zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
End Veteran Homelessness Act of 2010 - Extends through FY2010, and increases the amount of, the authorization of appropriations for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) comprehensive service programs for homeless veterans. Revises provisions concerning payments for providing services for homeless veterans to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to annually adjust the rate of such payment to reflect anticipated changes in the cost of furnishing services and to take into account the cost of providing services in a particular geographic area. Directs the Secretary to make such payments quarterly, while requiring quarterly statements from recipients on amounts expended. Requires the Secretary to ensure that each VA medical center that provides treatment and services under the supported housing program of the United States Housing Act of 1937 employs or provides one or more specialists to handle program issues and to conduct outreach to landlords to encourage and facilitate program participation. Directs the Secretary to coordinate with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide assistance to homeless veterans in accessing HUD's Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program. Authorizes appropriations for FY2012 and thereafter for VA financial assistance for supportive services for very low-income veteran families occupying permanent housing. Authorizes, in connection with VA authority to advertise in the national media concerning available VA benefits, a special emphasis to be placed on promoting awareness of assistance for homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children.

Date: 2010-03-10
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
TRICARE Affirmation Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that health care coverage provided by the TRICARE program and the Nonappropriated Fund Health Benefits Program of the Department of Defense (DOD) shall constitute minimal essential health care coverage as required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Date: 2010-03-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Eliminates a required reduction in the amount of combat-related special compensation paid to members of the Armed Forces retired or separated due to physical disability and receiving combat-related retirement pay when the combat-related disability is attributable to an injury for which the member was awarded the Purple Heart.

Date: 2010-03-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
TRICARE Dependent Coverage Extension Act - Deems the following individuals as dependents, for purposes of dependent coverage under TRICARE (a Department of Defense [DOD] managed health care program): (1) a child who has not yet attained age 26 and is not eligible to enroll in any employer-sponsored plan; or (2) a person who is in the legal custody of the covered member, has not attained age 26, is not eligible to enroll in any employer-sponsored plan, resides with the member, is not otherwise a dependent under TRICARE, and is not the child of another covered beneficiary. Requires a premium payment for such coverage.

Date: 2010-03-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
World Class Military Medical Facilities Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to disestablish the Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical. Requires the Secretary to establish an office responsible for implementing all recommendations and requirements regarding military medical facilities in the National Capital Region (Region) contained in the report of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, or any other provision of law. Makes the Deputy Secretary of Defense the head of such office. Requires such office to assume responsibility for the development and implementation of the comprehensive master plan to provide sufficient world-class military medical facilities and an integrated system of health care delivery for the Region. Directs the Secretary to establish a unified construction standard for military construction and repairs for such facilities. Authorizes appropriations to implement such standard at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Requires the Secretary to establish the Independent Review Panel for Military Medical Care in the National Capital Region to advise the Secretary on whether the proposed design and organizational structure for military medical facilities in the Region will achieve a world-class military medical facility.

Date: 2010-03-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the President, by the earlier of January 1, 2011, or 90 days after the enactment of this Act, to submit to Congress a plan for the safe, orderly, and expeditious redeployment of U.S. Armed Forces from Afghanistan, including military and security-related contractors, together with a timetable for the completion of such redeployment and information regarding variables that could alter that timetable. Requires plan updates every 90 days. Directs the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction to: (1) issue recommendations for increasing oversight of contractors in Afghanistan that have a record of engaging in waste, fraud, or abuse; and (2) report on the status of efforts of the Department of Defense (DOD) and the State Department to implement existing recommendations regarding oversight of such contractors. Requires the recommendations issued to include recommendations for reducing U.S. reliance on security contractors or subcontractors responsible for the deaths of Afghan civilians and on Afghan militias, contractors, subcontractors, or other armed groups that are not part of the Afghan National Security Forces.

Date: 2010-04-14
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: International affairs
Fair Access to Veterans Benefits Act of 2010 - Extends the 120-day limit for the filing of an appeal to the Court of Veterans Appeals after a final decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals upon a showing of good cause for such time as justice may require. Makes such extension applicable to appeals of final Board decisions issued on or after July 24, 2008.

Date: 2010-04-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
National Heroes Credit Protection Act - Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to authorize a servicemember, after having served on active duty for more than 180 days, to request that a consumer reporting agency (CRA) include in that servicemember's file a military service deployment alert. Requires the CRA to: (1) provide the alert to each person who requests the credit score or consumer report of such servicemember; and (2) develop and maintain procedures for referral of such alert to other CRAs. Requires: (1) a reseller of credit reporting information to include in any report on a servicemember any alert placed in such servicemember's file by another CRA; and (2) any user of a consumer credit report containing such alert to acknowledge to the servicemember the receipt of the alert.

Date: 2010-04-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Families Financial Preparedness Act - Requires the following information to be included as part of preseparation counseling provided to members of the Armed Forces and their spouses: (1) survivor benefits available through the Secretary of Defense (DOD) or Veterans Affairs (VA); (2) budgeting, saving, credit, loans, and taxes; (3) home loan services and housing assistance available through DOD or the VA and counseling on responsible borrowing practices; and (4) additional counseling regarding the member's actual entitlement to benefits and how to apply for such benefits.

Date: 2010-04-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Fair Access to Veterans Benefits Act of 2010 - Extends the 120-day limit for the filing of an appeal to the Court of Veterans Appeals after a final decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals upon a showing of good cause for such time as justice may require. Considers as good cause the inability of a person to file within the 120-day period due to a service-connected disability. Makes such extension applicable to appeals of final Board decisions issued on or after July 24, 2008.

Date: 2010-04-16
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to establish the Commission on Urotrauma to: (1) conduct a study on urotrauma (injury to the urinary tract from a penetrating, blunt, blast, thermal, chemical, or biological cause) among members of the Armed Forces and veterans; and (2) provide an interim and final report to the congressional defense and veterans committees on such study.

Date: 2010-04-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veteran Employment Assistance Act of 2010 - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish a program, headed by a Director, which designates veterans business centers to provide entrepreneurial training and counseling to veterans in areas in which the number of veterans, especially veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, exceed the national median. Requires the Director to establish a program of grants to veterans business centers to: (1) provide federal procurement assistance to small businesses owned and controlled by veterans; and (2) develop outreach programs to create or further develop service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. Authorizes the Director to hold biennial veterans entrepreneurial development summits. Decreases from three years to one year the period for completion of training of new disabled veterans' outreach program specialists and local veterans' employment representatives. Directs the Secretary of Labor to provide a training subsistence allowance for each month that an unemployed veteran is enrolled in a full-time employment and training program that is offered by an eligible training provider and teaches a skill connected to a career in an in-demand industry. Provides for the use of veterans' post-9/11 educational assistance for the pursuit of apprenticeships and on-job training. Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish: (1) a program to award grants to states to establish veterans conservation corps to give veterans volunteer and employment opportunities under state conservation projects; and (2) a center of excellence of methods for educational institutions to afford academic credit to veterans for previous military experience and training. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Labor to establish: (1) information technology military pathways demonstration programs to enable veterans to build upon technical skills learned in the military when entering into the civilian information technology workforce; and (2) nursing, public health and allied health professional, and physician assistant military pathways demonstration programs to enable veterans to build upon military technical skills when entering into civilian positions in those fields. Requires the Secretary of Labor to carry out a veterans energy-related employment program to encourage the employment of veterans in the energy industry. Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to carry out the Veterans to Work pilot program to provide veterans with employment in military construction projects. Requires: (1) a report on improvements and enhancements of the Transition Assistance Program to better meet the needs of members of the Armed Forces and veterans; and (2) a study on a program of transition assistance modeled on the Employment Enhancement Program of the Washington National Guard.

Date: 2010-04-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Assuring Quality Care for Veterans Act - Authorizes (current law requires) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reimburse any full-time board-certified health professional (under current law, physician or dentist) appointed to the VA for continuing professional education expenses incurred, up to $1,600 per year (under current law, $1,000). Directs that the expenses incurred be required to maintain licensure. Prohibits reimbursement for the same expenses incurred for continuing professional education provided by a VA medical center.

Date: 2010-04-27
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Sergeant Coleman S. Bean Individual Ready Reserve Suicide Prevention Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to ensure that each of the following individuals receive, at least once every 90 days, a telephone call from properly-trained DOD personnel to determine their emotional, psychological, medical, and career needs and concerns: (1) members of the Individual Ready Reserve who deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq in support of a contingency operation; or (2) a member of a reserve component who the Secretary determines is an individual mobilization augmentee who has so deployed. Requires the person making the call to refer a member identified as being at-risk of self-caused harm to the nearest military medical treatment facility or accredited TRICARE (a DOD managed health care program) provider for immediate evaluation and necessary treatment. Requires annual reports from the Secretary to Congress on the number of members so referred, as well as their health and career status.

Date: 2010-04-28
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to designate a director of anti-trafficking policies, to oversee the implementation within DOD of policies relating to trafficking in persons. Outlines related director duties.

Date: 2010-04-29
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Defense Sexual Trauma Response Oversight and Good Governance Act (Defense STRONG Act) - Establishes within the Department of Defense (DOD) a Director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office to serve as the single point of authority, accountability, and oversight for DOD policy regarding prevention of and response to sexual assault, and to provide oversight to ensure that the sexual assault programs of the military departments comply with DOD policy. Requires the assignment within each military department of at least one full-time Sexual Assault Response Coordinator and one full-time Sexual Assault Victim Advocate, allowing the Secretary of the military department concerned to assign additional coordinators and/or advocates based on the demographics or needs of the unit. Allows only members of the Armed Forces (members) or DOD civilian personnel to be assigned as coordinators or advocates. Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a professional training and certification program for such coordinators and advocates, and requires performance evaluations of all coordinators and advocates. Entitles any member, or dependent of a member, who is the victim of a sexual assault to legal assistance provided by a military legal assistance counsel and Victim Advocate service, regardless of whether the member or dependent elects unrestricted or restricted (confidential) reporting of the assault. Makes privileged any communications between a member or dependent and a Victim Advocate. Directs the Secretary to provide for the inclusion of a sexual assault prevention and response training module at each level of professional military education.

Date: 2010-05-03
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Improving Veterans' Electronic Transition Services Act or the iVETS Act - Directs the Secretaries of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) to jointly: (1) develop and implement a system allowing a veteran to securely and electronically access his or her military personnel file; (2) conduct a study on establishing a veterans portal based on the knowledge online portals; and (3) report study results to the congressional defense and veterans committees.

Date: 2010-05-05
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Appalachian Veterans Outreach Improvement Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Appalachian Regional Commission to carry out a program of outreach to veterans who reside in the Appalachian region in order to increase their awareness, access, and use of federal, state, and local programs providing compensation and other benefits available as a result of service in the Armed Forces. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary to enter into agreements with federal and state agencies to carry out projects under such program; and (2) the Commission to provide technical assistance, award grants, enter into contracts, and otherwise provide amounts to persons and entities in that region for such projects and activities.

Date: 2010-05-05
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs that a lapel button be designed, as approved by the Secretary of Defense (DOD), to identify and recognize the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces who is serving or has served in a combat zone for more than 30 days. Requires such button to be known as the spouse-of-a-combat-veteran lapel button. Authorizes the Secretary to use appropriated funds to procure such buttons, and to provide for their presentation to eligible spouses. States that the 30-day service period shall not apply if the member is killed or wounded before its expiration. Expresses the sense of Congress that, as soon as the buttons become available, the Secretary should: (1) widely announce their availability through military and public information channels; and (2) encourage commanders at all levels to conduct ceremonies recognizing the support provided by such spouses and to use such ceremonies as an opportunity for members to present their spouses with the button.

Date: 2010-05-06
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Equal Access to Preseparation Counseling Act - Requires the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide individual preseparation counseling for each member of the reserves whose discharge or release from service is anticipated as of a specific date. (Under current law, such counseling must be provided only to a member of the Armed Forces whose discharge or release from active duty is anticipated as of a specific date.)

Date: 2010-05-11
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to develop a Veterans' Curation Program to hire veterans and members of the Armed Forces to assist the Secretary in carrying out curation and historic preservation activities.Authorizes appropriations for FY2011-FY2015.

Date: 2010-05-12
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Transportation and public works
United States-Israel Rocket and Missile Defense Cooperation and Support Act - Authorizes the President to provide assistance to the government of Israel for the procurement, maintenance, and sustainment of the Iron Dome Short Range Artillery Rocket Defense System for purposes of intercepting short-range rockets, missiles, and mortars launched against Israel.

Date: 2010-05-18
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: International affairs
Children of Military Service Members Commemorative Lapel Pin Act - Requires a lapel button, to be known as the children of military service members commemorative lapel button, to be designed, as approved by the Secretary of Defense (DOD), to identify and recognize child dependents of members of the Armed Forces who serve on active duty for more than 30 days. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary should expedite the design and manufacture of the button, as well as mechanisms to facilitate its issuance. Makes such button available retroactively to the child of any member satisfying such eligibility conditions before the enactment of this Act. Requires the Secretary to notify members with qualifying service since September 30, 2001, of the availability of the button.

Date: 2010-05-18
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Force Protection and Readiness Act of 2010 - Grants, in cases arising under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for communications made between an alleged victim of sexual assault and a Sexual Assault Victim Advocate of the Department of Defense (DOD), to an individual who consulted with such an Advocate, a victim service organization, or a health care professional the privilege of refusing to disclose a confidential communication made by the individual if such communication was made for the purpose of securing advice, counseling, treatment, or assistance in connection with a sexual assault or other sexual misconduct. Allows the privilege to be claimed by the individual's guardian or conservator. Provides exceptions. Requires the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide for the expedited consideration of a request for a permanent change of military station or unit transfer submitted by a member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who was a victim of sexual assault or other sexual offense. Codifies under federal law a required information database on sexual assault incidents involving members of the Armed Forces. Repeals a superseded requirement under the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009. Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a universal hotline to facilitate the reporting of sexual assault involving members of the Armed Forces. Requires: (1) at least one full-time Sexual Assault Victim Advocate to be assigned to each battalion or equivalent military unit; and (2) appropriate training and certification of such advocates. Requires a copy of the record of proceedings of a court-martial involving a sexual assault or other sexual offense to be given to the victim if the victim testified during the proceedings. Directs the Secretary to provide a training module for judge advocates who serve as trial counsel to improve their ability to investigate and prosecute cases involving a sexual assault or other sexual offense.

Date: 2010-05-20
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to state that an accused may retain private counsel before a general court-martial or special court-martial and will be reimbursed for such counsel if the accused is acquitted or the charges are dismissed or withdrawn with respect to cases involving the treatment of an insurgent, enemy combatant, detainee, or suspected or known terrorist, including cases in which charges were brought after September 11, 2001.

Date: 2010-05-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veteran Employment Transition Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the definition of "qualified veteran" for purposes of the work opportunity tax credit to mean recently discharged veterans and disadvantaged veterans. Defines "recently discharged veteran" to mean: (1) any individual who has served on active duty (other than active duty for training) in the Armed Forces for more than 180 total days (whether consecutive or not); (2) any individual who has been discharged or released from active duty for a service-connected disability; and (3) any member of the National Guard who has served for more than 180 total days (whether consecutive or not) in active duty, full-time National Guard duty, or duty in state status. Defines "disadvantaged veteran" as any veteran who is certified as being a member of a family receiving assistance under a supplemental nutrition assistance program and is entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability. Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Guard to inform military personnel who are discharged or released from active duty of the work opportunity tax credit and provide them with documentation relating to eligibility for and use of such credit.

Date: 2010-05-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Requires transportation on Department of Defense (DOD) aircraft, on a space-available basis and on the same basis as members of the Armed Forces entitled to retired pay, for: (1) reserve members or former members eligible for retired pay but for attaining the required age (generally 60); and (2) any dependent of such member, if accompanying the member.

Date: 2010-05-26
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that an Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights is printed on signage in accessible formats and displayed prominently and conspicuously in each Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) prosthetics and orthotics clinic. Requires VA employees who work at such clinics, as well as patient advocates of veterans who receive care there, to receive training on such Bill of Rights. Directs the Secretary to conduct outreach to inform veterans of such Bill of Rights. Includes in the Bill of Rights the right to: (1) access the highest quality prosthetic and orthotic care; (2) select the practitioner that best meets their prosthetic and orthotic needs; (3) timely and efficient prosthetic and orthotic care; and (4) transition and readjust to civilian life in an honorable manner, including by having ample access to vocational rehabilitation, employment programs, and housing assistance. Directs: (1) the Secretary to collect information relating to the alleged mistreatment of injured and amputee veterans; (2) the veteran liaison at each VA medical center to submit quarterly to the VA's Chief Consultant of Prosthetics and Sensory Aids a report on such information; and (3) the Chief Consultant to investigate and address such information.

Date: 2010-05-27
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Spouses of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act - Entitles to educational assistance under the post-9/11 educational assistance program the surviving spouses of members of the Armed Forces who die while serving on active duty on or after September 11, 2001. Allows such spouses 15 years after the member's death to utilize such assistance.

Date: 2010-05-27
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Service Members Permanent Change of Station Relief Act - Sets at the business standard mileage rate of the Internal Revenue Service the monetary allowance for a member of the Armed Forces for travel by privately owned vehicles in lieu of government transportation in the case of: (1) a change of permanent station; (2) travel to the first station upon call to active duty; and (3) travel from a last duty station upon separation from service. Sets the monetary allowance for authorized travel by a member's dependent at the rate per mile established by the Administrator of General Services instead of the actual expenses for such transportation. Revises requirements allowing the transport at government expense of one motor vehicle owned or leased by a member (or member's dependent) to the new station of the member who has been ordered to make a change of permanent station. Authorizes the transport at government expense of one additional motor vehicle of a member (or member's dependent) if: (1) the member is ordered to make a change of permanent station to or from a nonforeign area outside the continental United States and the member has at least one dependent of driving age who will use the motor vehicle; or (2) the Secretary of the military department concerned determines that a replacement for the transported motor vehicle is necessary for reasons beyond the member's control and is in the interest of the United States.

Date: 2010-05-28
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
VetStar Veteran-Friendly Business Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish the VetStar Award Program, to annually recognize businesses for their contributions to veterans' employment.

Date: 2010-06-08
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Access to Appropriate Immunizations for Veterans Act of 2010 - Includes within authorized preventive health services available to veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) immunizations against infectious diseases, including each immunization on the recommended adult immunization schedule established by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Requires the inclusion, in an annual report from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on VA preventive health services, of programs conducted to ensure that veterans have received each immunization on such immunization schedule at the appropriate time. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement quality measures and metrics to ensure that veterans receiving VA medical services receive each immunization at the time indicated on the schedule. Requires statistics related to such quality measures and metrics to be included in the annual report described above. Provides deadlines for the establishment and implementation of the measures and metrics.

Date: 2010-06-10
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Children of Fallen Warriors AMT Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat annuity payments to a surviving child of an eligible participant under the military's Survivor Benefit Plan as the earned income of such child, for purposes of exempting such payments from the alternative minimum tax (AMT).

Date: 2010-06-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Rating and Processing Individuals' Disability Claims Act or the RAPID Claims Act - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), if a veteran's claim is submitted that is determined to be a fully developed claim, to provide: (1) the claimant with the opportunity to waive any claim development period with respect to such claim; and (2) expeditious treatment to such claim. Provides that: (1) if a person notifies the Secretary of the intention to submit a fully developed claim and does so within a one-year period thereafter, the Secretary shall provide expeditious treatment to the claim; and (2) if the Secretary determines that a claim submitted as fully developed is not fully developed, the Secretary shall notify such person within 30 days of the information and evidence required to fully develop the claim. Requires the Secretary, when denying a benefit, to notify the claimant of any form or application required to appeal such decision.

Date: 2010-06-17
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Establishes in the legislative branch the United States Commission on Planetary Defense to: (1) review the structure, coordination, management policies, and procedures of the federal government, and as appropriate, international bodies, and nongovernmental entities, relative to the detection, characterization, mitigation, and over all response efforts to dangerous Near-Earth Objects (NEOs); (2) assess U.S. and foreign technology readiness levels required to provide effective planetary defense and make recommendations to develop required technologies, including NEO detection and characterization systems, spacecraft, nuclear devices, and laser systems; and (3) submit interim reports and a final report to the President and Congress containing such findings, conclusions, and recommendations as the Commission shall determine for corrective measures. Sets forth provisions regarding the membership, powers, and staff of the Commission.

Date: 2010-06-23
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Heroes at Home Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to transfer an eligible veteran who requests a transfer to a non-VA nursing home to transfer such veteran to an adult foster home that meets VA standards, pursuant to a contract between the VA and the foster home. Requires a veteran so transferred to agree, as a transfer condition, to accept home health services furnished by the VA.

Date: 2010-06-30
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Codifies under federal law increases in the rates of pension for disabled veterans and surviving spouses and children that became effective as of December 1, 2009.

Date: 2010-06-30
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Information Act - Directs: (1) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) to develop and maintain, in a compact disk (CD) read-only memory format, information that lists and explains the health, education, and other benefits for which veterans are eligible through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); (2) that a copy of such CD be included as part of the preseparation counseling provided to each member of the Armed Forces being discharged or released from duty; and (3) the Secretary, Secretary of Defense, and head of any other relevant government agency to each maintain an Internet website containing an explanation of the benefits administered by that Secretary or agency head to which veterans are entitled and how veterans can secure those benefits.

Date: 2010-07-13
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Universal National Service Act - 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.

Date: 2010-07-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to waive the imposition or collection of copayments for telehealth and telemedicine visits of veterans.

Date: 2010-07-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Reduce and End our Deficits Using Commonsense Eliminations in the Defense Programs Act - Prohibits funds made available to the Department of Defense (DOD) for FY2011 or thereafter from being used for: (1) procurement of C-17 aircraft; or (2) procurement or research, development, test, or evaluation of EP-X aircraft or CG(X) vessels. Directs the Secretary of Defense to consolidate the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the Navy Exchange Command, and the Marine Corps exchange system into a single organization for the administration of the defense exchange stores system. Prohibits appropriated funds from being used to support the operation of exchange stores after such consolidation.

Date: 2010-07-20
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
World War II Merchant Mariner Service Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to consider certain methods for verifying that an individual performed honorable service as a member of the merchant marine during the period beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on December 31, 1946, for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits under the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977. Requires such methods to include Social Security Administration (SSA) records and validated testimony in the case of the absence of Coast Guard shipping or discharge forms, ship logbooks, or other official employment records. Requires the Secretary to recognize masters of seagoing vessels or other command officers who were authorized to document an individual for purposes of hiring for the merchant marine or discharge therefrom, when determining whether to recognize service allegedly performed during such period.

Date: 2010-07-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans FAA Employment Fairness Act of 2010 - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to treat a veteran's time of active military, naval, or air service in the same manner as any other individual's time of federal civilian employment for purposes of determining the veteran's eligibility for employment with the FAA, including where eligibility for the FAA position is limited to current or former federal employees.

Date: 2010-07-26
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Makes eligible for interment in a national cemetery any individual who: (1) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) determines served in combat support of the Armed Forces in Laos during the period beginning on February 28, 1961, and ending on May 15, 1975; and (2) at the time of death was a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted alien.

Date: 2010-07-27
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Rural Community Flood Protection Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of the Army, upon receipt of a request from a non-federal interest, to conduct a levee system evaluation and certification of a federally authorized levee or a non-federally authorized levee for purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program. Limits the non-federal share of the cost of carrying out a levee system evaluation and certification to 35% of the total cost, but requires the Secretary to adjust the non-federal share to zero if: (1) the non-federal interest is located in an area with a population of 10,000 or fewer individuals; or (2) the division of the non-federal interest with responsibility for the applicable levee is staffed by individuals operating on a volunteer basis.

Date: 2010-07-29
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Emergency management
Support for Families of the Fallen Act - Increases the death gratuity paid with respect to a member of the Armed Forces killed in action by: (1) the total amount of social security taxes paid before and during such military service; and (2) any federal taxes paid on self-employment income. Makes such increase payable through the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund.

Date: 2010-07-29
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that the Women Veterans Bill of Rights is printed on signs in accessible formats and displayed prominently in each VA facility and distributed widely to such veterans. Enumerates health care rights to be included in the Bill of Rights, including the right to: (1) coordinated, comprehensive, primary women's health care at every VA medical facility; (2) treatment by clinicians with specific training and experience in women's health issues; and (3) gender equity in access to and the provision of clinical health care services. Directs the Secretary to ensure that the Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights is printed on signs in accessible formats and displayed prominently in each VA prosthetics and orthotics clinic. Enumerates rights to be included in such Bill of Rights, including the right to: (1) access the highest quality prosthetic and orthotic care; (2) select the practitioner that best meets their prosthetic and orthotic needs; and (3) timely and efficient prosthetic and orthotic care. Requires the Secretary to collect information relating to alleged mistreatment of injured and amputee veterans. Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that all VA employees receive training on the Women Veterans Bill of Rights, and that appropriate VA employees receive training on the Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights; and (2) conduct outreach to inform veterans about both Bills of Rights, and to make them available on the VA Internet website.

Date: 2010-07-29
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to ensure that a member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who is at least 18 and less than 21 years old may purchase and consume beer and wine from a location on a military installation where such beer and wine is intended to be consumed on-site (including restaurants, enlisted clubs, and morale, welfare, and recreation facilities), if such member presents a valid common access card when making the purchase. Provides an exception with respect to the purchase of beer and wine at: (1) Army-Air Force Exchange Services and Navy Exchange facilities; (2) shoppettes; and (3) other facilities that sell beer and wine to be consumed off-site.

Date: 2010-07-29
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Increases from $300 to $500 the plot allowances for veterans who die in a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital, nursing home, or domiciliary care facility and are buried in a national or state cemetery. Directs the Secretary to pay to a state or an agency or political subdivision thereof a plot allowance of $500 for each spouse and child of certain veterans who are eligible for interment in a national cemetery but are buried in a state cemetery. Directs the Secretary to annually adjust the $500 plot allowance by an amount equal to the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index. Prohibits any such adjustment with respect to FY2011.

Date: 2010-07-30
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veteran-Owned Small Business Contracting Fairness Act of 2010 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize (current law requires) a federal contract opportunity to be awarded on the basis of competition restricted to qualified HUBZone (historically underutilized business zone) small businesses if the contracting officer reasonably believes that at least two qualified HUBZone small businesses will submit offers and the award can be made at a fair market price. Prohibits a business from being included in a database maintained by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) of small businesses owned and controlled by veterans or service-disabled veterans (for purposes of participation in a federal procurement contract program) until the Secretary verifies that the business is owned and controlled by veterans or service-disabled veterans. Subjects to certain penalties any person misrepresenting the status of a business as a small business owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans in order to obtain a federal procurement contract or subcontract.

Date: 2010-07-30
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Commerce
Amends the federal criminal code to allow tobacco products to be mailed to a member of the Armed Forces who is serving in a combat zone.

Date: 2010-07-30
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Dignity for our Nation's Heroes Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to cover the burial and funeral expenses of a deceased veteran: (1) who is homeless, has no next of kin or other person claiming the body, and does not have sufficient resources to cover such expenses; (2) whose service in the Armed Forces was not during wartime; and (3) who was either discharged under honorable conditions or died during a period deemed to be active service. Prohibits any deduction from the burial allowance because of a veteran's assets or because of any contribution toward the burial and funeral expenses, unless the expenses incurred are covered by the United States, a state, an agency or political subdivision of the United States or a state, or the veteran's employer.

Date: 2010-07-30
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Responsible End to the War in Afghanistan Act - States that it is the policy of the United States to ensure that funds made available for operations of the Armed Forces in Afghanistan are to be used only for providing for the safe and orderly withdrawal of all U.S. military personnel and Department of Defense (DOD) contractor personnel in Afghanistan. Allows such funds to be obligated and expended only for such purpose.

Date: 2010-07-30
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Increases the authorized allowance for burial and funeral expenses for deceased veterans who: (1) at the time of death were in receipt of veterans' disability compensation or veterans' pension benefits; or (2) were veterans of any war or were discharged or released from active military service for a service-connected disability and for whom there is no next of kin or sufficient resources to cover funeral and burial costs. Increases the burial plot allowance for veterans who, at the time of death, were receiving hospital or nursing home care in or through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Increases the authorized allowance for burial and funeral expenses for veterans who die as a result of a service-connected disability. Authorizes the annual adjustment of such allowances by the same percentage increase as adjustments to benefit amounts payable under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act.

Date: 2010-07-30
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Allows members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are out of uniform to render the military salute during the recitation of the pledge of allegiance.

Date: 2010-08-10
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitative Services' Improvements Act of 2010 - Includes within a program of individualized rehabilitation and reintegration plans for veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI): (1) the goal of maximizing the individual's independence and quality of life; and (2) improving such veterans' behavioral and mental health functioning. Requires the inclusion of rehabilitative services in a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) comprehensive program of long-term care for veterans' TBI that has residential, community, and home-based components utilizing interdisciplinary treatment teams.

Date: 2010-09-14
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Extension of Health Care Eligibility for Veterans Who Served at Qarmat Ali Act - Makes eligible for hospital and nursing home care and medical services for any disability, notwithstanding sufficient medical evidence to conclude that such disability is associated with exposure to sodium dichromate (or other toxic substances), a veteran who: (1) served on active duty at or near the water injection plant at Qarmat Ali, Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom; (2) is notified by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) of possible exposure to sodium dichromate during such service; and (3) enrolls in the VA patient enrollment system within five years after such notification. Authorizes the Secretary to base a notification of possible exposure to sodium dichromate (or other toxic substances) on information received from the Secretary of Defense (DOD).

Date: 2010-09-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security