouses and caregivers of members of the Armed Forces who are deployed away from home, and to assist such members upon their return from deployment; and (2) that reflect a deep awareness and commitment in response to the needs of the military family unit. Establishes in DOD a Military Family-Friendly Special Task Force to provide specified assistance in the making of such Awards.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veteran Employment Transition Act of 2011- Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the definition of "qualified veteran" for purposes of the work opportunity tax credit to mean recently discharged veterans and any veteran receiving specified benefits. Defines "recently discharged veteran" to mean: (1) any individual who has served on active duty (other than active duty for training) in the Armed Forces for more than 180 consecutive days, (2) any individual who has been discharged or released from active duty for a service-connected disability, and (3) any member of the National Guard who has served for more than 180 consecutive days in active duty, full-time National Guard duty, or duty in state status. Defines "veteran receiving specified benefits" as any veteran who is certified as being a member of a family receiving assistance under a supplemental nutrition assistance program and is entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability. Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Guard to inform military personnel who are discharged or released from active duty of the work opportunity tax credit and provide them with documentation relating to eligibility for and use of such credit.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Safe and Responsible Redeployment of United States Combat Forces from Afghanistan Act of 2011 - States that is U.S. policy to begin the phased redeployment of U.S. combat forces from Afghanistan by July 1, 2011. Requires the President to submit a plan to Congress, by July 31, 2011, for the phased redeployment of U.S. combat forces from Afghanistan, including a completion date for such redeployment.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Prohibits the use of federal funds to transfer to the United States any individual who is: (1) detained by the United States at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; or (2) a foreign national who is captured or detained outside the United States as an enemy belligerent, and in the custody or control of the Department of Defense (DOD).

Date: 2011-01-26
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Freedom Fuels Act of 2011 - Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to enter into one or more contracts for the procurement of liquid transportation fuel, including jet fuel, that: (1) meets requirements of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 relating to the procurement and acquisition of alternative fuels; (2) uses a feedstock produced within a state; and (3) is refined, manufactured, or produced in a state. Prohibits any contract options that extend the overall contract period beyond 10 years. Requires a report from the Secretary to Congress on performance under each contract.

Date: 2011-01-27
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of the Air Force to: (1) conduct a study on the ability of the major air test and training range infrastructure to support the full spectrum of Air Force operations; (2) develop a master plan for requirements and proposed investments to meet Air Force training and test needs through 2025; and (3) submit to the congressional defense and appropriations committees interim reports and a final report on the master plan.

Date: 2011-01-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Citizen Soldier Support Act - Amends provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 relating to the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (Program) (a program providing access to services supporting the health and well-being of members of the reserves and their families through the entire deployment cycle) to include outreach programs within such services. Includes as an additional function of the Center of Excellence in Reintegration within the Department of Defense (DOD) Office for Reintegration Programs (Office) the development and implementation of a process for identifying best practices in the delivery of information and services in outreach programs. Authorizes the Office to assist states and appropriate organizations in developing and carrying out outreach programs for members and their families under the Program.

Date: 2011-02-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
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 (DOD) 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: 2011-02-02
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2011 - 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: 2011-02-14
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs each Secretary of the military department concerned to: (1) establish procedures to implement flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) for military health care and dependent care for active-duty military personnel on a pre-tax basis; and (2) consider life events of members of the Armed Forces that are unique to them, including changes relating to permanent changes of duty station and deployments to overseas contingency operations. Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to submit to Congress recommendations on the advisability of authorizing FSAs for members of the reserves.

Date: 2011-02-17
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide an effective date of an award of disability compensation, in the case of a veteran who submits a fully-developed claim, of up to one year before the date of receipt of such claim.

Date: 2011-03-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Service Members Permanent Change of Station Relief Act - Sets at the business standard mileage rate of the Internal Revenue Service the monetary allowance for a member of the Armed Forces for travel by privately owned vehicles in lieu of government transportation in the case of: (1) a change of permanent station, (2) travel to the first station upon call to active duty, and (3) travel from a last duty station upon separation from service. Sets the monetary allowance for authorized travel by a member's dependent at the rate per mile established by the Administrator of General Services instead of the actual expenses for such transportation. Revises requirements allowing the transport at government expense of one motor vehicle owned or leased by a member (or member's dependent) to the new station of the member who has been ordered to make a change of permanent station. Authorizes the transport at government expense of one additional motor vehicle of a member (or member's dependent) if: (1) the member is ordered to make a change of permanent station to or from a nonforeign area outside the continental United States and the member has at least one dependent of driving age who will use the motor vehicle, or (2) the Secretary of the military department concerned determines that a replacement for the transported motor vehicle is necessary for reasons beyond the member's control and is in the interest of the United States.

Date: 2011-03-03
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Gold Star Fathers Act of 2011 - 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: 2011-03-08
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Support for Survivors Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to identify the most appropriate and effective means for the preservation by the Department of Defense (DOD) of documentary evidence of incidents of sexual assault or harassment in which a member of the Armed Forces is the victim (covered incidents), which shall be a single means to be used by all the military departments. Requires the means identified to be in electronic form and to include the full protection of the victim's privacy and lifetime access to such evidence. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a joint task force to determine whether to establish a documentary evidence form, report, or document in lieu of forms, reports, and documents currently generated by DOD. Requires the Secretary to: (1) report to Congress on the means of preservation identified; and (2) provide for the implementation of such means by the military departments within 18 months after the enactment of this Act.

Date: 2011-03-28
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Treats Vet Centers as Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities for purposes of authorized payments or allowances for beneficiary travel to or from a VA facility in connection with medical care.

Date: 2011-03-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Spouse Job Continuity Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces (military spouse) who moves with such member to another state under a permanent change of station order a tax credit for up to $500 of qualified relicensing costs incurred by such spouse. Defines "qualified relicensing costs" as costs for a state license or certification to engage in the profession that such military spouse engaged in while residing in the former state.

Date: 2011-03-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Prohibits: (1) more than one gravesite from being provided at Arlington National Cemetery (Arlington) to a veteran or member of the Armed Forces who is eligible for burial there and family members also eligible for burial there, and (2) a gravesite from being reserved at Arlington before an individual's death. Provides an exception under (2) above, in the case of a request submitted to the Secretary of the Army before January 1, 1962. Requires a report from the Secretary to Congress on reservations made for interment at Arlington.

Date: 2011-03-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Ensuring Pay for Our Military Act of 2011 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, during a federal funding gap impacting the Armed Forces, to transfer to the Secretary of Defense (DOD), and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) in the case of the Coast Guard, amounts necessary to continue to provide pay and allowances to members of the Armed Forces, including the reserves, who perform active service during the funding gap. Prohibits any such transfer after December 31, 2011.

Date: 2011-04-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Ensuring Pay for Our Military Act of 2011 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, during a federal funding gap impacting the Armed Forces, to transfer to the Secretary of Defense (DHS), and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) in the case of the Coast Guard, amounts necessary to continue to provide pay and allowances to members of the Armed Forces, including the reserves, who perform active service during the funding gap. Allows for the provision of such pay and allowances, at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, for: (1) civilian DOD personnel providing support to such members; and (2) DOD contractor personnel providing direct support to such members. Prohibits any such transfer after December 31, 2011.

Date: 2011-04-05
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Equal Treatment for Service Dogs Act of 2011 or VETS Dogs Act of 2011 - Prohibits the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) from prohibiting the use of service dogs in or on any VA facility or property or any facility or property that receives VA funding.

Date: 2011-04-08
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Enduring Support for Defenders of Freedom and Their Families Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, during a funding gap impacting the Armed Forces and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to make available to the Secretaries of Defense (DOD) and Homeland Security (Secretaries) amounts necessary to continue to provide pay and allowances to: (1) members of the Armed Forces and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection who perform active service during the funding gap, and (2) DOD and DHS civilian and contractor personnel who provide support to the above personnel. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make available to such Secretaries amounts necessary to continue carrying out programs that provide direct support to members of the Armed Forces and DHS, including family support and medical treatment programs.

Date: 2011-04-08
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Temporary Military Pay Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD), during a funding gap impacting the Armed Forces, to provide pay and allowances to members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard who perform active service. Authorizes, at the Secretary's discretion, such pay and allowances to DOD civilian and contractor personnel who provide support to such members. Terminates such authority at the end of FY2011.

Date: 2011-04-08
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Pensions Protection Act of 2011 - 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: 2011-04-08
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Requires that an appointee to the position of Chief of the Army Medical Specialist Corps be of a rank not less than lieutenant colonel. (Current minimum rank is captain.) Requires an appointee to such position holding a lower grade to be appointed in the regular grade of brigadier general.

Date: 2011-04-12
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Sanctity of Eternal Rest for Veterans Act of 2011 or SERVE Act of 2011 - Amends the federal criminal code concerning the prohibition on disruptions of funerals of members or former members of the Armed Forces to increase the period covered under such prohibition from one to two hours before and after a military funeral. Includes within such unlawful conduct any disturbance or disruption occurring within 500 feet of the residence of a surviving member of a deceased's immediate family. Provides civil remedies, including actual and statutory damages. Makes identical changes under federal veterans' provisions concerning the prohibition on certain demonstrations and disruptions at national cemeteries, including Arlington National Cemetery.

Date: 2011-04-13
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Spouse Employment Programs Evaluation Act - Directs the Comptroller General to annually: (1) review all current Department of Defense (DOD) military spouse employment programs; and (2) report review results to the congressional defense committees. Requires the Secretary of Defense to annually submit to such committees the number of military spouses who have obtained employment following participation in such DOD programs.

Date: 2011-04-14
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Pay Our Troops Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, during a federal funding gap impacting the Armed Forces, to transfer to the Secretary of Defense (DOD), and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) in the case of the Coast Guard, amounts necessary to continue to provide pay and allowances to members of the Armed Forces, including the reserves, who perform active service during the funding gap.

Date: 2011-04-14
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Reserve Retirement Deployment Credit Correction Act - Requires the days of active duty or active service used to reduce the minimum age at which a member of the reserves may retire for non-regular (reserve) service to occur in in any two consecutive fiscal years (under current law, in the same fiscal year).

Date: 2011-05-02
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Makes eligible for certain medical services and benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) a child with spina bifida whose veteran-parent served on active duty during the Vietnam era at a location outside Vietnam where exposure to a herbicide agent during such service was likely, and is determined to have been exposed to such agent during such service.

Date: 2011-05-03
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Entitles a surviving spouse to a benefit for the month of a veteran's death if, at the time of the veteran's death: (1) the veteran was receiving veterans' disability compensation or veteran's pension, or (2) the veteran was not receiving such compensation or pension but had a claim pending for the month of the veteran's death for which benefits would have been payable had the veteran not died. Prohibits the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) from requesting the return of a check or payment made to a surviving spouse, in the month in which the veteran's death occurs, as additional compensation for a dependent or additional pension as a married veteran. Includes under the VA's presidential memorial certificate program (a program presenting a presidential certificate of appreciation for service in the Armed Forces) an individual who dies during active service. Considers a veteran who is unable to occupy a home because of active-duty status to have satisfied the occupancy requirement relating to housing financed through the VA if the veteran's dependent child is occupying or will occupy the home and the veteran's attorney or a legal guardian of the dependent child makes the VA-required occupancy certification. Authorizes the VA to guarantee a veterans' housing loan regardless of whether such loan is subordinate to a lien created in favor of a public entity that provides assistance in response to a major disaster.

Date: 2011-05-03
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase, as of December 1, 2011, 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.

Date: 2011-05-05
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Health Equity Act of 2011 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, with respect to each of the 48 contiguous states, to ensure that veterans eligible for hospital care and medical services through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have access to: (1) at least one full-service VA medical center in the state, or (2) hospital care and medical services comparable to that provided in full-service VA medical centers through contract with other health providers in the state. Makes such requirement effective only to the extent and in amounts provided in advance in appropriations Acts. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on compliance with such requirement, including its effect on improving the quality and standards of veterans' care.

Date: 2011-05-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Outreach Enhancement Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a five-year program of outreach to veterans to increase: (1) their access and use of federal, state, and local programs providing compensation and other benefits for service in the Armed Forces; and (2) their awareness of and eligibility for such programs. Allows the Secretary, under the program, to enter into agreements with other federal and state agencies and specified authorities and commissions to carry out projects to further such purposes.

Date: 2011-05-10
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Detaining Terrorists to Secure America Act of 2011 - Reaffirms that the U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Guantanamo), is and shall be a location for the detention of individuals in the custody or control of the Department of Defense (DOD) who have engaged in or supported hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners on behalf of al Qaeda, the Taliban, or an affiliated group to which the Authorization for Use of Military Force (P.L. 107-40) applies. Directs the Secretary of Defense to maintain Guantanamo as an open and operating facility for the current and future detention of such individuals. Amends the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 to make permanent (under current law, terminates on January 7, 2012) a prohibition on the use of any federal funds (under current law, only DOD funds) to transfer any individual detained at Guantanamo to the individual's country of origin or any other foreign country or entity unless the Secretary makes a specified certification to Congress relating to such transfer. Prohibits any federal funds (under current law, only DOD funds) from being used to construct or modify any facility in the United States or its territories or possessions to house any individual in the custody or control of DOD or under detention at Guantanamo for the purpose of detention or imprisonment.

Date: 2011-05-11
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitative Services' Improvements Act of 2011 - Includes within a program of individualized rehabilitation and reintegration plans for veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI): (1) the goal of maximizing the individual's independence and quality of life, and (2) improving such veterans' behavioral and mental health functioning. Requires the inclusion of rehabilitative services in a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) comprehensive program of long-term care for veterans' TBI that has residential, community, and home-based components utilizing interdisciplinary treatment teams.

Date: 2011-05-11
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Detaining Terrorists to Secure America Act of 2011 - Reaffirms that the U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Guantanamo), is and shall be a location for the detention of individuals in the custody or control of the Department of Defense (DOD) who have engaged in or supported hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners on behalf of al Qaeda, the Taliban, or an affiliated group to which the Authorization for Use of Military Force (P.L. 107-40) applies. Directs the Secretary of Defense to maintain Guantanamo as an open and operating facility for the current and future detention of such individuals. Amends the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 to make permanent (under current law, terminates on January 7, 2012) a prohibition on the use of any federal funds (under current law, only DOD funds) to transfer any individual detained at Guantanamo on or after October 1, 2009, to the individual's country of origin or any other foreign country or entity unless the Secretary makes a specified certification to Congress relating to such transfer. Prohibits any federal funds (under current law, only DOD funds) from being used to construct or modify any facility in the United States or its territories or possessions to house any individual in the custody or control of DOD or under detention at Guantanamo on or after the above date for the purpose of detention or imprisonment.

Date: 2011-05-12
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Fourth Amendment Restoration Act - Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to impose limits on roving electronic surveillance by revising specifications and adding directions required to be included in the order of a designated judge approving such surveillance, including, in cases where the facility or place at which the electronic surveillance will be directed is unknown at the time the order is issued, that the electronic surveillance be conducted only for such time as reasonable to presume that the target of the surveillance is or was reasonably proximate to the particular facility or place. Amends the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 to make the following FISA provisions, subject to exceptions, read as they read on October 25, 2001 (prior to enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001): (1) effective December 31, 2013, provisions specifying the directions to be contained in orders approving electronic surveillance of a foreign power or agent of a foreign power; and (2) effective February 28, 2011, provisions authorizing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to apply for orders requiring production of business records and other tangible things in investigations related to foreign intelligence and international terrorism and directing the Attorney General (AG) to annually inform Congress of such requests. Directs the AG to establish minimization and destruction procedures, as specified, governing the acquisition, retention, and dissemination of any records received by the FBI: (1) in response to a national security letter issued under specified federal criminal code provisions authorizing the FBI to request telephone toll and transactional records from wire or electronic communication service providers for counterintelligence purposes, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, or the National Security Act of 1947; or (2) pursuant to the above FISA provisions authorizing the FBI to apply for production of business records and other tangible things and directing the AG to inform Congress of such requests. Sets forth provisions requiring judicial review of certain national security letters and suspicious activity reports.

Date: 2011-05-23
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Requires the Commandant of the United States Air Force Institute of Technology (Institute) to be selected by the Secretary of the Air Force. Outlines eligibility requirements and qualifications for such position. Allows a term of five years, with the authority to continue in such position for an additional five years. Establishes at the Institute the civilian positions of Provost and Academic Dean, to be appointed by such Secretary for five-year periods. Allows the person currently serving as the Institute's Commandant to serve as Acting Commandant until the appointment is made under this Act.

Date: 2011-05-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Fourth Amendment Restoration Act - Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to impose limits on roving electronic surveillance by revising specifications and adding directions required to be included in the order of a designated judge approving such surveillance, including, in cases where the facility or place at which the electronic surveillance will be directed is unknown at the time the order is issued, that the electronic surveillance be conducted only for such time as reasonable to presume that the target of the surveillance is or was reasonably proximate to the particular facility or place. Amends the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 to make the following FISA provisions, subject to exceptions, read as they read on October 25, 2001 (prior to enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001): (1) effective December 31, 2013, provisions specifying the directions to be contained in orders approving electronic surveillance of a foreign power or agent of a foreign power; and (2) effective February 28, 2011, provisions authorizing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to apply for orders requiring production of business records and other tangible things in investigations related to foreign intelligence and international terrorism and directing the Attorney General (AG) to annually inform Congress of such requests. Directs the AG to establish minimization and destruction procedures, as specified, governing the acquisition, retention, and dissemination of any records received by the FBI: (1) in response to a national security letter issued under specified federal criminal code provisions authorizing the FBI to request telephone toll and transactional records from wire or electronic communication service providers for counterintelligence purposes, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, or the National Security Act of 1947; or (2) pursuant to the above FISA provisions authorizing the FBI to apply for production of business records and other tangible things and directing the AG to inform Congress of such requests. Sets forth provisions requiring judicial review of certain national security letters and suspicious activity reports.

Date: 2011-05-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Declares that failure by a financial institution or any of its directors, officers, employees, or agents to report a suspicious transaction is not a violation of specified monetary transaction reporting requirements if the institution or person has: (1) in effect an established decision-making process with respect to suspicious transactions, (2) made a good faith effort to follow existing policies, procedures, and processes with respect to such transactions; and (3) determined not to file a report with respect to a particular transaction. Deems failure to submit a suspicious transaction report to be a violation of such reporting requirements if it is accompanied by evidence of bad faith on the part of either the financial institution or other person.

Date: 2011-05-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Prohibits an officer or employee of the United States from issuing a national security letter under specified provisions of the federal criminal code, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, or the National Security Act of 1947 unless: (1) the letter is submitted to a designated judge of the court established under specified provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and (2) such judge issues an order finding that a warrant could be issued under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to search for and seize the information sought to be obtained in such a letter.

Date: 2011-05-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Providing Real Outreach for Veterans Act of 2011 or PRO-VETS Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) to enter into an agreement with the Secretary of Defense for the transfer of data to the Secretary for providing members of the Armed Forces and veterans with individualized information concerning veterans' benefits that each member and veteran may be eligible for. Requires the Secretary, after receiving such data, to: (1) compile a list of all benefits for which each member or veteran may be eligible; (2) notify the member or veteran (or their legal representative) of such benefits; and (3) provide a second notification if the member or veteran does not apply for a listed benefit within 60 days, as well as annual notifications thereafter. Requires additional notifications based on changed circumstances. Allows each member or veteran the option to decline further notifications. Directs the Secretary to use transferred data to reduce the amount of information that a member or veteran must provide when applying for benefits. Requires the Secretary of Defense to provide a member or veteran the opportunity to decline authorization for the transfer of information under this Act. Directs the Secretary to enroll within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical system members being discharged or released after active-duty service in a theater of combat operations. Requires such enrollment within 45 days of the discharge or release. Requires: (1) such former members to be provided a veterans identification card, as well as access to VA hospital care and medical services; and (2) the Secretary to provide to each such member the option to decline such enrollment.

Date: 2011-05-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veteran Transition Assistance Program Audit Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to enter into a contract for audits of the Transition Assistance Program (a job training, benefits, and transitional services program of the Department of Defense [DOD] in conjunction with other federal agencies for members of the military separated or recently separated from active duty) with a private, unaffiliated organization. Requires such audits at least once every three years. Directs the contracted organization to measure the effectiveness of the program, identify any necessary improvement measures, and submit a related report to the Secretary of Labor, DOD Secretary, Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), and Congress. Requires such Secretaries to implement any necessary improvement measures.

Date: 2011-05-26
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Justice for Troops Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to provide support to public or private programs designed to connect attorneys who provide pro bono legal assistance with members of the Armed Forces who are in need of such assistance. Limits the total amount of financial support in any fiscal year to $500,000. Directs such financial support to be derived from amounts authorized to be appropriated for DOD operation and maintenance.

Date: 2011-05-26
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Families Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to adjust the status of an eligible alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the alien: (1) applies for adjustment (with a time limit for an alien applying as a family member of a deceased Armed Forces member), (2) is admissible to the United States as an immigrant, and (3) is physically present in the United States. Applies such provision to an alien who is: (1) a parent, spouse, child, son, daughter, or the legal guardian of a child of a living Armed Forces member or of a deceased Armed Forces member who died as a result of service-incurred injury or disease; or (2) the spouse, child, son, or daughter of an alien described in clause (1). Defines "Armed Forces member" as a person who: (1) is, or was at the time of the person's death, a U.S. national or lawfully admitted permanent resident; (2) served honorably on or after October 7, 2001, as a member of the National Guard or the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve, or in an active-duty status in the U.S. military; and (3) if separated from service was separated under honorable conditions. Waives specified grounds of inadmissibility and authorizes the waiver of additional grounds of inadmissibility. Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt from worldwide or numerical limitations on immigrant visas the sons and daughters of Filipino World War II veterans who were naturalized under the Immigration Act of 1990 or other specified federal law.

Date: 2011-05-26
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Immigration
Military Family Leave Act of 2011 - Entitles an employed family member of a member of the Armed Forces who receives notification of a call or order to active duty in support of a contingency operation, or who is deployed in connection with a contingency operation, to two workweeks of leave per year for each family member who is so called or deployed. Allows such leave to: (1) be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule; and (2) consist of paid or unpaid leave, as the employer considers appropriate. Allows an employer to require certification of entitlement to such leave within a leave request. Provides employment and benefits protection for employees upon their return from such leave. Prohibits an employer from interfering with or otherwise denying the exercise of such leave rights.

Date: 2011-05-26
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Honoring Promises to Service-Disabled Veterans Act of 2011 - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the head of each executive department to submit a quarterly report to the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) containing the percentage of the total value of all prime contracts awarded by the executive department during the preceding three-month period to small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, including, along with other specified percentages, for contracts awarded to certain contractors required to submit a subcontracting plan, the negotiated percentage goal for utilization of such subcontractors and the total value of subcontracts entered into by the contractor awarded to service-disabled veteran small business concerns. Requires the Administrator to: (1) annually rank the executive departments and contractors concerned based on specified contracting and subcontracting percentages; (2) publish and update at least quarterly, on a publicly accessible website, subject to exceptions for information detrimental to national security, such information reported by the executive departments and the Administrator's annual rankings; and (3) submit to Congress an annual report on the progress of each executive department toward meeting the government-wide goal for service-disabled veterans (a government-wide goal that at least 3% of the total value of all prime contracts and subcontracts be awarded to small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans each fiscal year) established in the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999.

Date: 2011-06-07
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Commerce
Amends procedures of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) by requiring the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to submit, within seven days, a written report to the CAVC and the appellant describing the basis upon which the Secretary remains opposed to a remand if: (1) the CAVC directs representatives and self-represented parties to participate in a staff conference (where parties refine issues and consider matters to help the court resolve a case) pursuant to applicable CAVC Rules of Practice and Procedure or any corresponding similar rule, and (2) an agreement to remand the matter has not been reached before the end of such conference. Prohibits the Secretary from: (1) seeking a remand without the appellant's agreement if such a written report is submitted, and (2) opposing any subsequent filing by the appellant for specified fees and other expenses under the federal judicial code if the Secretary seeks a remand after the seven-day period. Allows the CAVC to impose sanctions, including money sanctions, if the Secretary fails to comply with this Act.

Date: 2011-06-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs that any business determined by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to have misrepresented its status as a small business owned and controlled by veterans or service-disabled veterans in order to increase its contracting opportunities shall be debarred from contracting with the VA for not less than five years (under current law, for a reasonable period as determined by the Secretary). Requires the Secretary to commence the debarment action within 30 days after the misrepresentation determination, and to complete such action within 90 days after such determination. Includes in the debarment all principals in the business.

Date: 2011-06-13
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish minimum funding levels for specified veterans' benefits contracts and grants to ensure that each state receives sufficient funding to support at least one disabled veterans' outreach program specialist and one local veterans' employment representative per 5,000 square miles of service delivery area within the state. Allows the Secretary, in establishing such minimum levels, to establish hold-harmless criteria for states and exclude consideration of counties with a population density of less than one person per square mile. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the needs of veterans residing in an area consisting of a county or counties with fewer than seven persons per square mile.

Date: 2011-06-30
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Honoring Service Through National Park Access Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to make the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available to members of the uniformed services or members of the National Guard or Reserves at a reduced rate equal to 50% of the cost of the Pass that is sold to the public. Makes such a Pass valid for one year after its date of issuance. Requires Passes to be made available, at a cost of $10, to veterans who were separated from military service under conditions other than dishonorable. Makes such a Pass valid for the lifetime of a passholder.

Date: 2011-07-13
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Protecting Military Pay Act of 2011 - Sets forth the priority for the payment of obligations incurred by the U.S. government in the event that U.S. debt reaches the statutory limit. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, during any funding gap impacting the Armed Forces, to make available, out of any amounts in the general fund of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, amounts necessary to continue to provide pay and allowances (without interruption) to: (1) members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including the reserve components thereof, who perform active service; and (2) at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, such civilian personnel of the Department of Defense (DOD) who are providing support to the such Armed Forces members. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from making any such transfers after December 31, 2011.

Date: 2011-07-13
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Travel Tax Relief Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow veterans a deduction from gross income, up to $400 a year, for their travel expenses, including those of a family member, to a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center for treatment related to a service-connected disability or for an examination related to a claim for disability compensation or a pension.

Date: 2011-08-02
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Foreign Service Line of Duty Death Gratuity Act of 2011 - Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to provide increased group life insurance benefits for a Foreign Service or government executive branch employee killed in a location designated as a danger pay post. Directs the Secretary of State to provide a specified death gratuity payment to the surviving dependents of a Foreign Service or a government executive branch employee serving at a U.S. diplomatic or consular mission abroad without a regular salary who was killed in the August 7, 1998, bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. Authorizes appropriations for such payments.

Date: 2011-08-02
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: International affairs
Help Veterans Own Franchises Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business-related tax credit of up to $100,000 for 25% of the franchise fees paid or incurred by a veteran for the purchase of a franchise. Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide information about the tax credit allowed by this Act to veterans service organizations and veteran advocacy groups.

Date: 2011-09-12
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation