zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Military Facilities Force Protection Act of 2015

This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to station military police or other military personnel armed with firearms at military recruiting and reserve component facilities for the exclusive purpose of force protection.

 DOD is authorized to enter into memoranda of understanding with state or local law enforcement agencies or National Guards to provide such protection if military personnel are not available.

DOD shall:

 implement a training program for all force protection personnel stationed under this Act; implement measures to improve the security of existing military recruitment and reserve component facilities, including installation of bullet-proof glass and enhanced video surveillance equipment; and relocate a facility for which adequate security improvements cannot be made to a location consistent with required security improvements.

Date: 2015-07-22
Topic: Defense (Installations & Land)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Enhancing Security for Military Personnel Act of 2015

This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to: (1) submit to Congress a plan to enhance security of military personnel at DOD installations in the United States; and (2) implement the plan recommendations within 90 days after enactment of this Act, and after briefing Congress.

Date: 2015-08-05
Topic: Defense (Installations & Land)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Protection Act

This bill prohibits the President from modifying, terminating, abandoning, or transferring the lease with the government of Cuba by which the United States acquired 45 square miles of land and waters that currently contain Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, unless: (1) the President notifies Congress of the proposed lease change, and (2) afterwards Congress enacts a law authorizing the change.

Date: 2016-02-22
Topic: Defense (Installations & Land)
Subject: International affairs
This bill directs the Department of the Army to submit to Congress a report that outlines plans to extend the runway at Pope Army Airfield, North Carolina, and that indicates whether such project is an Army priority.

Date: 2016-04-28
Topic: Defense (Installations & Land)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
This bill amends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 to provide that such Act shall cease to be effective on the date the President certifies to Congress that the International Atomic Energy Agency has reached a broader conclusion that all nuclear material in Iran remains in peaceful activities.

Date: 2016-05-25
Topic: Defense (Installations & Land)
Subject: International affairs
U.S.-China Nuclear Cooperation and Nonproliferation Act of 2016

This bill directs the Department of Energy to notify Congress within five days after receiving an application to transfer nuclear technology to China.

A request for authorization to transfer U.S.-origin technology from China, or with the significant participation of Chinese persons not located in the United States, to a country other than the United States or China, shall be: (1) subject to authorization requirements specified in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954; and (2) denied unless the applicant demonstrates significant participation by U.S. persons in the transfer, significant U.S. content involved in the transfer in the case of nuclear reactors and components, and timely reimbursement for grants or loans provided by the U.S. government to entities involved in the technology's development.

The bill states that it is U.S. policy to:

 oppose China's provision of assistance in the construction of any additional nuclear reactors in Pakistan, and assist Pakistan in acquiring and developing sufficient electrical power through means other than nuclear power. The President shall determine if China has:

 violated the U.S.-China Nuclear Cooperation Agreement; re-transferred U.S. nuclear items without U.S. permission; stolen or diverted U.S. nuclear items to military use; failed to prevent transfer of proliferation-sensitive items pursuant to the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act; or failed to enforce sanctions against North Korea. The President shall, if such violations occur, suspend nuclear cooperation with China until a corrective plan of action is implemented.

It is the sense of Congress that the United States should encourage countries in East Asia to forgo new spent fuel reprocessing activities.

The President shall not agree to the reprocessing, recycling, or other alteration of nuclear material at any individual facility to which International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards are not applied, unless, for each proposed facility at which such activity will take place, the President certifies that the nuclear material will be adequately safeguarded and available for inspection.

Date: 2016-05-26
Topic: Defense (Installations & Land)
Subject: International affairs
This bill requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to obtain consent from relevant nonfederal agencies and Indian tribes before granting a permit, easement, or other right-of-way for a pipeline transporting oil, natural gas, synthetic liquid or gaseous fuels, or any refined product produced from those materials on land associated with a civil works project of the Corps of Engineers or an associated flowage easement, if the construction or operation of the pipeline has the potential to impair the beneficial uses of the surface water or groundwater used by the nonfederal agency or the Indian tribe.

Date: 2016-12-05
Topic: Defense (Installations & Land)
Subject: Environmental protection
Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007 - Establishes in the Treasury the Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund for payments by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of a monthly benefit of $1,000 to each individual who, between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946, was a documented member of the U.S. merchant marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service) serving as a crewmember of a vessel that was operated in U.S. waters by the War Shipping Administration or the Office of Defense Transportation and under contract to, or the property of, the United States. Requires such individuals to: (1) apply for such benefit before October 1, 2009; and (2) not have received benefits under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. Authorizes appropriations for FY2008-FY2012. Requires the Secretary to include, in annual budget documents submitted to Congress, detailed information on the Fund's operation.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Outreach Improvement Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish, maintain, and modify as necessary procedures for ensuring the effective coordination of outreach activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs between and among the Office of the Secretary, the Office of Public Affairs, the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the National Cemetery Administration. Directs the Secretary to give priority to state and county outreach assistance in locations that: (1) have relatively large concentrations of veterans; or (2) are experiencing growth in veteran populations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to state or county veterans agencies for state and local outreach services. Requires each participating agency to submit annually to the Secretary a three-year plan for the use of such funds. Authorizes appropriations.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Bartlett Montgomery GI Bill Act - Amends the Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance program to allow an individual who has completed six years of service in the Armed Forces and enters into an agreement to serve at least four more years to transfer their educational assistance entitlement to their spouse, child, or a combination thereof. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide a percentage annual increase in the rates of such educational assistance based on the average monthly costs of higher education. Authorizes reimbursement of reductions in basic pay for educational assistance coverage in the case of extended active-duty service. Provides similar eligibility for the transfer of educational assistance for members of the Selected Reserve who have completed at least six years of service and enter into an agreement to remain a member of such Reserve for at least four more years. Provides educational assistance eligibility credit for cumulative active-duty service in the Selected Reserve. Increases the rates of educational assistance under the Reserve Montgomery GI Bill. Applies an annual adjustment to the rates of survivors' and dependents' educational assistance.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Combat-Related Special Compensation Act - Authorizes monthly combat-related special compensation pay to any military retiree who is entitled to retired pay and has a combat-related disability. (Currently, a retiree must meet those requirements and also have completed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service.) Provides a special compensation rule with respect to retirees with less than 20 years of service.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Disabled Veteran Small Business Eligibility Expansion Act of 2007 - Amends the Small Business Act to make small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans eligible for the award by the Small Business Administration (SBA) of small business development grants in the same manner as small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Commerce
Fallen Heroes Tax Fairness Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise provisions exempting deceased members of the Armed Forces who die from wounds, disease, or injury incurred while serving in a combat zone from income tax to extend the tax exemption to the last taxable year ending before such wounds, disease, or injury were incurred.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Amends veterans' benefit provisions to provide for the payment of dependency and indemnity compensation to the survivors of veterans rated totally disabled at the time of death who were former prisoners of war (currently, to the survivors of such veterans who died after September 30, 1999).

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
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. Provides that such employment by a Member and the payment of the Intern's salary shall be in addition to all personnel and allowances otherwise made available to Members under other provisions of law, rule, or other authority.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Congress
Depleted Uranium Screening and Testing Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to: (1) establish procedures for the predeployment notification to members of the Armed Forces of any known or likely use of depleted uranium in the theater of operation and any health risks associated with exposure to depleted uranium; (2) provide for training deploying members on the safe handling of depleted uranium contamination; (3) carry out a program to identify individuals exposed to depleted uranium during active service in the Armed Forces; (4) provide such individuals with bioassay testing and notification of test results; and (5) identify specified depleted uranium exposure events. Requires the Secretary of each military department to establish procedures for collecting, tracking, and maintaining information on the health status of individuals tested under this Act to assess long-term health consequences of exposure to depleted uranium. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct an independent review of bioassay types and contamination thresholds for purposes of required testing. Requires the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide appropriate treatment for any illness of an individual resulting from depleted uranium contamination or exposure. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a survey of radioisotope identification equipment used by the Department of Defense (DOD) to assess the capability of DOD facilities to identify concentrations of different radioisotopes in naturally occurring levels of uranium and to report survey findings to Congress.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Combat Military Medically Retired Veteran's Fairness Act - Authorizes the payment of special compensation to members of the Armed Forces retired due to disability with less than 20 years of active service who were awarded the Purple Heart. States that such payments shall be made without regard to special rules applicable to other disability retirees which require offsetting reductions.

Date: 2007-01-05
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Retired Pay Restoration Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that military retired pay should not be reduced because a military retiree is also eligible for veterans' disability compensation awarded for a service-connected disability. Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability (currently, only a disability rated at 50 percent or more). Repeals provisions phasing in the full concurrent receipt of such pay through December 31, 2013. 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: 2007-01-05
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Border Patrol Agent Recruitment Act of 2007 - Amends federal employee provisions to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to fix at 45 the maximum age limit for an original appointment to a border patrol position (position) for any individual who is a retired member of the Armed Forces at the time of appointment. Makes eligible for retirement under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) any such individual who serves in the position for 15 years after such appointment.

Date: 2007-01-05
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Civilian Service Recognition Act of 2007 - Requires executive agencies to furnish a U.S. flag to drape the casket of a civilian federal employee who dies in a combat zone, upon request of the deceased's next of kin or a close associate of the deceased. Requires notification of federal civilian employees who are located or stationed in a combat zone to perform one or more functions in support of military operations of the flag ceremony benefit provided for under this Act.

Date: 2007-01-05
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) suicide among veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious problem; and (2) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in developing and implementing the comprehensive program outlined in this Act, should take into consideration the special needs of such veterans and of elderly veterans who are at high risk for depression and experience high rates of suicide. Directs the Secretary to develop and carry out a comprehensive program designed to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans. Requires the program to include: (1) mandatory training for appropriate staff and contractors of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) who interact with veterans; (2) mental health assessments of veterans; (3) designation of a suicide prevention counselor at each Department medical facility; (4) research on best practices for suicide prevention; (5) mental health care for veterans who have experienced sexual trauma while in military service; (6) 24-hour veterans' mental health care availability; (7) a toll-free hotline; and (8) outreach and education for veterans and their families. Authorizes the Secretary to develop and carry a peer support counseling program as part of such program. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the program.

Date: 2007-01-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to study and report to Congress on the accuracy and possible extension of expiration dates on certain prescription drugs maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Date: 2007-01-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act - Amends federal military retired pay provisions to: (1) permit veterans with a service-connected disability of less than 50% to claim both retired pay and disability compensation; (2) eliminate provisions requiring a phase in between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2013, of concurrent receipt of retired pay and disability compensation; (3) provide a special reduction rule with respect to the concurrent receipt of retired pay and disability compensation in the case of disability retirees with less than 20 years of creditable service; and (4) extend combat-related special compensation to certain veterans with less than 20 years of service who have a combat-related disability.

Date: 2007-01-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Families Financial Security Act - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act, with respect to income eligibility for SSI, to provide for the treatment of cash military compensation other than basic pay as earned income, and of certain housing payments as in-kind support and maintenance.

Date: 2007-01-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Social welfare
Redesignates the: (1) Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps; and (2) Secretary of the Navy as the Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps. Makes similar redesignations with respect to Department Assistant Secretaries and the General Counsel.

Date: 2007-01-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends federal veterans' benefits provisions to make permanent (currently, terminates on December 31, 2006) the authority for the provision by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of government markers or memorial headstones for the marked graves of veterans buried in private cemeteries. Amends the Veterans Education and Benefits Expansion Act of 2001 to make eligible for such markers or headstones certain veterans dying on or after November 1, 1990 (currently, September 11, 2001).

Date: 2007-01-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Universal National Service Act of 2007 - Declares that it is the obligation of every U.S. citizen, and every other person residing in the United States, between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform a two-year period of national service, unless exempted, either as a member of an active or reserve component of the armed forces or in a civilian capacity that promotes national defense. Requires induction into national service by the President. Allows persons to be inducted only: (1) under a declaration of war or national emergency; or (2) when members of the Armed Forces are engaged in a contingency operation. Requires each person, before induction, to be examined physically and mentally for classification for fitness to perform. Sets forth provisions governing: (1) induction deferments, postponements, and exemptions, including exemption of a conscientious objector from combatant training and military service; and (2) discharge following national service. Amends the Military Selective Service Act to authorize the military registration of females. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit combat pay otherwise excluded from gross income to be treated as earned income for purposes of the earned income tax credit.

Date: 2007-01-10
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Disability Compensation Automatic COLA Act - Requires that, whenever there is an increase in benefit amounts payable under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall increase by the same percentage the amounts payable as veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled adult children, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children.

Date: 2007-01-11
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends federal armed forces provisions to prohibit a person from being appointed as Secretary of Defense within three (currently, ten) years after active-duty service as a commissioned officer in a regular component of the Armed Forces.

Date: 2007-01-11
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax free rollovers of military death gratuities to Roth individual retirement accounts, health savings and Archer medical savings accounts, and Coverdell education savings accounts.

Date: 2007-01-11
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Repeals the Military Selective Service Act.Prohibits the Office of Selective Service Records from being reestablished upon such repeal. Transfers the assets, property, and records held by the Selective Service System (SSS), as well as unexpended balances, to the Administrator of General Services. Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to assist officers and employees of the SSS to transfer to other positions in the executive branch.Prohibits any person from being denied a right, privilege, benefit, or employment position under Federal law on the grounds that the person failed to register under the Military Selective Service Act before its repeal.

Date: 2007-01-11
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Prohibits any funds made available to the Department of Defense (DOD) from being obligated or expended to increase the number of U.S. Armed Forces serving in Iraq at any time in excess of the number serving there as of January 1, 2007, unless a specific authorization for the increase is enacted into law.

Date: 2007-01-12
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish hospital care and medical services, and authorizes the Secretary to furnish nursing home care, as needed to any veteran who was awarded the Mariners Medal (currently, only the Purple Heart).

Date: 2007-01-12
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Protect the Troops and Bring Them Home Act of 2007 - Allows funds made available to the Department of Defense (DOD) to be obligated or expended within the Republic of Iraq only for providing: (1) the continued protection of members of the Armed Forces in Iraq pending their withdrawal; and (2) the safe and orderly withdrawal of such troops pursuant to a schedule that provides for withdrawal commencement no later than 30 days after the enactment of this Act and withdrawal completion no later than December 31, 2007. Prohibits any DOD funds from being obligated or expended to increase the number of Armed Forces serving in Iraq at any time. Permits the obligation or expenditure of funds to ensure the security of Iraq and its transition to democratic rule through specified consultations, financial or equipment assistance, or economic or reconstruction assistance.

Date: 2007-01-12
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Honor Our Commitment to Veterans Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to administer the health care enrollment system of the Department of Veterans Affairs so as to enroll any eligible veteran who applies. (This directive in effect terminates an administrative freeze on the enrollment of veterans in the lowest priority enrollment category.)

Date: 2007-01-12
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Children of Fallen Soldiers Pell Grant Act of 2007 - Amends the Higher Educaton Act of 1965 to eliminate the expected family contribution used in determining Pell Grant eligibility in the case of a student applicant whose parent or guardian was killed while performing military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001.

Date: 2007-01-18
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Education
Amends the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 to extend the period during which members of the Armed Forces deployed in connection with Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, or Iraqi Freedom may request and receive reimbursement for purchasing protective helmet pads.

Date: 2007-01-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Returning Servicemember VA Healthcare Insurance Act of 2007 - Extends, for veterans who served in a theater of combat operations during a period of war after the Persian Gulf War or during a period of hostilities after November 11, 1998, from two to five years the period of elgibility for hospital care, medical services, or nursing home care provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs following discharge or release for such veterans, or, for veterans who were discharged or released more than five years before the enactment of this Act and who did not enroll before such enactment, enrollment must be within three years of such enactment.

Date: 2007-01-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Blind Veterans Fairness Act - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to disregard state paid annuities for blind veterans and their spouses in determining SSI benefits.

Date: 2007-01-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Social welfare
Joseph I. Hoover Combat Veteran Affidavit Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, for purposes of eligibility for veterans' disability compensation and benefits, to accept the sworn affidavit of a veteran who served on or before July 27, 1953, as proof of a service connection of a disease or injury alleged to have been incurred in or aggravated by such service, if there is no clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.

Date: 2007-01-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act - Requires the United States to forgive any overpayment of military retired or retainer pay for any period after the death of the recipient through the last day of the month in which such death occurs, if such payment is electronically deposited to a joint account bearing the name of the decedent and the decedent's designated beneficiary. Provides a special effective date for the first annuity payment to a survivor under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) when an overpayment is so forgiven.

Date: 2007-01-24
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: 2007-01-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Reduces from age 57 to age 55 the age after which the remarriage of the surviving spouse of a deceased veteran shall not result in termination of dependency and indemnity compensation otherwise payable to that surviving spouse. Prohibits payment of retroactive benefits. Permits eligibility for such benefits by an individual who but for having remarried would be eligible for such benefits by reason such age reduction and whose remarriage was before the date of the enactment of this Act and after the individual had attained age 57 only if the individual submits an application for such benefits within one year of enactment.

Date: 2007-01-29
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007 - Deems certain service performed before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Scouts as active military service for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Repeals certain provisions discounting such service as qualifying service.

Date: 2007-01-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends federal provisions relating to the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to change from October 1, 2008, to October 1, 2007, the effective date on or after which no reduction may be made in the retired pay of an SBP participant for any month after the later of: (1) the 360th month for which such pay was so reduced; and (2) the month during which the participant attains 70 years of age.

Date: 2007-01-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Dr. James Allen Veteran Vision Equity Act of 2007 - Title I: Low-Vision Benefits Matters - (Sec. 101) Modifies the standard for awarding disability compensation to veterans for loss of vision to require payment of compensation for impairment of vision due to a service-connected disability resulting in 20/200 (currently, 5/200) visual acuity or less. (Sec. 102) Modifies the above standard in the case of impairment of vision (currently, blindness) involving both eyes due to a service-connected disability in one eye and a non-service-connected disability in the other eye to require payment in the case of impairment resulting in a visual acuity of 20/200 or less or of a peripheral field of 20 degrees or less in each eye. Title II: Matters Relating to Burial and Memorial Affairs - (Sec. 201) Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in lieu of furnishing a headstone or marker for the grave of certain individuals buried in a private cemetery, to furnish a medallion or other device to signify the deceased's status as a veteran, to be attached to a headstone or marker furnished at private expense. (Sec. 202) Repeals, as of October 1, 2006, the time limit for a state's filing of a request for reimbursement for interment costs for veterans buried in cemeteries other than national cemeteries. Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant to a state for operating and maintaining a veterans' cemetery owned by such state. Limits to $5 million the amount of such grants awarded in a fiscal year. (Sec. 203) Makes permanent the authority of the Secretary to furnish government headstones or markers for the burial of veterans at private cemeteries. Title III: Other Matters - (Sec. 301) Requires the Secretary to provide the Secretary of Health and Human Services with information for comparison with the National Directory of New Hires for income verification purposes in order to determine eligibility for certain veteran benefits and services. Requires the Secretary to: (1) seek only the minimum information necessary to make such determination; (2) receive prior written consent of the individual before seeking, using, or disclosing any such information; (3) independently verify any information received prior to terminating, denying, or reducing a benefit or service; and (4) allow an opportunity for an individual to contest negative findings. Terminates such authority at the end of FY2011. (Sec. 302) Extends, through June 30, 2010, the Secretary's authority to provide an educational allowance to persons performing qualifying work-study activities.

Date: 2007-02-05
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Employment and Respect Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a work opportunity tax credit for hiring veterans of Afghanistan or Iraq who served after October 6, 2001, in the Operation Iraqi Freedom Area or the Operation Enduring Freedom Area.

Date: 2007-02-07
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Authorizes the Secretary of Defense, upon request of the Secretary of Homeland Security, to assign regular and reserve members of the Armed Forces to assist the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security in: (1) preventing the entry of terrorists, drug traffickers, and illegal aliens into the United States; and (2) the inspection of cargo, vehicles, and aircraft at U.S. points of entry to prevent the entry of weapons of mass destruction and their components, prohibited narcotics or drugs, or other terrorist or drug trafficking items. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to certify that such request is necessary to respond to a threat to national security. Requires the Secretaries to establish a training program that must be completed by military personnel serving in such capacity. Requires any member so serving to be accompanied by a civilian law enforcement officer from the agency concerned. Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish ongoing joint task forces to respond to threats to national security posed by the entry of terrorists, drug traffickers, or illegal aliens. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to notify the governor and local governments of the state involved of the deployment of such members and the types of tasks to be performed.

Date: 2007-02-08
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Forgotten Military Widows Annuity Act of 2007 - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 to make eligible under a Department of Defense (DOD) survivor annuity program that currently allows a survivor annuity to be paid to the unremarried surviving spouses of certain members of the Armed Forces who died before October 1, 1978, those surviving spouses who: (1) remarried after age 55; or (2) remarried at any age, but whose subsequent marriage was terminated due to death, annulment, or divorce.

Date: 2007-02-08
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Travel Fairness Act - Makes the rate of reimbursement for private motor vehicle travel under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) beneficiary travel program the same as that for private vehicle travel for federal employees.

Date: 2007-02-08
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Civilian Agent Orange Act of 2007 - Establishes the: (1) Agent Orange Illness Compensation Program to provide compensation for federal employees or employees of contractors of the Department of Defense (DOD) who contracted an Agent Orange illness while employed during the Vietnam conflict and suffered injury or death by reason of that illness; and (2) Agent Orange Illness Compensation Fund to make such payments. Fixes the compensation amount at $100,000, payable either to the employee or his or her eligible survivor. Offsets such payment by any payment made on a claim based on the same illness, injury, or death on account of exposure to Agent Orange herbicides.

Date: 2007-02-08
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Law
Armed Forces Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from employment taxes combat zone compensation of members of the Armed Forces which is excludable from gross income. Appropriates amounts to cover Social Security trust fund deficits resulting from such tax exemption.

Date: 2007-02-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Strengthening America's Military Families Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow spouses of members of the Armed Forces to exclude from their gross income an amount equal to that amount which such members are able to exclude as combat zone compensation.

Date: 2007-02-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Provides that, in the case of a member of the Armed Forces who dies while serving on active duty or inactive duty for training, and who dies without a surviving spouse but with one or more children under age 18 who will be in the custody of a parent, brother, or sister, the death gratuity for such member shall be payable to such parent, brother, or sister as designated by the member.

Date: 2007-02-16
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Increases from $1,000 to $2,000 the monthly special pension paid to Medal of Honor recipients. Provides for payment of such pension to the surviving spouse of a deceased recipient as long as the surviving spouse was married to the recipient: (1) for one year or more; or (2) for any period of time if a child was born of the marriage or was born to them before the marriage.

Date: 2007-02-16
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Fairness to All Vietnam Veterans Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to study and report to Congress: (1) to identify veterans who died after October 31, 1955, as a result of military operations in southeast Asia whose names are not eligible for inscription on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; and (2) on the feasibility and equitability of revising the eligibility requirements to be more inclusive of such veterans or of creating an alternative means for recognizing them, including alternatives involving an education center at the Memorial.

Date: 2007-02-16
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, subject to the appropriation of such funds as may be necessary, to pay the amount owed to the subcontractors of Pacific General, Inc.(PGI), for work performed at the Grand Canyon National Park between FY2002-FY2003 under a General Services Administration (GSA) indefinite deliver/indefinite quantity contract (IDIQ), provided that: (1) the primary contract between PGI and the National Park Service is terminated; (2) the amount owed to the subcontractors is verified; (3) all reasonable legal avenues or recourse have been exhausted by the subcontractors to recoup amounts owed directly from PGI; and (4) the subcontractors provide a written statement that payment of the amount verified represents payment in full by the United States for all work performed at the Park under the IDIQ with PGI between FY2002-FY2003.

Date: 2007-02-27
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Prisoner of War Benefits Act of 2007 - Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions with respect to former prisoners of war (POW) to repeal the currently required 30-day minimum period of internment prior to the presumption of service connection for certain listed diseases, for purposes of the payment of veterans' disability compensation. Adds the following diseases to the above listed diseases diabetes (type 2) and osteoporosis. Requires: (1) such presumption also with respect to any disease that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines warrants such presumption by reason of having a positive association with the experience of being a prisoner of war; and (2) the Secretary to make such a determination within 60 days after a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Former Prisoners of War that such presumption be established for a non-listed disease.

Date: 2007-02-27
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Survivors Education Enhancement Act - Revises provisions concerning educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill to terminate the 45-month limitation on: (1) the use of such assistance for eligible veterans' survivors and dependents; and (2) the use of such assistance for special restorative training. Makes survivors and dependents eligible for educational assistance until their 30th (currently 26th) birthday. Makes the aggregate amount of educational assistance $80,000. (Currently, there are monthly limits for full-time, three quarter-time, or half-time educational pursuit.) Includes within authorized educational pursuits in such amounts: (1) a program of apprenticeship or other on-job training; and (2) a correspondence course. Makes survivors and dependents eligible for tutorial assistance.

Date: 2007-02-27
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Expands the eligibility of certain commissioned officers of the Armed Forces for the basic educational assistance program of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Date: 2007-02-28
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Sets a maximum age limit of 40 years for an original appointment to a position as a federal law enforcement officer in the case of individuals who have been discharged or released from active duty in the armed forces under honorable conditions. Increases the age at which such an individual must be separated from service as an officer to 60 years of age, with an authorized exemption until age 63.

Date: 2007-03-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act of 2007 - Requires each recovering servicemember who is assigned to a military barracks or dormitory to be assigned to one that is maintained at the highest service standard in effect for enlisted members of the Armed Forces. Requires at least semiannual inspections of, and appropriate repairs to, any such quarters, as well as alternate housing during periods of unremedied housing deficiencies. Outlines requirements to be implemented for recovering servicemembers and their families, including: (1) physical disability evaluation system changes; (2) supervising officer and caseworker support; (3) increased training for caseworkers and social workers on particular servicemember conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); (4) increased support services, including an Ombudsman for Recovering Servicemembers; (5) a prohibition on discrimination in employment of family members caring for such servicemembers; and (6) meal benefits for recovering servicemembers and family members caring for such servicemembers. Establishes the Oversight Board for the Wounded.

Date: 2007-03-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Pension Improvement Act of 2007 - Increases pension rates for: (1) veterans of a period of war for non-service-connected disability; and (2) surviving spouses and children of veterans.

Date: 2007-03-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Makes eligible for a $300 plot allowance for burial in a cemetery other than a national cemetery a veteran who is eligible for burial in a national cemetery and who: (1) was discharged from active service for a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty; or (2) is a veteran of any war. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in lieu of furnishing a headstone or marker for an individual so entitled, to reimburse the person entitled to request such headstone or marker for acquiring a non-government headstone or marker for placement in any cemetery other than a national cemetery in connection with the burial or memorialization of the deceased individual.

Date: 2007-03-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase, as of December 1, 2007, the rates of veterans' wartime disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled adult children, 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 [OASDI]) of the Social Security Act, on the same effective date.

Date: 2007-03-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt sons and daughters of Filipino World War II veterans who were naturalized under the Immigration Act of 1990 from worldwide or numerical limitations on immigrant visas.

Date: 2007-03-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Immigration
Requires officers on the active-duty list of the Army or Air Force to complete a tour of duty of at least one year in a Guard or Reserve duty assignment (other than a Reserve Officers Training Corps unit) in order to be eligible for promotion to brigadier general. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to waive this requirement: (1) when necessary for the good of the service; (2) in cases where the proposed promotion is based primarily upon scientific and technical qualifications for which Guard or Reserve requirements do not exist; (3) in the case of specified medical, chaplaincy, or judge advocate positions; or (4) if the officer selected for appointment to brigadier general by a promotion board had completed at least 180 days of a Guard or Reserve duty assignment on the date such board was convened. Requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations to carry out this Act that specifically identify those categories of officers for whom the waiver applicable to scientific and technical qualifications is available.

Date: 2007-03-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2007 - (Sec. 2) Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide specially adaptive housing assistance for disabled members of the Armed Forces residing temporarily in housing owned by a family member if such military member suffers from a disability which is permanent and total in nature and is the result of an injury incurred or disease contracted or aggravated in the line of duty in active military service. (Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary to carry out the Department of Veterans Affairs Visual Impairment and Orientation and Mobility Professionals Scholarship Program to increase the supply of qualified blind rehabilitation specialists for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the country. Outlines eligibility requirements, including being a full- or part-time student in such fields of education or training. Requires: (1) full-time scholarship recipients to serve full-time in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in such field of clinical practice for three years during the six-year period following completion of such education or training; and (2) part-time recipients to serve a proportionately reduced period, but not less than one year. Limits to $15,000 per academic year the maximum scholarship for full-time participants. Requires pro rata repayment for unserved periods of obligated service. (Sec. 4) Requires the Secretary to include, within a currently-required annual report concerning veterans' reemployment rights: (1) the number of cases reviewed by the Secretary of Defense under the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve of the Department of Defense; and (2) an indication of which of the reported cases are disability-related. (Sec. 5) Increases from 15 to 16 the number of members on the Advisory Committee on Veterans Employment, Training, and Employer Outreach.

Date: 2007-03-05
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security