zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Military Leaders Enhancement Act - Directs Secretary of Defense (DOD) and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) in the case of the Coast Guard to: (1) prepare and implement a plan to achieve, between 2031 and 2041, a dynamic, sustainable level of Armed Forces members (including reserve components) that, among both commissioned officers and senior enlisted personnel of each armed force, reflects the diverse population of the United States eligible to serve in the Armed Forces, including gender specific, racial, or ethnic populations and diversified language and cultural skills; and (2) develop a standard set of metrics and collection procedures, uniform across the Armed Forces, to capture the inclusion and capability aspects of the Armed Forces' broader diversity plans and to verify and systematically link to strategic plans. Requires: (1) the DOD and DHS Secretaries, at least biannually, to meet with the Secretaries of the military departments, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and senior enlisted members of the Armed Forces to discuss progress on the plan; and (2) the DOD Secretary to coordinate with the National Guard Bureau and states in tracking the National Guard's progress on the plan. Directs the DOD Secretary to include in its annual defense manpower requirements report to Congress a discussion of: (1) the progress on implementing the plan while still being able to prevail in any war, prevent and deter any conflict, defeat any adversary, succeed in wide ranges of contingencies, and preserve and enhance the all-volunteer force; (2) the available pool of qualified candidates for the general officer grades of general and lieutenant general and the flag officer grades of admiral and vice admiral, including an assessment of the qualified racial or ethnic minority and female candidates. Directs the DHS Secretary to submit to Congress a related annual report.

Date: 2011-06-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to submit, at least annually until January 1, 2021, separate reports to Congress on the operation of the educational assistance program with respect to members of the Armed Forces whose service commenced on or after September 11, 2001. Requires the reports to include information concerning the utilization of benefits, as well as how benefit levels affect recruitment and retention. Repeals reporting requirements concerning the all-volunteer force educational assistance program.

Date: 2011-06-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Caring for Military Kids with Autism Act - Requires the autism spectrum disorder treatment authorized for dependents in uniformed services facilities under TRICARE (a Department of Defense [DOD] managed health care system) to include behavioral health treatment, including applied behavior analysis, when prescribed by a physician.

Date: 2011-06-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Extends, until FY2018, the yearly $2 million appropriations authorization for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay a monthly assistance allowance to disabled veterans training or competing for the Paralympic Team.

Date: 2011-06-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Medal of Honor Stipend Increase Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), subject to the availability of appropriations, to increase by up to $500 a month the rate of the Medal of Honor special pension.

Date: 2011-06-23
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes the American Legion under its federal charter to provide guidance and leadership to the individual Departments and Posts. Prohibits it from controlling or otherwise influencing the specific activities and conduct of independent, autonomous Departments and Posts.

Date: 2011-06-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Directs the Chief of Engineers to develop a Veterans' Curation Program to hire veterans and members of the Armed Forces to assist in carrying out curation and historic preservation activities.

Date: 2011-06-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Transportation and public works
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 of 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: 2011-06-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Modernizing Notice to Claimants Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide VA benefits claimants, by the most expeditious means available, including electronic communication or notification in writing, of any information or medical or lay evidence not previously provided to the Secretary that is necessary to substantiate a claim. (Current law does not specify the means of notice.) Requires the Secretary, whenever private records relevant to a claim are unable to be obtained after making reasonable efforts in response to a claimant's request for assistance, to, subject to waiver: (1) notify the claimant that the claim will be decided based on evidence of record, but that this Act does not prohibit submission of records at a later date if such submission is otherwise allowed, and (2) make at least two requests to a private record custodian before an effort to obtain relevant private records may be treated as reasonable. (Current law requires only an identification and explanation of the Secretary's efforts to obtain such records with a description of any further action to be taken on the claim.) Directs the Secretary, when attempting to assist a disability compensation claimant in obtaining relevant records from a federal agency, to continue such efforts unless it is reasonably certain that the records are nonexistent or that further efforts would be futile.

Date: 2011-06-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Accountability in Contract Execution Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) conduct a cost-benefit analysis and notify Congress of each contract awarded by the Secretary valued over $100 million, including sole-source, undefinitized, split, or indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity contracts; and (2) submit such analysis to Congress upon request. Requires such an analysis to address: (1) economic and technical feasibility, (2) cost effectiveness, (3) adherence to best industry practices, and (4) written certification that the Secretary considered all alternatives in a fair, competitive, and ethical environment during the contracting process.

Date: 2011-06-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Compensation Owed for Mental Health Based on Activities in Theater Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Act or COMBAT PTSD Act - 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: 2011-07-06
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to award a decoration called the Department of Veterans Affairs Medal for Distinguished Public Service to a veteran who, during the period after the date of the veteran's discharge or release from the active military, naval, or air service, has: (1) made remarkable and distinguished contributions to the community of the veteran, and (2) exemplified the virtues of honor, duty, and commitment to service that originally led the veteran to service in the Armed Forces. Allows the Secretary to award such medal posthumously to such a veteran who is deceased.

Date: 2011-07-08
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Helping Homeless Heroes Act of 2011 - Allows grants made by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) for homeless veterans' comprehensive services programs (outreach, rehabilitation, vocational counseling, and transitional housing assistance) to be used for the construction of new facilities. Prohibits the Secretary from denying applications for such grants solely on the basis that the grant entity proposes to use funding from other private or public sources, as long as such entity demonstrates that a private nonprofit organization will provide project oversight and site control. Revises eligibility: (1) under the grant program for entities serving homeless veterans with special needs, and (2) for treatment and rehabilitation of homeless veterans who are not seriously mentally ill. Includes all individuals caring for minor dependents (current law applies only to women caring for minor dependents) within the definition of "homeless veterans with special needs." Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress a comprehensive plan to end homelessness among veterans. Requires the plan to consider circumstances and requirements unique to veterans located in rural areas. Extends provisions concerning: (1) homeless veterans' health care to December 31, 2012; (2) centers for provision of comprehensive services and property transfers for housing assistance to December 31, 2014; and (3) the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans to December 30, 2013.

Date: 2011-07-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Affairs Active Shooter Training Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish policies and promulgate guidelines to ensure that law enforcement personnel charged with security functions at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers receive active shooter training, as described in the Department of Defense (DOD) document entitled "Protecting the Force: Lessons from Fort Hood."

Date: 2011-07-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of State to provide assistance to address the health care needs of covered individuals. Defines a "covered individual" as an individual who is: (1) a resident of Vietnam, and (2) affected by health issues related to exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam era. Requires such assistance to include assistance to: (1) institutions in Vietnam that provide health care to such individuals, (2) repair and rebuild substandard homes in Vietnam, (3) remediate areas in Vietnam that continue to contain high levels of contaminants, and (4) support research relating to health issues of covered individuals. Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) establish at least two regional medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) designed to address the medical needs of descendants of Vietnam era veterans, (2) make grants to appropriate public health organizations and Vietnamese-American organizations to conduct a broad health assessment of Vietnamese-Americans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange and their children, and (3) ensure that the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study is expanded to include a mortality and morbidity study examining the health outcomes of Vietnam veterans. Defines a "victim" as any individual who is a Vietnamese national, Vietnamese-American, or U.S. veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange, or the progeny of such an individual, and who has a disease or disability associated with this exposure.

Date: 2011-07-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: International affairs
Military Families Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to adjust the status of an eligible alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the alien: (1) applies for adjustment (with a time limit for an alien applying as a family member of a deceased Armed Forces member), (2) is admissible to the United States as an immigrant, and (3) is physically present in the United States. Applies such provision to an alien who is: (1) a parent, spouse, child, son, daughter, or the legal guardian of a child of a living Armed Forces member or of a deceased Armed Forces member who died as a result of service-incurred injury or disease; or (2) the spouse, child, son, or daughter of an alien described in clause (1). Defines "Armed Forces member" as a person who: (1) is, or was at the time of the person's death, a U.S. national or lawfully admitted permanent resident; (2) served honorably on or after October 7, 2001, as a member of the National Guard or the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve, or in an active-duty status in the U.S. military; and (3) if separated from service was separated under honorable conditions. Waives specified grounds of inadmissibility and authorizes the waiver of additional grounds of inadmissibility. Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt from worldwide or numerical limitations on immigrant visas the sons and daughters of Filipino World War II veterans who were naturalized under the Immigration Act of 1990 or other specified federal law.

Date: 2011-07-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Immigration
Don't Default on Military Families Act - Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to, during a funding gap affecting the Armed Forces: (1) require a court order to evict a servicemember (or dependents) from a primary residence during a period of the servicemember's military service (currently, such a court order is required only when monthly rent for the residence is below a specified amount); (2) bar subjecting such premises to distress; and (3) prohibit, after a servicemember enters military service, rescinding or terminating a contract for the purchase, lease, or bailment of real or personal property for a breach occurring before or during that person's military service (currently, such protections apply only when a servicemember pays a deposit or installment before entering military service). Modifies existing requirements for staying proceedings, adjusting obligations, or selling, foreclosing, or seizing property for a breach of obligation when an underlying mortgage or other secured interest on real or personal property originates before a funding gap that is the cause of such actions (currently, such protections apply only when the obligations originated before the period of the servicemember's military service). Prohibits a servicemember's failure or delay to make a mortgage payment (without regard to other considerations) from providing a basis for an adverse credit report if in good faith such servicemember notifies the creditor that such a funding gap is the cause of the failed or delayed payment.

Date: 2011-07-26
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Honoring Ezeagwula and Long Act or the HEAL Act - Requires that Armed Forces members who were killed or wounded in the attack that occurred at a recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 1, 2009, be treated as having been killed or wounded in a combat zone as the result of an act of an enemy of the United States for the purposes of all applicable federal laws, regulations, and policies.

Date: 2011-07-28
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to designate one city in the United States each year as an "American World War II City" based on: (1) contributions to the war effort during World War II; and (2) efforts to preserve the history of such contributions, including preservation organizations or museums, restoration of World War II facilities, and recognition of World War II veterans. Designates Wilmington, North Carolina, as the first such city.

Date: 2011-08-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Limits the role of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in interments or funerals, memorial services, or ceremonies of deceased veterans to providing: (1) such veterans with benefits earned by serving the United States, (2) any necessary maintenance of national cemeteries and other facilities under control of the National Cemetery Administration, and (3) any necessary security or traffic control with respect to such services at national cemeteries and facilities under such Administration's control. Directs the Secretary to ensure that: (1) a suitable chapel is provided to the deceased's family, and (2) any requested honor guard or other nongovernmental group is provided access to such services and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care facilities. Requires each VA cemetery director to be a veteran. Prohibits federal government officials, including the Secretary, from interfering with the content and creed of such services, as expressed by the last will and testament of the individual or as determined by the family or agent of the individual, as provided under state law.

Date: 2011-08-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Combat Veterans Back to Work Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow nongovernmental employers an exemption from, or reduction in, employment taxes for the period beginning after the enactment of this Act and ending on December 31, 2012, for wages paid to a qualified individual; and (2) allow an employer a business tax credit for each such worker retained by such employer who has been employed for not less than 52 consecutive weeks at a specified wage level.  Defines a "qualified individual" as any individual who: (1) begins employment after June 30, 2011, and before January 1, 2013; (2) is a current member of the National Guard or a reserve component; (3) within 18 months before beginning such employment, returned from a deployment of at least 180 days in support of a contingency operation; and (4) has not been hired to replace another employee unless such other employee separated from employment voluntarily or for cause.

Date: 2011-08-26
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Veterans' Religious Freedom Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that: (1) the family members of each veteran who is buried in a national cemetery or is eligible for certain veterans' burial benefits are informed of all options available for the funeral or memorial service for such veteran, and (2) the director of each national cemetery is a qualified veteran. Prohibits the Secretary from: (1) prescribing regulations to censor or otherwise limit the type of religious speech that may be performed by a member of a veterans service organization at the funeral or memorial service of a veteran, or (2) censoring or otherwise limiting the type of religious speech of private speakers who have been invited to speak on property of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Date: 2011-09-07
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Strengthening Homeland Security, Intelligence, and Essential Law Enforcement Departments Act of 2011 or SHIELD Act of 2011 - Requires, in the event that the U.S. public debt limit is reached, priority payment of the pay and allowances of: (1) members of the Armed Forces, including reserves, who perform active service; and (2) critical law enforcement officers employed by federal agencies. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, during a period of lapsed appropriations for the Armed Forces or federal agencies employing critical law enforcement officers, to make available necessary amounts to continue such pay and allowances.

Date: 2011-09-12
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Help Veterans Own Franchises Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business-related tax credit for 25% of a qualified franchise fee of up to $400,000 paid or incurred by a veteran for the purchase of a franchise. Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide information about the tax credit allowed by this Act to veterans service organizations and veteran advocacy groups.

Date: 2011-09-12
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Josh Birchfield Security Contractor Oversight Improvement Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to establish a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan setting standards to be incorporated in DOD oversight plans governing all security contractors operating in Afghanistan, and other future contingency operations, under a contract or subcontract funded by DOD. Requires: (1) the plan to be implemented within six months after the enactment of this Act, and (2) the Comptroller General to assess DOD compliance with the plan and report assessment results to Congress.

Date: 2011-09-14
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veteran's I.D. Card Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to issue a veteran's identification card to any veteran who requests such card and is neither entitled to military retired pay nor enrolled in the VA system of patient enrollment. Requires such card, among other things, to: (1) display their name and photograph, and (2) serve as proof that the veteran honorably served in the Armed Forces and has a DD-214 form or other official document in their personnel file that describes their military service. Directs the Secretary to charge a card fee. States that such card shall not serve as proof of entitlement to any benefits.

Date: 2011-09-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Post 9-11 GI Jobs Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) an increased work opportunity tax credit for hiring post 9-11 veterans and other veterans; and (2) a tax deduction, up to $1,000, for the qualified job training expenses of post 9-11 veterans in the area of green jobs or sustainable manufacturing.  Defines "post 9-11 veteran" as any individual who, after September 11, 2001: (1) served on active duty in the Armed Forces or full-time in the National Guard for more than 180 days, or (2) was discharged or released from active duty for a service-connected disability. Terminates the increase in the tax credit and the tax deduction allowed by this Act after 2014.

Date: 2011-09-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Gulf War Syndrome "Presumptive Illness" Extension Act of 2011 - Extends to December 31, 2018, the period of time following service in the Persian Gulf War or in Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, or New Dawn during which there is a presumption that certain chronic disabilities or illnesses that become manifest in former active-duty veterans are service-connected and therefore compensable through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Date: 2011-09-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Spouse Job Continuity Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces (military spouse) who moves with such member to another state under a permanent change of station order a tax credit for up to $500 of qualified relicensing costs incurred by such spouse. Defines "qualified relicensing costs" as costs for a state license or certification to engage in the profession that such military spouse engaged in while residing in the former state.

Date: 2011-09-23
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Equal Justice for Our Military Act of 2011 - Amends the federal judicial code to allow for review by writ of certiorari of certain cases denied relief or review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Declares that the time for application for such a writ shall be as prescribed by rules of the Supreme Court.

Date: 2011-10-06
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Law
Veterans Entrepreneurial Transition Act of 2011 or the VET Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a veterans small business entrepreneurship program under which the Secretary may approve an eligible veteran entitled to certain VA educational assistance (under the all-volunteer force or post-9/11 educational assistance programs) to use up to a specified amount of such entitlements to start or acquire a qualifying business enterprise. Limits eligibility for the program to veterans who: (1) have completed at least 36 months of full-time active duty service in the Armed Forces or 24 months of such service before being discharged or separated for a service-connected disability, (2) are entitled to 36 months of such educational assistance, and (3) has last been discharged or separated from active duty service a maximum of 15 years before submitting an application with specified information. Allows a participating veteran to use program benefits, in accordance with limitations the Secretary establishes by rule, for purposes related to starting or acquiring a qualifying business enterprise, including: (1) purchasing goods or services necessary for the operation, expansion, or startup of such an enterprise; (2) funding a project directed toward any economic development objective described under specified provisions of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958; (3) attending an entrepreneurship readiness program to prepare the veteran for, and lead to the immediate subsequent ownership and management by the veteran of, such an enterprise; and (4) acquiring such an enterprise. Directs the Secretary to establish a list of qualifying business enterprise categories including: (1) small businesses, (2) franchise business enterprises, (3) existing business enterprises in which the veteran has an ownership stake, and (4) any other business enterprise determined appropriate by the Secretary. Requires that benefits made available to veterans under the program be taken into account in determining a veteran's creditworthiness for small business loans guaranteed under the Small Business Act and for farm loans made or guaranteed pursuant to the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. Authorizes the Secretary, in the event a veteran dies before receiving the balance of benefits payable under this Act, to pay the approved benefits to a survivor designated by the veteran under specified circumstances.

Date: 2011-10-12
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. Applies this Act to any qualifying individual who dies on or after January 1, 2011.

Date: 2011-10-13
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
VHA Ophthalmologic Service Establishment Act of 2011 - Establishes an ophthalmologic service in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Adds a Director of Ophthalmologic Service to the VA's Office of the Under Secretary for Health.

Date: 2011-10-14
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Efficient Service for Veterans Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to jointly ensure that certain VA readjustment counseling centers have access to the Defense Personnel Record Image Retrieval and the VA/DOD Identity Repository Systems.

Date: 2011-10-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
PROTECT Act or Protecting the Retirement of Our Troops by Ensuring Compensation is Timely Act - Prohibits the Secretary of the military department concerned from presuming deceased a military retiree missing in Iraq or Afghanistan on or after October 7, 2001, until the earlier of 11 years after the person was declared missing or the date the death is confirmed and a death certificate is delivered to the next of kin. Requires monthly retired pay to be resumed and any retired pay that may have been due following the declaration of the presumption of death to be retroactively paid to the family of the retiree.

Date: 2011-10-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Makes family caregivers of certain veterans with a serious illness eligible for a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) program of comprehensive assistance and support services. (Under current law, only family caregivers of certain veterans with a serious injury are so eligible.)

Date: 2011-10-27
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD), and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) with respect to the Coast Guard, to design a military service identification card to identify and recognize the service of a member of the Armed Forces after the retirement or other separation of the member from the Armed Forces. Requires the card to include, at a minimum, the information contained on the Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. Directs the Secretary concerned to: (1) establish an application process for a person to request such a card, and (2) make the card available to retired and former members of the Armed Forces who retired or were separated before enactment of this Act. Conditions the issuance of the card upon the payment of an amount sufficient to cover the costs incurred by the United States to manufacture and issue it.

Date: 2011-11-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Hotels for Heroes Act - Expands the authority of the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to accept travel benefits to facilitate the travel of members of the Armed Forces during leave from active duty to include, as part of such benefits, points or awards for free or reduced-cost hotel accommodations. Includes as benefits purposes: (1) providing humanitarian support to members and eligible beneficiaries receiving care through the military health care system, and (2) support to allow participation by members and their families in DOD-sponsored and authorized programs.

Date: 2011-11-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
National Parks Freedom Pass Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to make the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available to members of the Armed Forces or members of the National Guard or Reserves at a reduced rate equal to 50% of the cost of the Pass that is sold to the public. Makes such a Pass valid for one year after its date of issuance. Requires Passes to be made available, at a cost of $10, to veterans who were separated from military service under conditions other than dishonorable. Makes such a Pass valid for the lifetime of a passholder.

Date: 2011-11-03
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Help Inspire and Retrain our Exceptional Veterans Act of 2011 or HIRE Veterans Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a program to award grants to local chambers of commerce to provide veterans with apprenticeships and career advice. Prohibits more than one grant from being awarded to a local chamber during each five-year period. Provides individual grant amounts of at least $10,000 and not more than $20,000. Terminates the grant program at the end of FY2022. Requires an annual report from the Secretary to Congress after each year of the grant program.

Date: 2011-11-03
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Travel Benefits Modernization Act - Allows the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to waive the $6 round-trip deductible paid by veterans in order to receive travel costs necessitated by required VA medical care until the earlier of: (1) one year after the waiver is granted, or (2) the date on which the Secretary determines that the deduction would no longer cause the veteran severe financial hardship. Makes any waiver granted beginning on January 1, 2011, and ending on June 1, 2012, valid until the earlier of: (1) the birthday of the veteran occurring after June 1, 2012; or (2) the date of the Secretary's determination described above. Requires the Secretary to revise the Veterans Health Administration Handbook to include such waiver periods.

Date: 2011-11-03
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Franchise Education for Veterans Act - Allows eligible individuals to use Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) veterans' educational assistance benefits for franchise training. Provides training assistance limits for each 12-month period, prohibiting an individual from receiving more than 12 months and more than $15,000 of such assistance. Authorizes such training assistance under the post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance program, with the same assistance limits.

Date: 2011-11-03
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Heroes Hiring Heroes Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a program to award grants to states to assist the employment of veterans. Allows the Secretary to award more than one grant per state. Limits grant amounts to $100,000. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2016 the work opportunity tax credit for employers hiring previously unemployed veterans after 2011 and before 2017. Increases such credit with respect to such veterans. Provides a special tax credit for veteran-owned employers who hire previously unemployed veterans through a state job fair or forum after 2016.

Date: 2011-11-03
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Latin America Military Training Review Act - Directs the Secretary of the Army to suspend operation of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (Institute). Suspends the authority of the Secretary of Defense to operate such an education and training facility until submission of a report containing the results of an investigation in response to violations of human rights to which training at such Institute contributed. Establishes: (1) a joint congressional task force to assess appropriate education and training for DOD to provide to military personnel of Latin American nations; and (2) a commission to investigate activities of the United States Army School of the Americas and its successor institution, the Institute.

Date: 2011-11-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Wounded Warriors Employment Opportunity Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from $12,000 to $24,000 in taxable years ending before January 1, 2017, the amount of wages which may be taken into account in determining the allowable work opportunity tax credit for the hiring of certain disabled veterans who have been unemployed for six months or more during the one-year period ending on the hiring date.

Date: 2011-11-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Hotels for Heroes Act - Expands the authority of the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to accept travel benefits to facilitate the travel of members of the Armed Forces during leave from active duty to include, as part of such benefits, points or awards for free or reduced-cost hotel accommodations. Includes as benefits purposes: (1) providing humanitarian support to members and eligible beneficiaries receiving care through the military health care system, and (2) support to allow participation by members and their families in DOD-sponsored and authorized programs.

Date: 2011-11-14
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Sexual Assault Training Oversight and Prevention Act or STOP Act - Establishes a Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Council, composed mainly of civilians, as an independent entity from the chain of command of the Department of Defense (DOD). Directs the Council to: (1) appoint personnel to the Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office, and advise such Office; (2) appoint the Director of Military Prosecutions (Director); (3) review each request of the Director with respect to a case stemming from a sexual-related offense that has been referred to a military appellate court or to the Department of Justice (DOJ); and (4) submit to the Secretary of Defense, Congress, and the Attorney General a report on each Director request for referral to a higher court. Requires the Council to advise on the development of sexual assault reporting protocols, risk-reduction and response training, and policy. Establishes within DOD the Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office, headed by an Executive Director, to undertake specified duties and responsibilities relating to the investigation, prevention, and reduction of sexual assault incidents within the Armed Forces. Requires the Office to establish protocols to ensure that all reports of sexual assault are taken out of the chain of command and reported directly to the Office. Establishes the position of Director of Military Prosecutions, appointed by the Council, to have independent and final authority to oversee the prosecution of all sexual-related offenses committed by a member of the Armed Forces, and to refer such cases to trial by courts-martial. Amends the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 to require the Secretary to implement a centralized database, known as the Military Sexual Registry, for the collection of information regarding sexual assaults within the military, including the nature of the assault, the victim, the offender, and the outcome of associated legal proceedings. Requires the Registry to be housed and maintained within the Office.

Date: 2011-11-16
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Keeping Our Promises Act of 2011 - Makes any change regarding the entitlement of members or former members of the Armed Forces to retired or retainer pay or to the computation of such pay inapplicable to an individual who first became a member or former member before the effective date of the change, unless: (1) the member or former member affirmatively accepts the change, or (2) the change would have the effect of expanding the member's entitlement or eligibility to such pay or increasing its amount.

Date: 2011-11-29
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Families Child Care Assistance Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase: (1) the tax credit for household and dependent care expenses for individuals who have served on active duty in the Armed Forces for a period of 120 days or more beginning after September 11, 2001; and (2) the exclusion from gross income for employer-provided dependent care assistance provided to such individuals.

Date: 2011-12-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2011- Includes as part of the Republic of Vietnam its territorial seas for purposes of the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure by veterans to certain herbicide agents while in Vietnam.

Date: 2011-12-08
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Accelerated License Obtainment and Recertification Act of 2011 or VALOR Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to establish accelerated licensing procedures to assist veterans to acquire commercial driver's licenses. Requires such procedures to apply to any veteran attempting to acquire a commercial driver's license who, during military service, obtained driving experience that makes the use of accelerated licensing procedures appropriate.

Date: 2011-12-14
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Amends detainee and military custody provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, with respect to the authority of the President and the U.S. Armed Forces pursuant the Authorization for Use of Military Force (P.L. 107-40), to specify that no U.S. citizen may be detained against his or her will without all the rights of due process afforded to the citizen in a court ordained or established by or under Article III of the U.S. Constitution.

Date: 2011-12-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Authorizes payment under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) beneficiary travel program of travel expenses in connection with medical examination, treatment, or care of a veteran with vision impairment, a spinal cord injury or disorder, or double or multiple amputations whose travel is in connection with inpatient care in a VA special disabilities rehabilitation program.

Date: 2011-12-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Freedom to Mourn in Peace Act of 2011 - Expands the prohibition on demonstrations at certain funerals, memorial services, or bereavement ceremonies for a deceased veteran to any property where such a service is held unless the demonstration has been approved by the cemetery superintendent or the owner of the property on which the funeral is held. (Current law only prohibits such demonstrations on property of a cemetery under the control of the National Cemetery Administration or on the property of Arlington National Cemetery.) Extends to 1,000 feet the distance within which certain demonstrations that impede access to or egress from such a cemetery or property are prohibited during the period beginning 60 minutes before and ending 60 minutes after such a service, provided that there is a visible sign at applicable distances stating the time interval during which a service will be held.

Date: 2011-12-20
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Support and Defend Our Military Personnel and Their Families Act - States that any person who serves or has served under honorable conditions as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces in support of contingency operations shall be eligible for naturalization as if the person had served during a period of presidentially-designated military hostilities. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to extend the period for filing a naturalization application to one year after completion of eligible military service. Exempts from worldwide immigrant visa numerical limitations an alien who is eligible for a family-sponsored immigrant visa and is either the spouse or child of a permanent resident alien who is serving in the Armed Forces. Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to adjust to permanent resident status an alien who is a parent, spouse, child, son or daughter, or minor sibling of a person who is serving or has served in the Armed Forces under honorable conditions. Permits posthumous benefits under specified circumstances. Permits the military enlistment of an alien who takes the oath set forth in this Act during any period of contingency operations. States that with respect to a removal proceeding under INA: (1) a notice to appear shall not be issued against an alien who serves or has served under honorable conditions in the Armed Forces without the Secretary's prior approval; (2) the Secretary, in determining whether to issue a notice, shall consider the alien's eligibility for naturalization, military service record, grounds of deportability, and any hardship to the Armed Forces, the alien, and his or her family if the alien were to be placed in removal proceedings; and (3) an alien who serves or has served under honorable conditions in the Armed Forces shall not be removed from the United States under specified grounds.

Date: 2011-12-20
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Immigration
Military Religious Freedom Protection Act - Requires the sincerely held religious or moral beliefs of a member of the Armed Forces concerning the appropriate and inappropriate expression of human sexuality to be accommodated and not the basis of any adverse personnel action, discrimination, or denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment (adverse actions). Prohibits a military chaplain from being directed, ordered, or required to perform any duty, rite, ritual, ceremony, service, or function (ceremony) that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs (beliefs) of the chaplain or the chaplain's faith group. Prohibits the refusal of a chaplain to perform a ceremony that is contrary to such beliefs from being the basis of any adverse actions. Requires the Secretary of Defense to issue regulations setting forth guidance to implement such requirements and prohibitions. Prohibits a military installation or other property owned, rented, or otherwise under the jurisdiction or control of the Department of Defense (DOD) from being used to officiate, solemnize, or perform a marriage or marriage-like ceremony involving anything other than the union of one man with one woman.

Date: 2012-01-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Help Veterans Return to Work Act - Requires full reinstatement of all appropriate employment and reemployment rights of an individual called away from employment with a small business employer due to active-duty service who subsequently returns, unless the employer can show that such employment or reemployment would impose an undue hardship on the employer.

Date: 2012-02-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Fair Military Leave Act - Directs the Secretary concerned to make a payment to each member of the Armed Forces who was eligible to participate in the Post-Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence program, but did not participate for one or more days due to government error. Makes such payment: (1) $200 for each day of non-participation, and (2) in lieu of any authorized administrative absence for such day(s).

Date: 2012-02-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Keep America's Promises Act - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 to include under the temporary early retirement authority provided under amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 those members of the Armed Forces who: (1) were separated on or after March 1, 2011, but before the effective date of the amendments (December 31, 2011); and (2) had at least 15 years of service on their date of separation. States that this Act will protect 157 Air Force officers who were involuntarily separated as a result of a March 2011 continuation board.

Date: 2012-02-06
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Gardens Employment and Opportunity Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to award grants to eligible entities to establish gardens that are fully operated by veterans and are designed to produce food that can be sold to individuals, schools, and restaurants through farmers' markets or otherwise. Gives priority to entities seeking to establish a garden located on, or convenient to, the grounds of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facility.

Date: 2012-02-06
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Agriculture and food