zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Providing Real Outreach for Veterans Act of 2008 or PRO-VETS Act of 2008 - 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: 2008-07-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes a military chaplain, if called upon to lead a prayer outside of a religious service, to close the prayer according to the dictates of the chaplain's conscience.

Date: 2008-07-16
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Agent Orange Equity Act of 2008 - Includes as part of the Republic of Vietnam, for purposes of the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure by veterans to certain herbicide agents while in Vietnam, such Republic's inland waterways, waters offshore, and airspace above.

Date: 2008-07-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Hubbard Act - Amends federal employment, armed forces, military pay, and veterans' benefits law to authorize the provision of the following benefits to a member of the Armed Forces who is discharged at the member's request pursuant to a Department of Defense (DOD) policy permitting the early discharge of a member who is the only surviving child in a family in which the father or mother, or one or more siblings, served in the Armed Forces and, incident to such service, was killed, died as a result of wounds, accident, or disease, is in a captured or missing in action status, or is permanently disabled: (1) continued payment, through the original agreed-upon service period, of any bonus, incentive, or similar benefit to which the member was entitled during service; (2) separation pay, even though the member has completed less than six years of active service before discharge; (3) transitional health care, on the same basis as an active-duty member, for 180 days after discharge; (4) transitional commissary and exchange benefits, on the same basis as an active-duty member, for two years after discharge; (5) veterans' housing loan, employment and training, and basic educational assistance; (6) federal unemployment compensation; and (7) veteran's preference for federal employment purposes. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the limitation on contributions to funeral trusts. Makes this Act effective with respect to any such discharge granted after September 11, 2001.

Date: 2008-07-23
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to pay the balance on any federal educational loan of an officer of the Marine Corps who was commissioned on or after September 11, 2001, and is not in default on such loan.

Date: 2008-07-29
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Filipino Veterans Assistance Act of 2008 - Authorizes the President to provide assistance to the Republic of the Philippines to provide benefits to persons (and certain dependents thereof) who served: (1) before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, while in the service of the Armed Forces of the United States; or (2) in the Philippine Scouts. Includes within the benefits to be provided: (1) compensation for service-connected disabilities; (2) dependency and indemnity compensation; (3) medical care; (4) education benefits; and (5) death pensions.

Date: 2008-07-29
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: International affairs
Fallen Hero Commemoration Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to grant access to accredited members of the media: (1) at military commemoration ceremonies and military memorial services for members of the Armed Forces who have died on active duty; and (2) when the remains of such members arrive at U.S. military installations. Authorizes the Secretary to establish the policy for media accreditation.

Date: 2008-07-30
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Combat Operations and Medical Benefit Authorization for Our Troops Act of 2008 or COMBAT Act - Increases the maximum monthly rates of: (1) hazardous duty pay; (2) hostile fire or imminent danger pay; (3) special pay for service as a member of a Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team; (4) special pay for members extending duty at designated overseas locations; (5) combat-related injury rehabilitation pay; and (6) the family separation allowance. Increases the maximum annual rates of special pay for: (1) officers serving as psychologists and nonphysician health care providers; and (2) special warfare officers extending their active-duty period.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in determining the amount of any allowance or reimbursement to be paid under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) veterans beneficiary travel program, to use the mileage reimbursement rates for the use of privately owned vehicles by government employees traveling on official business. Authorizes the Secretary to use a rate in excess of such rate. Prohibits the Secretary from making payments for travel performed by a special mode unless it is: (1) medically required and previously authorized; or (2) in connection with a medical emergency of such a nature that delay would have been hazardous to the person's life or health. Eliminates required deductions in connection with travel under the program. Allows such payments in connection with all veterans and family members eligible for examination, treatment, care, rehabilitation, or counseling through the VA.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Guaranteed Benefits for Our Troops Act - Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide uncharged leave or a monetary benefit to any member or former member of the Armed Forces who, on any day beginning on January 19, 2007, and ending on the date of implementation of the Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence program, would have qualified for a day of administrative absence under such program had it been in effect. Makes such benefit: (1) an amount not to exceed $200 for each day, in the case of a former member; and (2) either one day of administrative absence or an amount not to exceed $200, in the case of a current member. Excludes from such benefit any members discharged or released under other than honorable conditions. Sets at 40 the maximum number of days for which such benefit may be provided.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Defines "combat with the enemy," for purposes of proof of service-connection for veterans' disability compensation, as service on active duty: (1) in a theater of combat operations during a period of war; or (2) in combat against a hostile force during a period of hostilities.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Department of Defense Service Dog Pilot Program Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish and carry out a two-year pilot program to furnish service dogs to any member of the Armed Forces: (1) who has a service-connected disability, including a disability that limits mobility; and (2) for whom a service dog may be of substantial benefit in the treatment of such disability.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Combat Bonus Act - Requires the payment of a one-time bonus of $1,500 to each active-duty and reserve member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or Merchant Marines who: (1) serves for 90 days or more on or after October 7, 2001, in a combat zone designated in connection with Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom; and (2) if discharged or released, is done so under conditions other than dishonorable. Makes individuals eligible for such bonus for qualifying service of less than 90 days if the individual: (1) dies of injuries incurred in connection with such service; or (2) is evacuated from a theater of combat due to an injury incurred in connection with such service.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Protecting Military Family Financial Benefits Act of 2007 [sic] - Allows an unmarried member of the Armed Forces with one or more dependent children, upon becoming eligible to participate in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), to elect to provide an SBP annuity to an individual who acts as a guardian or caretaker to the dependent child or children.Directs the Secretary of Defense to appoint a panel to review and identify best practices among pre-deployment counseling and services provided by the military departments to unmarried members of the Armed Forces with dependent children.

Date: 2008-08-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Presumes to be service-connected, and therefore compensable through veterans' disability compensation, cancers of any tissues through the opening of the gastrointestinal tract to the end, becoming manifest to a degree of disability of 10% or more.

Date: 2008-08-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Authorities Extension Act of 2008 - Makes permanent the authority of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) include noninstitutional extended care services within authorized services; (2) provide hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to veterans who participated in certain chemical and biological testing conducted by the Department of Defense (DOD); (3) carry out certain income verification in order to verify eligibility for needs-based care and services; and (4) establish research corporations. Extends through: (1) FY2013 VA authority to conduct recovery audits with respect to benefit overpayments; and (2) 2009 VA authority to provide nursing home care to certain service-connected disabled veterans in need of such care.

Date: 2008-08-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Entrepreneurial Transition Business Benefit Act - Allows a veteran who is eligible to receive financial educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill to elect to use (with the approval of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs) any such assistance to establish and operate a business that the veteran will own and operate as his or her primary source of income.

Date: 2008-09-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2008 - Establishes in the Treasury the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund, whose amounts shall be available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs without fiscal year limitation to make payments to specified eligible persons who served: (1) before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, while in the service of the Armed Forces of the United States; or (2) in the Philippine Scouts. Sets the payment amounts at $15,000 for U.S. citizens and $9,000 for non-U.S. citizens. States that acceptance of such payment shall constitute a release of any claim against the United States for such service. Requires the Secretary to include information concerning compensation fund operation within annual budget documents submitted to Congress. Authorizes appropriations.

Date: 2008-09-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Modifies the requirement that the Secretary of Labor provide employment assistance, job training assistance, and other transitional services to each member of the Armed Forces who is being separated from active duty (and the member's spouse). Directs the Secretary concerned (the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs), where such services are available on a routine basis, to require each member to receive such services.

Date: 2008-09-17
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Revises TRICARE (a Department of Defense [DOD] managed health care program) to authorize the Secretary of Defense to provide extended health care services and treatment, by way of contract with private providers, for dependent autism-diagnosed children of military retirees not entitled to hospital insurance benefits under Part A (Hospital Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act and not enrolled under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of such title.

Date: 2008-09-17
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends federal veterans law to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, subject to the availability of appropriations, to increase by up to $1,000 a month the rate of the Medal of Honor special pension. Terminates such authority at the end of FY2013.

Date: 2008-09-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes the burial in a national cemetery of a parent of a deceased veteran or qualified reserve member if there is no eligible spouse, minor child, or unmarried adult child of such veteran or member.

Date: 2008-09-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Wounded Veteran Job Security Act - Prohibits any employment discrimination or acts of reprisal against any person who has, or who has been treated for, an injury, illness, or disability determined by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to have been incurred in or aggravated by military service.

Date: 2008-09-23
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Combat-Related Special Compensation Technical Corrections Act of 2008 - Revises the formula for determining the payment of combat-related special compensation for certain eligible combat-related disabled members of the Armed Forces who are retired for disability.

Date: 2008-09-23
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Services, Education, and Rehabilitation for Veterans Act or the SERV Act - Requires the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to delegate to the Department of Justice (DOJ) the authority to administer the veteran's treatment courts program established by this Act. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to states and other entities: (1) to develop, implement, or enhance veteran's treatment courts or to expand operational drug courts to serve veterans; and (2) for programs that involve continuing judicial supervision over nonviolent offenders with substance abuse or mental health problems who have served in the U.S. military. Requires such programs to include mandatory periodic testing for the use of drugs, substance abuse and mental health treatment, opportunities for diversion, probation, or supervised release, and programmatic, offender management, and aftercare services. Directs the National Drug Court Institute to conduct national training programs for state and local communities to improve the professional skills of drug court practitioners and provide comprehensive technical assistance to adult, juvenile, and family dependency drug courts.

Date: 2008-09-26
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Servicemembers Access to Justice Act of 2008 - Waives a state's sovereign immunity with respect to the enforcement of uniformed services members' employment or reemployment rights or benefits under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). Makes unenforceable agreements between an employer and employee requiring arbitration of disputes arising under USERRA. Provides exceptions. Requires the validity and enforceability of such an agreement to be determined by a court (as opposed to the arbitrator). Provides increased liquidated damages, and authorizes punitive damages, against state or private employer violations of USERRA. Provides a right to a jury trial in such cases. Requires (current law authorizes) the award of attorney fees in actions to enforce USERRA. Defines "successor in interest" for USERRA purposes. Prohibits: (1) any statute of limitations from applying to USERRA proceedings; and (2) wage discrimination against members covered under USERRA. Requires (current law authorizes) a court to use equitable relief, including injunctions and restraining orders when appropriate, for USERRA violations.

Date: 2008-09-27
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Requires Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regulations governing determinations of ineligibility for appointment to a position in an executive agency because of deliberate failure to register with the selective service to provide an exception for the appointment of an individual who was discharged or released from active duty in the armed forces under honorable conditions.Requires the Director of the Selective Service System to prescribe procedures: (1) for the adjudication of determinations of whether a failure to register was knowing and willful; and (2) under which such a determination may not be made if the individual concerned shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the failure to register was neither knowing nor willful. Allows any individual whose case was adjudicated under the earlier regulations from February 21, 2007, through the effective date of regulations prescribed under this Act to have his or her case readjudicated.

Date: 2008-09-29
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Security Clearance Oversight and Accountability Act - Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to direct the President: (1) every four years, to conduct an audit of how the executive branch determines whether a security clearance is required for a particular position in the federal government, and report audit results to Congress; (2) every year, to report to Congress on the security clearance process with respect to government employees, government contractors, and intelligence community personnel; and (3) to submit a one-time report to Congress on security clearance investigations and adjudications. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to report annually to Congress on security clearance determinations completed or ongoing during the preceding fiscal year that have taken longer than one year to complete.

Date: 2008-10-03
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Extends the authorized concurrent receipt of disability severance pay from the Department of Defense (DOD) and compensation for the same disability under any law administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to include all veterans with a combat-related disability. (Under current law, such concurrent receipt is limited to those veterans who incur a disability in the line of duty in a combat zone or during the performance of duty in combat-related operations.) Makes such amendment effective as of January 28, 2008 (the date of enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008).

Date: 2008-11-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to: (1) each establish a process to provide payments for treatments of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) received by members of the Armed Forces or veterans in health care facilities other than Department of Defense (DOD) or Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities; (2) jointly develop and maintain a patient database involving the use of a treatment under this Act; and (3) ensure that the database ensures patient confidentiality.

Date: 2008-11-20
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct, and report to Congress on, a study on the acquisition of a specified parcel of land in Beaufort, South Carolina, to be used for expansion of the Beaufort National Cemetery.

Date: 2008-12-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) acquire a specified parcel of land in Beaufort, South Carolina, to be used for expansion of the Beaufort National Cemetery; and (2) report to Congress on the acquisition.

Date: 2008-12-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Rebuilding America's Military Act of 2007 - Expresses the sense of Congress that Congress should enact legislation to: (1) restore and enhance the capabilities of the Armed Forces for deterrence, combat, and post-conflict operations; (2) enhance the readiness of the Armed Forces, including the reset of military equipment; and (3) support the men and women of the Armed Forces, including members of the National Guard and Reserves.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007 - Amends federal veterans' benefits provisions to entitle to educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill individuals in certain length-of-service categories who, commencing on or after September 11, 2001, serve on active duty in the Armed Forces. Establishes the duration of such assistance (in most cases 36 months) and assistance amounts. Requires programs of education pursued with such assistance to be approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Allows for the pursuit of an approved program of education while on active duty. Allows, under such assistance, for the pursuit of: (1) programs on less than a half-time basis; (2) apprenticeship or other on-job training; (3) correspondence courses; (4) flight training; (5) tutorial assistance; and (6) licensure and certification tests. Makes individuals entitled to assistance under this Act also eligible for supplemental educational assistance for additional active duty service.Requires the Secretary to carry out a program, to be known as the "Yellow Ribbon G.I. Education Enhancement Program," under which colleges and universities may enter into an agreement with the Secretary to cover, for certain individuals, a portion of established charges not otherwise covered and match contributions toward such costs.Requires educational assistance under this Act to be used within 15 years of the individual's discharge or release from active duty (with exceptions). Allows individuals currently under the Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance program to elect to participate in the post-9/11 educational assistance program with respect to any unused entitlement.

Date: 2007-01-04
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: 2007-01-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Defense to permit any former member of the armed forces who is entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability rated total by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to travel on military aircraft to the same extent as retired members of the armed forces.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes use of Department of Defense commissary and exchange stores by former prisoners of war who have been honorably separated from service and have a service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Lane Evans Veterans Health and Benefits Improvement Act of 2007 - Makes a veteran who served on active duty during a period of war eligible for a mental health evaluation and hospital care, medical services, nursing home care, and family and marital counseling for any identified mental health condition, notwithstanding insufficient medical evidence to conclude that the condition is attributable to such service. Requires: (1) post-deployment medical and mental health screenings to be conducted within 30 days after a deployment; (2) each member, upon discharge, to be provided an electronic copy of all military records of such member; and (3) the Secretary of Defense to ensure appropriate outreach to members of the National Guard and reserves concerning benefits and services available upon discharge or deactivation. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish and maintain a Global War on Terrorism Veterans Information System. Requires quarterly reports from the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs, Labor, and Defense on the effects on veterans and on each such department of participation in the Global War on Terrorism.

Date: 2007-01-04
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: 2007-01-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Voluntary Support for Reservists and National Guard Members Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to designate that a portion (but not less than $1) of any income tax overpayment be paid over to the Reserve Income Replacement Program to benefit reservists and National Guard members.

Date: 2007-01-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Prohibits the U.S. government from obligating or expending funds to increase the number of U.S. military forces in Iraq above the number for such forces which existed as of January 9, 2007, without a specific congressional authorization for such increase.

Date: 2007-01-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: International affairs
Prohibits the U.S. government from obligating or expending funds to increase the number of U.S. military forces in Iraq above the number for such forces which existed as of January 9, 2007, without a specific congressional authorization for such increase.

Date: 2007-01-12
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: International affairs
Energy Fairness for America Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to terminate: (1) the tax deduction for oil and gas intangible drilling and development costs; (2) the percentage depletion allowance for oil and gas wells; and (3) the tax credit for enhanced oil recovery costs. Repeals provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 relating to: (1) oil and gas royalties in-kind; (2) marginal property production incentives; (3) incentives for natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico; (4) royalty suspension for deep water production; (5) the inventory of Outer Continental Shelf oil and natural gas resources; (6) Alaska offshore royalty suspension; (7) accelerated depreciation of electric transmission property, natural gas distribution lines, and natural gas gathering lines and expensing of liquid fuel refinery property; (8) the exemption of small oil refiners from limitations on the oil depletion allowance; and (9) two-year amortization of geological and geophysical expenditures. Requires certain large integrated oil companies to revalue their LIFO inventories of crude oil, natural gas, or other petroleum productions using a specified formula. Limits or denies the foreign tax credit and tax deferrals for dual capacity taxpayers (taxpayers receiving economic and tax benefits from certain foreign jurisdictions), foreign oil and gas income, and foreign oil and gas extraction income.

Date: 2007-01-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the District of Columbia Access Act of 1999 to authorize the public school and private school tuition assistance programs established under the Act through FY2012.

Date: 2007-01-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Keeping Families Together Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award competitive matching grants to states to establish systems of care to treat and provide services to all children who are in the custody of the state or at-risk of entering into the custody of the state for the purpose of receiving mental health services. Requires states to use grant funds for certain activities, including to: (1) expand public health insurance programs to cover community-based mental health and family support services for such children and their families that will be sustainable after the grant has expired; (2) provide outreach and public education concerning available programs and activities; and (3) provide training and professional development for personnel who work with such children. Requires the Administrator to establish a task force to examine: (1) problems of mental health in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems; (2) issues with respect to access by children and youth to mental health services; and (3) the role of federal agencies in promoting access by children and youth to mental health services.

Date: 2007-01-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Families
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' 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) of the Social Security Act, on the same effective date.

Date: 2007-01-29
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2007 - 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). States that, in the case of a qualified retiree receiving veterans' disability compensation for a disability rated as total by reason of unemployability, payment of military retired pay is subject to a phase-in of concurrent receipt of both only during the period beginning on January 1, 2004, and ending on December 31, 2007 (currently September 30, 2009). 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: 2007-01-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Active Duty Military Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow certain small business owners (with 100 or fewer employees) and self-employed individuals a tax credit for wages paid to members of the Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces and to temporary replacement employees for such members while on active military duty; (2) treat differential wage payments made to members of the Ready Reserve as earned income for tax withholding and retirement plan purposes; (3) allow the rollover of military death gratuities to individual retirement accounts, health savings accounts, Archer medical savings accounts, and education savings accounts; (4) increase the standard tax deduction by $1,000 in 2007 and 2008 for members of the uniformed services on active duty for more than 30 days; and (5) make permanent the taxpayer election to treat combat pay as earned income for purposes of computing the earned income tax credit.

Date: 2007-01-31
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Wartime Treatment Study Act - Establishes the Commission on Wartime Treatment of European Americans to review U.S. government wartime treatment (from September 1, 1939, through December 31, 1948) of European Americans and European Latin Americans.Requires the Commission to review: (1) government actions with respect to European Americans and European Latin Americans pursuant to the Alien Enemies Acts, Presidential Proclamations 2526, 2527, 2655, 2662, 2685, Executive Orders 9066 and 9095, and related directives pertaining to the registration, arrest, exclusion, internment, exchange, or deportation of such people; (2) registration requirements, travel and property restrictions, internment, and forced abandonment of property; (3) participation by European Americans in the U.S. Armed Forces; and (4) appropriate remedies, including future protection of civil liberties during wartime.Establishes the Commission on Wartime Treatment of Jewish Refugees to review the U.S. government's refusal to allow entry into the United States of Jewish and other refugees fleeing persecution or genocide in Europe. Directs the Commission to include reviews of: (1) the rationale for such refusal, its perceived benefit, and its impact on refugees; and (2) federal refugee policy concerning those fleeing persecution or genocide.

Date: 2007-02-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Immigration
Expresses the sense of Congress that Congress should not take any action that will endanger U.S. military forces in the field, including the elimination or reduction of funds for troops in the field, as such action would undermine their safety or harm their effectiveness in pursuing assigned missions.

Date: 2007-02-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Disabled Veterans Insurance Act of 2007 - Increases from $20,000 to $40,000 the maximum amount of supplemental service disabled veterans' insurance for totally disabled veterans.

Date: 2007-02-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Expresses the sense of Congress that all members of the Armed Forces should be permitted to select who shall receive the death gratuity (awarded for members who die while on active duty or inactive duty training), and that the Secretaries of Defense and the military departments should take appropriate action to afford members such opportunity, along with appropriate counseling. Revises the current statutory priority list of designated death gratuity beneficiaries to place first in such list any individual designated by the person (member) in writing.

Date: 2007-02-16
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
American-Owned Property in Occupied Cyprus Claims Act - Amends the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 to urge the President to authorize the Secretary of State to begin negotiations with Turkey to allow for certain claims by U.S. nationals respecting real property in the Turkish-held portions of Cyprus. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to establish in the Treasury a Claims Fund for the payment of unsatisfied claims of U.S. nationals against Turkey. Sets forth payment procedures. Grants U.S. district court jurisdiction for civil actions against any private person (any natural person or legal entity other than Turkey) by a U.S. national who owns property in the Turkish-held portion of Cyprus. Sets forth the conditions under which an action may be brought against the government of Turkey in U.S. or state courts.

Date: 2007-02-27
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: International affairs
Veterans' Survivors Education Enhancement Act of 2007 - 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
Public Transportation Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 - Requires the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit Administration, within 30 days of enactment, to submit all public transportation security assessments to the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to review and augment such assessments, not later than July 31, 2007. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish and annually update security improvement priorities (improvement priorities), by September 30, 2007, that are consistent with relevant State Homeland Security Plans; (2) annually update the assessments and annually conduct assessments of all public transportation agencies considered to be at greatest risk of a terrorist attack; (3) by July 31, 2007, conduct security assessments of local bus-only public transportation systems and of selected transportation systems receiving grants as other than urbanized areas; and (4) use information collected from the assessments to develop security guidelines for public transportation security and design a security improvement strategy. Directs the Secretary, consistent with relevant State Homeland Security Plans, to award grants to public transportation agencies for allowable capital and operational security improvements based on the improvement priorities. Defines allowable. Requires congressional notification before the award of any grant. Sets forth public transportation agency requirements for receiving a grant. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and issue regulations for a public transportation worker security training program; (2) ensure that DOT receives timely notification of all credible terrorist threats against U.S. public transportation assets; (3) provide assistance for the reasonable costs of the Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) for Public Transportation to protect critical infrastructure; and (4) award grants or contracts for research and the demonstration of technologies and methods to reduce and deter terrorist threats or mitigate damages resulting from terrorist attacks. Requires public transportation agencies determined to be at significant risk of terrorist attack to participate in the ISAC and encourages all other public transportation agencies to participate in the ISAC. Prohibits charging a fee to any public transportation agency for participating in the ISAC. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations through FY2010. Terminates grant authority on October 1, 2011.

Date: 2007-03-05
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Eliminates the period following separation from service within which a veteran's multiple sclerosis must have developed to a degree of disability of 10% or more to be considered to have been incurred in or aggravated by such service during a period of war.

Date: 2007-03-13
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
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: 2007-03-13
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a five-year pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of awarding grants to eligible entities to assist members of the Armed Forces, particularly those with serious wounds, injuries, or mental disorders, women members, and members of the National Guard and reserves, in applying for and receiving health care benefits and services from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and otherwise after completion of military service, in order to ensure that such members receive a continuity of care and assistance in and after the transition from military service to civilian life. Requires at least one location of the pilot program to be in the vicinity of: (1) a military medical facility that treats members who are seriously wounded or injured in Afghanistan or Iraq; (2) a VA medical center located in a rural area; and (3) a VA medical center located in an urban area.

Date: 2007-03-14
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Repeals certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or would be entitled to such pay except for being under 60 years of age. Prohibits recoupment by the Secretary of Defense of certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund. Repeals the optional authority of (and instead requires) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse. Directs the Secretary concerned to restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to a surviving child or children of a member. Changes to October 1, 2007 (previously October 1, 2008) the effective date for paid-up coverage provisions under the SBP and the Retired Serviceman's Family Protection Plan.

Date: 2007-03-20
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay a monthly benefit of $1,000 to certain honorably-discharged veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine who served between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946 (or to their survivors). Includes service in the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service. Exempts from taxation benefits paid under this Act.

Date: 2007-03-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Combat-Related Special Compensation Act of 2007 - 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: 2007-03-26
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Protecting Military Family Financial Benefits Act of 2007 - Allows an unmarried member of the Armed Forces with one or more dependent children, upon becoming eligible to participate in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), to elect to provide an SBP annuity to an individual who acts as a guardian or caretaker to the dependent child or children. Directs the Secretary of Defense to appoint a panel to review and identify best practices among pre-deployment counseling and services provided by the military departments to unmarried members of the Armed Forces with dependent children.

Date: 2007-03-29
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Restoring Disability Benefits for Injured and Wounded Warriors Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to appoint a panel to review each case before a Department of Defense (DOD) Physical Evaluation Board in which: (1) the Board determined to discharge or release a member of the Armed Forces without assigning a rating of disability to the member; and (2) the member appealed a Board determination regarding the rating of disability. Requires the panel to report whether any additional or different action should be taken by the military department concerned with respect to such determinations. Directs the Secretary to appoint a panel to review, and take the same actions as above, cases in which a member was denied, or appealed the amount of, traumatic injury protection awarded under Servicemembers Group Life Insurance. Requires the: (1) Secretary to report to Congress on the adequacy of the number of judge advocates assigned to physical evaluation board cases; and (2) Comptroller General to report to Congress assessing and addressing deficiencies in the disability evaluation systems of the military departments.

Date: 2007-03-29
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the President to transition the mission of U.S. forces in Iraq to the following purposes: (1) conducting limited scope and duration operations against al Qaeda and other international terrorist organizations; (2) providing security for U.S. infrastructure and personnel; and (3) training and equipping Iraqi security services. Exempts such activities from the funding and redeployment provisions of this Act. Directs the President to begin the phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act. Prohibits funds from being obligated or expended to continue the U.S. Armed Forces deployment in Iraq after March 31, 2008.

Date: 2007-04-10
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: International affairs
Traumatic Brain Injury Access to Options Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure that each member of the Armed Forces who incurs a traumatic brain injury (where the member is unable to perform activities of daily living for at least five consecutive days from the date of a medical assessment) while on active duty shall be retained on active duty for one year after the date of the assessment. Prohibits such member from being evaluated during the one-year period by a physical evaluation board for determining eligibility for retirement or separation due to such disability. Allows a member (or his or her guardian or legal advocate) to choose to make such requirements inapplicable to the member. Authorizes the Secretary of the military department concerned to extend the one-year period as appropriate in light of medical progress. Requires annual Comptroller General assessments of traumatic brain injury care and services provided by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

Date: 2007-04-16
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security