zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Veterans Transitional Assistance Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish in the Department of Defense (DOD) the Office of Technical Assistance to carry out the Secretary's responsibilities of establishing and operating a wounded warrior resource (support) center, as required under the Wounded Warrior Act. Requires the Office, upon the discharge or release of a member of the Armed Forces, to transmit the member's service record and contact information to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs who shall in turn contact and provide such person necessary information to apply for any benefits to which the person may be entitled through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Date: 2009-03-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Allows an individual to elect to receive retired pay for non-regular (reserve) service upon retirement for service performed in an active reserve status after attaining eligibility for regular retirement, as long as the individual successfully completes at least two years of active reserve status service. Allows the Secretary of the military department concerned to reduce the two-year active reserve status requirement in certain cases. Requires the recomputation of reserve retired pay and, if appropriate, the adjustment of the retired grade of reserve retirees to reflect the successful completion of at least two years of post-retirement service in an active reserve status.

Date: 2009-03-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Reduces from 60 to 55 the minimum age for the receipt of military retired pay for non-regular service.

Date: 2009-03-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Disabled Veterans Commissary and Exchange Store Benefits Act - Permits a veteran with any compensable service-connected disability (and the veteran's dependents) to use commissary and exchange stores on the same basis as a member of the Armed Forces entitled to retired or retainer pay.

Date: 2009-03-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Waives, during FY2010, the basic military pay adjustment tied to increases in the Employment Cost Index. Increases, effective January 1, 2010, such basic pay by 3.4%.

Date: 2009-04-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Secure Electronic Military Separation Act - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to direct the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a secure electronic method of forwarding DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to the appropriate office of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in which the former member of the Armed Forces will first reside.

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Providing Real Outreach for Veterans Act of 2009 or PRO-VETS Act of 2009 - 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.

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends the Military Construction Act, 1974 to repeal the prohibition against use of the former bombardment area on the island of Culebra (Puerto Rico) for any purpose that would require decontamination of the area at U.S. expense.

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Modifies the requirement that the Secretary concerned provide preseparation counseling to members of the Armed Forces whose discharge or release from active duty is anticipated as of a specific date. Directs the Secretary concerned, including the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security, to require such members to receive, as part of their preseparation counseling, employment assistance, job training assistance, and other transitional services under a specified program established by the Secretary of Labor. Directs the Secretary concerned to require separating Armed Forces members to undergo a psychological evaluation (as well as a physical examination, as under current law).

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Entitlement to Service (VETS) Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to acknowledge the receipt of any claim for medical services, disability compensation, or pension under laws administered by the Secretary, or any other communication relating to such services, compensation, or pension, within 60 days after its receipt.

Date: 2009-04-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Citizen Soldier Equality Act of 2009 - Requires that, in the case of a member of the reserves who is retired or placed on the temporary disability retired list because of an incurred disability for which the member is awarded the Purple Heart, the member shall be credited with the number of years of service that would be counted under the computation of years of service for retired pay for non-regular service.

Date: 2009-04-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Correspondence With Our Heroes Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide for a one-year program under which postal benefit vouchers are provided for the benefit of members of the Armed Forces on active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan, or hospitalized at a military facility as a result of a disease or injury incurred as a result of such service. Entitles voucher users to make free mailings to such individuals. Limits vouchers to one per month. Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to transfer to the Postal Service an amount representing the amount of the vouchers used.

Date: 2009-04-27
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Travel Equity Act of 2009 - Prohibits the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, effective 90 days after the enactment of this Act, from imposing any income or pension eligibility requirement, or requiring any service-connected disability rating, in order for a veteran to be eligible for an allowance or reimbursement under the beneficiary travel program (a program authorizing a travel allowance or reimbursement for the transportation of veterans to obtain medical care).

Date: 2009-04-27
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Surviving Spouses' Benefit Improvement Act of 2009 - Increases the monthly rates of veterans' dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Prohibits benefits under any other law (other than duplication of benefits) from being reduced or offset because the surviving spouse is eligible for dependency and indemnity compensation.

Date: 2009-05-05
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Outreach Improvement Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans to establish a separate account for the funding of outreach activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and a separate subaccount for the funding of outreach activities of the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the National Cemetery Administration. Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain procedures for ensuring the effective coordination of VA outreach activities between and among such elements, the Office of the Secretary, and the Office of Public Affairs. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to state veterans agencies to carry out, coordinate, and improve outreach by the VA and the states.

Date: 2009-05-05
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Benefits for Qualified World War II Veterans Act of 2009 - Establishes in the Treasury the Qualified World War II Veterans Equity Compensation Fund for making monthly payments of $1,000 to World War II veterans who: (1) have not received benefits under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944; and (2) performed active duty service pursuant to the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977.

Date: 2009-05-06
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Defense Communities Assistance Act of 2009 - Expresses the sense of Congress on the necessity of assisting local communities coping with the impact of base closures and realignments and other military actions. Extends permanently (under current law, terminated at the end of FY2008) the authority of the Secretary of the military department concerned to convey, for certain purposes, real property on a military installation determined to be excess to the needs of the Department of Defense (DOD). Authorizes the Secretary concerned to contract for the procurement of municipal services for a U.S. military installation from a county, municipal government, or other local governmental unit in the area. Authorizes such Secretary to so contract using procedures other than competitive procedures, under certain conditions and after congressional notification. Amends the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 to extend through FY2020 a pilot program for the purchase of certain municipal services for military installations. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 to broaden the indemnification provided to transferees of military properties. Reinstates provisions of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 which allow military departments to transfer surplus real and personal property at closed or realigned military installations without consideration to local redevelopment authorities when used for economic development purposes, without the requirement to assess the property's value.

Date: 2009-05-07
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Retired Pay Fairness Act of 2009 - Provides limitations on the recoupment of separation pay, special separation benefits, and voluntary separation incentive payments from members of the Armed Forces subsequently receiving military retired or retainer pay. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense or Homeland Security, as applicable, to waive such recoupments in cases of financial hardship.

Date: 2009-05-07
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Soldiers Targeted by Offensive Profiteering Act of 2009 (STOP Act) - Prohibits any person, except with permission, from using the name or image of a protected individual in connection with any merchandise, retail product, impersonation, solicitation, or commercial activity in a manner calculated to connect the protected individual with that individual's service in the Armed Forces. Defines as a "protected individual" any person who: (1) is a member of the Armed Forces; or (2) was a member at any time after April 5, 1917, and, if not living, has a surviving spouse, child, parent, grandparent, or sibling. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring actions to enjoin violations of this Act.

Date: 2009-05-07
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Wounded Warrior Project Family Caregiver Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as part of authorized Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home health care services for veterans, to furnish to a family member or other designated individual advanced instruction and training and certification as a family caregiver for a veteran who incurred serious wounds on active duty during, or in training for, Operations Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom and is determined to be in need of personal care services. Requires the Secretary to provide to such caregiver: (1) appropriate support services; and (2) a monthly family caregiver allowance. Authorizes the Secretary to provide medical care to such caregiver.

Date: 2009-05-11
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Group Life Insurance Improvement Act of 2009 - Allows veterans insured under Veterans' Group Life Insurance, no more than once in each five-year period, to increase such coverage amount if: (1) the veteran is under 60 years of age; (2) the increase is not more than $25,000; and (3) the total amount of such insurance does not exceed $400,000 (the limit authorized for a veteran under Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance).

Date: 2009-05-13
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Health Care for Members of the Armed Forces Exposed to Chemical Hazards Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Defense, for each occupational and environmental health chemical hazard of particular concern, to establish and administer a registry of members and former members of the Armed Forces who were exposed to such hazard in the line of duty on or after September 11, 2001. Requires the Secretary to: (1) notify a member or former member who may have been exposed to such a hazard; and (2) provide a complete physical and medical examination of such individual. Directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies for the Institute of Medicine under which the Institute, for each incident of exposure reported in a registry, shall review and summarize the scientific evidence, and assess the strength thereof, concerning the association between the exposure to such hazard and acute and long-term health consequences of such exposure. Requires the Institute to: (1) make recommendations for necessary additional scientific studies; and (2) conduct periodic subsequent reviews of such evidence. Requires members and former members listed in registries to be notified of any conclusive determinations with respect to such exposure, as well as any other significant related developments. Makes any veteran who was exposed in the line of duty to an occupational and environmental health chemical hazard of particular concern eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for any disability, notwithstanding insufficient medical evidence to conclude that the disability may be associated with such exposure.

Date: 2009-05-13
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Requires contracting officers of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to use purchases of goods or services through the federal supply schedules for the purpose of meeting the government-wide goal for participation by small businesses owned and controlled by veterans and service-disabled veterans.

Date: 2009-05-14
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Employing America's Heroes Tax Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2010 the tax credit for differential wage payments made by a small business employer on behalf of employees who are active duty members of the uniformed services.

Date: 2009-05-14
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Guard and Reserve Financial Stability Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow small employers (employers with 50 or fewer employees) a business tax credit for 50 percent of the lesser of: (1) actual compensation paid to each Ready Reserve-National Guard employee while on active duty or hospitalized incident to such duty; or (2) $30,000. Terminates such credit after 2009. Allows employers a work opportunity tax credit for the hiring of temporary employees to replace Ready Reserve-National Guard employees for the period such employees are on active duty.

Date: 2009-05-18
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Directs the Secretary of Defense, with respect to the defense budget for FY2011 and thereafter, to ensure that within the research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) account for each military department, a separate, dedicated program element is assigned to: (1) the RDT&E of body armor; and (2) the procurement of body armor. Requires the Secretary to ensure that, from amounts authorized for RDT&E, necessary sums are available for: (1) research and development of lighter body armor while maintaining equivalent level of threat protection to the improved outer tactical vest and enhanced small arms protective inserts; and (2) the creation of a task force to carry out the RDT&E of lighter body armor.

Date: 2009-05-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned, in the case of funeral honors for a veteran that are provided by a detail consisting solely of members of veterans organizations or other related organizations, to support the provision of such funeral honors through a daily stipend to each detail participant.

Date: 2009-05-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Defense to study and report to Congress on the feasibility of using a distinct military identification number, instead of a Social Security number, to identify each member of the Armed Forces.

Date: 2009-05-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Communication Improvement Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to modify the Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214) to permit a member of the Armed Forces, upon discharge or release from active duty, to include an e-mail address on the form.

Date: 2009-05-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Tax Relief and Fulfilling Our Obligation to Patriotic Soldiers Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income payments made to members of the Armed Forces as a qualified bonus. Defines "qualified bonus" as an enlistment, accession, reenlistment, retention, incentive, or other bonus paid to a member of the Armed Forces to accept a commmission or extend an active service commitment as an officer, to enlist, to reenlist, to extend an enlistment in an active or reserve component, or to enter into a reserve affiliation agreement.

Date: 2009-05-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Increases and extends through FY2010 the annual authorization of appropriations for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) comprehensive service programs for homeless veterans.

Date: 2009-05-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Help Our Homeless Veterans Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a national media campaign targeted at veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, with special emphasis on such veterans who are women.

Date: 2009-05-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Atomic Veterans Relief Act - Includes within the definition of a "radiation-risk activity" for purposes of eligibility for veterans' disability compensation the exposure at any time to ionizing radiation from undetonated weapons or residual contamination resulting from a nuclear detonation. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to include in regulations pertaining to the service-connection of veterans' disabilities additional provisions to ensure, in the case of a claim by a radiation-exposed veteran for service-connection of a nonpresumptive disability, that the procedures for establishment of whether the disability is service-connected and which require the mathematical calculation of the level of exposure of the veteran to the ionizing radiation (commonly referred to as dose reconstruction) also require the Secretary to, among other things: (1) determine the facts and circumstances of the exposure while presuming the veteran's recitation of the event as correct, unless clear and convincing evidence establishes otherwise; and (2) obtain a reconstructed dose based on specific facts and circumstances established by the evidence.

Date: 2009-05-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
PROTECT Act or Protecting the Retirement of Our Troops by Ensuring Compensation is Timely Act - Prohibits the Secretary of the military department concerned from presuming deceased a military retiree missing in Iraq or Afghanistan on or after October 7, 2001, until the earlier of seven years after the person was declared missing or the date the death is confirmed and a death certificate is delivered to the next of kin. Requires monthly retired pay to be resumed and any retired pay that may have been due following the declaration of the presumption of death to be retroactively paid to the family of the retiree.

Date: 2009-05-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay a $300 plot allowance to a state for spouses and children of certain veterans who are buried in state cemeteries.

Date: 2009-05-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Missing in America Act of 2009 - Recognizes the tireless work and dedication of the Missing in America Project, in conjunction with numerous veterans service organizations, in identifying unclaimed remains of veterans. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to cooperate with such organizations to assist entities in possession of unclaimed or abandoned human remains in determining if any such remains are the remains of veterans or other individuals eligible for burial in a national cemetery. Requires the Secretary, upon a positive determination with respect to any such remains, to provide for and cover the cost of the burial and funeral expenses if the Secretary determines that: (1) there is no next of kin or other person claiming the remains; and (2) there are no other sufficient resources to cover such expenses. Directs the Secretary to establish a publicly accessible database of the names of any veteran or other individual so identified.

Date: 2009-05-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Help Veterans Own Franchises Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow business franchisors and veterans who purchase a franchise tax credits for a specified percentage of the fees paid to purchase the franchise. Requires the Administrator of the Small Business Administration and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide information about the tax credits in this Act to veterans service organizations and advocacy groups.

Date: 2009-06-03
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Makes the pension amount payable to the surviving spouses of veterans who served during a period of war equal to the pension paid to such veterans.

Date: 2009-06-03
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Personnel Protection Act of 2009 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose criminal penalties for willfully causing, or attempting to cause, bodily injury to any person because of the actual or perceived status of such person as an active, guard, reserve, or retired member of the Armed Forces.

Date: 2009-06-03
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Establishes the American Veterans Congressional Internship Program, under which each Member of the House of Representatives may hire for a maximum 12-month period one additional employee who meets specified eligibility criteria to serve as the American Veteran Congressional Intern. Requires such an Intern to be honorably discharged from service in the U.S. armed forces or in their reserve components.

Date: 2009-06-03
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Congress
Veterans and Survivors Behavioral Health Awareness Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide scholarships to individuals pursuing education or training in behavioral health care specialties that are critical to the operations of Vet Centers (centers for readjustment counseling and related mental health services for veterans) in order to recruit and retain individuals with such specialties for service in Vet Centers. Conditions the scholarship on the recipient's agreeing to serve in such a capacity for whatever period the Secretary specifies in the agreement. Directs the Secretary, on receipt of a request for counseling from an individual who has been discharged or released from active service, to: (1) provide referrals to assist the individual in obtaining mental health care and services outside the VA; and (2) if pertinent, advise such individual of the individual's rights to apply for review of the discharge or release. Directs the Secretary to award grants to nonprofit organizations that provide emotional support services for survivors of deceased members of the Armed Forces and deceased veterans through the survivors' peers.

Date: 2009-06-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Armed Forces Behavioral Health Awareness Act - Makes any member of the Armed Forces who is deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom eligible for readjustment counseling and related mental health services through Vet Centers (centers for such counseling and services for veterans), regardless of the member's duty status. Directs the Secretary of Defense to award grants to nonprofit organizations that provide emotional support services for family members of members of the Armed Forces, including members of the reserves. Requires the Secretary of the Army to carry out a pilot program to enhance awareness of post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD) among members of the Army.

Date: 2009-06-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Disabled Veterans Life Insurance Enhancement Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide a two-year period, beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, to allow a person who was eligible for service disabled veterans life insurance but did not apply within the required two-year period after their disability was determined to apply for such insurance. Increases from: (1) $10,000 to $100,000 the maximum authorized amount of U.S. government or National Service life insurance; and (2) $20,000 to $50,000 the maximum authorized amount of supplemental insurance for totally disabled veterans.

Date: 2009-06-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reimburse family caregivers of disabled veterans for travel expenses, including lodging and subsistence, in connection with authorized VA treatment for such veterans.

Date: 2009-06-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Overpayment Fairness Act of 2009 - Reduces the maximum amount that may be deducted from the pay of a member of the Armed Forces for recovery of an overpayment of military pay paid to the member from 20% to 10% of the member's pay for that month (unless such member requests collection at an accelerated rate). Requires the Secretary of the military department concerned to consult with the member regarding the repayment rate, taking into account the financial ability of the member to pay and avoiding the imposition of undue hardship on the member and his or her dependents. Provides specified delays in collection of overpayments from members injured or wounded during hostile action or incurring a wound, injury, or illness during active duty in a combat operation or combat zone. Imposes a five-year statute of limitations on the collection of overpayments. Allows for the cancellation of repayment when the Secretary concerned determines that the person: (1) relies on social security benefits or disability compensation for more than half the person's annual income; or (2) would suffer undue hardship in repaying the indebtedness.

Date: 2009-06-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Families of Veterans Financial Security Act - Makes permanent the two-year extension of the free Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance coverage period for totally disabled veterans following separation from active or reserve duty.

Date: 2009-06-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
National Guard and Reservist Suicide Prevention and Community Response Act - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to require the Department of Defense (DOD) Office for Reintegration Programs, as part of the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, to establish a program to provide National Guard and Reserve members, their families, and their communities with training in suicide prevention and community healing and response to suicide. (Under current law, suicide prevention activities are one category of activities that may be included in the Office's development of outreach services.)

Date: 2009-06-11
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Protect the Homeland from North Korean and Iranian Ballistic Missiles Act - States the concern of Congress over North Korean and Iranian long-range ballistic missile technology and the spread of such technology. Expresses support for ballistic missile protection of U.S. allies and forward deployed forces but also the belief that this should not come at the expense of U.S. homeland protection. Directs the Secretary of Defense to deploy specified numbers of ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California and such number in other locations as determined to be appropriate by the President. Authorizes funding for the ground-based midcourse defense system of the Missile Defense Agency.

Date: 2009-06-12
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
U.S. Military Medals and Insignia Pride and Patriotism Act of 2009 - Prohibits a military exchange store or other nonappropriated fund instrumentality of DOD from purchasing for resale any military decorations, ribbons, badges, medals, insignia, or other military accoutrements not produced in the United States (Buy American requirement). Provides an exception when the Secretary determines that a satisfactory quality and sufficient quantity of an item produced in the United States cannot be procured. Includes U.S. territories and possessions within the definition of "United States" for purposes of this Act.

Date: 2009-06-12
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Helping Active Duty Deployed Act of 2009 - Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to prohibit a cell phone company from charging an early termination penalty for a cellular telephone contract entered into on behalf of a service member who has received orders for foreign deployment or for permanent change of station within the United States. (Current law provides such protection for a contract entered into by the service member.) Revises provisions concerning arrearages and other obligations to prohibit a lessor from charging an early termination charge with respect to a residential, professional, business, or agricultural rental lease or a motor vehicle lease entered into by a person who subsequently enters military service, or for a service member who has received orders for permanent change of station or for deployment in support of a military operation. States that: (1) lease amounts for a period preceding the lease termination shall be paid on a prorated basis; and (2) other unpaid lease charges shall be paid by the lessee. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require an institution of higher education to refund the tuition and fees paid by a student whose absence is due to military service for the payment period or period of enrollment for which such student did not receive academic credit as a result of such absence.

Date: 2009-06-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Wounded Warrior Caregiver Assistance Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to make interactive training sessions available for family caregivers and individuals who provide such caregivers support (including respite care providers, nursing care providers, and counselors). Directs the Secretary to provide family caregivers with information concerning public, private, and nonprofit agencies that offer support to such caregivers, including by contracting with a private entity to provide family caregivers with an Internet-based service with: (1) a directory of county level services; (2) message boards and other tools that allow interaction to foster peer support and the creation of support networks; and (3) comprehensive information explaining relevant health-related topics and issues. Directs the Secretary to conduct outreach to inform disabled veterans and their families of these services. Makes family caregivers eligible for counseling, training, and mental health services under existing provisions. Authorizes the Secretary to furnish respite care to a veteran who receives care from a family caregiver under existing provisions.

Date: 2009-06-16
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends requirements for the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Program to entitle an eligible veteran of the Armed Forces (including eligible dependents) pursuing a full-time educational program of apprenticeship or other on-job training to a monthly benefit payment equal to: (1) 85% of the national average cost of tuition at an institution of higher education for each of the first six months of the program; (2) 65% of such amount for each of the second six months of the program; and (3) 45% of such amount for each of the months following the first 12 months of the program. Reduces the payment an individual receives in any month in which the individual fails to complete 120 hours of training under the program of education.

Date: 2009-06-17
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Kyle Barthel Veterans and Service Members Mental Health Screening Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure that each member of the Armed Forces on active duty is required to participate in confidential, in-person screenings for mental health conditions by a licensed mental health professional to reduce the prevalence of suicide among service members, future veterans, and veterans. Prohibits the Secretary from using the results of such a screening to prohibit a member from returning to the United States, prohibit a member from being discharged from the Armed Forces, or involuntarily discharge a member. Directs the Secretary to require that each member on active duty is screened for a traumatic brain injury by a licensed professional who is qualified to conduct such screening. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a joint protocol to share existing and future reports concerning screenings conducted under this Act to help aid members and veterans who are transitioning from receiving health care and treatment through the Department of Defense to receiving such care and services through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Date: 2009-06-17
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes the payment of assignment pay in a total amount of $250,000 to members of the armed forces who agree to serve on active duty in Afghanistan for six years or for the duration of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, whichever occurs first. Provides for an increase in the amount of such pay if such a member scores a 4.0 on the Foreign Service Institute test for the dominant languages of Pashto and Dari.

Date: 2009-06-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Eliminates the required reduction in the amount of the accelerated death benefit payable to certain terminally ill persons insured under Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance or Veterans' Group Life Insurance.

Date: 2009-06-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Allows veterans' disability compensation benefits to be paid to the survivor of a veteran whose service-connected disability was continuously rated totally disabling for at least one year immediately preceding death. (Current law allows such survivor right of payment if the disability was rated total for periods of up to ten years under various circumstances.)

Date: 2009-06-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, subject to appropriations, to carry out a program of grants to public entities and private nonprofit organizations to: (1) make payments for up to three months to a covered veteran's landlord, mortgage company, or utility company for amounts of rent or mortgage that are in arrears, security deposits for rental properties, or utility bills or arrears; and (2) ensure that, when the payments begin, the veteran is in receipt of supportive services to further prevent homelessness. Allows those services to include job training, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and other services identified by the Secretary. Defines "covered veteran" as a veteran who is at risk of becoming homeless and who: (1) is in imminent danger of eviction or foreclosure; and (2) demonstrates a compromised ability to make rental or mortgage payments based on income.

Date: 2009-06-26
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make a decision on each benefits claim, and notify the claimant of the decision, by no later than 18 months after the date on which the claim is submitted. Requires approval of any claim for which a decision has not been made by that deadline. Requires that the Department's Inspector General establish a task force to monitor the process by which benefits claims are decided and to ensure that claims are not denied arbitrarily and are decided appropriately.

Date: 2009-06-26
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) outpatient clinic in Alexandria, Minnesota, that is expected to open in September 2009 as the "Max J. Beilke Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic."

Date: 2009-07-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Requires (under current law, allows) a contracting officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) award a contract to a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans using other than competitive procedures (often referred to as a sole source contract) in specified circumstances. Prohibits using ownership and control by a veteran or veterans of more than one small business as grounds for disqualification from inclusion in an existing database of veteran-owned businesses.

Date: 2009-07-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Family Leave Act of 2009 - 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: 2009-07-17
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretaries of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) to jointly establish the Wounded Warrior K-9 Corps program for the awarding of grants to nonprofits to assist them in establishing programs to provide assistance dogs to certain members of the Armed Forces and veterans who have certain disabilities. Defines the term "assistance dog" to mean a dog specifically trained to perform physical tasks to mitigate the effects of such a disability, except that such term does not include a dog specifically trained for comfort or personal defense.

Date: 2009-07-20
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a grant program to provide innovative transportation options to veterans in highly rural areas. Requires an annual report concerning such grants.

Date: 2009-07-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out demonstration projects to examine alternatives for expanding care for veterans in rural areas. Requires a report on such projects.

Date: 2009-07-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay travel expenses for veterans receiving treatment at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities at the rate of 41.5 cents per mile. (Under current law the rate is that provided to federal employees in connection with the performance of official duties.) Requires an annual report concerning such expenses.

Date: 2009-07-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Stable Future for Veterans' Children Act - Authorizes monthly annuity payments under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to a supplemental or special needs trust established for the sole benefit of a disabled dependent child who is incapable of self-support because of mental or physical incapacity.

Date: 2009-07-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Post-9/11 Veterans' Job Training Act of 2009 - Amends requirements for the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Program to entitle an eligible veteran of the Armed Forces (including eligible dependents) pursuing a full-time educational program of apprenticeship or other on-job training to a monthly benefit payment equal to: (1) 75% of the monthly benefit payment otherwise payable to such individual for each of the first six months of the program; (2) 55% of such payment for each of the second six months of the program; and (3) 35% of such payment for each of the months following the first 12 months of the program. Reduces the payment an individual receives in any month in which the individual fails to complete 120 hours of training under the program of education. Entitles an eligible veteran of the Armed Forces receiving such monthly benefit to receive also a monthly housing stipend equal to the basic allowance for housing payable for an Armed Forces member with dependents in pay grade E-5 residing in the military housing area that encompasses the ZIP code area in which the individual resides. Requires an individual's entitlement for each monthly benefit payment to be charged at the rate of: (1) 75% of a month for each of the first six months of the program; (2) 55% of a month for each of the second six months of the program; and (3) 35% of a month for each of the months following the first 12 months of the program.

Date: 2009-07-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Troops' Soft Landing, Employment, and Rural Transportation Act - Requires that a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces who was deployed for more than 179 days for a contingency operation or a homeland defense mission be: (1) retained on active duty in the Armed Forces for 90 days after the end of the member's demobilization from a deployment; (2) allowed to use accrued leave; and (3) paid specified pay and allowances. Allows a member to be released from such retention if the member requests release after the first 15 days of the retention. Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide each member so retained (and, as practicable, appropriate family members) reintegration counseling and services. Amends Internal Revenue Code work opportunity tax credit provisions, with regard to unemployed veterans living in counties where the unemployment is over a specified national threshold, to increase the credit from 40% to 50% and the maximum first-year wages which may be taken into account from $6,000 to $10,000. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a competitive grant program to assist veterans in rural areas to travel to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities.

Date: 2009-07-28
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Honor Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a program to provide scholarships for the pursuit of a graduate or postgraduate degree in behavioral health sciences to veterans who performed active-duty service in a theater of combat or during a contingency operation overseas. Requires the veteran, following completion of the degree requirements, to serve for an agreed-upon period with either the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or Department of Defense (DOD) furnishing mental health services to veterans or to members of the Armed Forces (members). Directs the Secretary of Defense to carry out a program to employ and train former members who performed service described above as DOD psychiatric technicians and nurses providing mental health counseling and related services to members deployed to a combat zone. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, upon request, to provide: (1) referral and related assistance to former members not otherwise authorized for counseling through the VA; and (2) readjustment counseling and mental health services to former members through Vet Centers. Requires the suicide of a former member with a medical history of a combat-related mental health condition, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or traumatic brain injury (TBI) that occurs within a two-year period after separation or retirement to be treated as a death in the line of active duty for purposes of eligibility for active-duty survivors' benefits provided through the VA. Requires the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs, jointly and annually, to: (1) review and assess their respective programs for the reintegration of members and veterans into civilian life following their retirement, discharge, or release; and (2) report review and assessment results to Congress.

Date: 2009-07-28
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Bring Assistance to Heroes Act of 2009 - Extends the first-time homebuyer credit (credit) through December 1, 2010, for certain military personnel stationed outside the United States. Excludes credit-recipient military personnel from: (1) the increased tax credit recapture provision; and (2) accelerated credit recapture regarding disposition of a principal residence if such member receives extended duty orders after the residence's purchase and before the date that such recapture would apply.

Date: 2009-07-29
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation