zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Servicemembers Insurance Relief Act of 2014 - Declares that a member of a servicemember's household neither loses nor acquires a residence or domicile for purposes of insuring a motor vehicle primarily for personal, family, or household use if: (1) the servicemember has temporarily moved to comply with any temporary duty or permanent change of station order, or (2) the member of the household has temporarily moved to accompany a servicemember who is complying with such an order.

Defines: (1) "servicemember" as a member of the uniformed services, the National Guard, or reserve components; and (2) "member of a household" as the servicemember, the spouse of a servicemember, or any dependent residing with such a servicemember or a servicemember's spouse.

Requires insurers to provide a member of a servicemember's household with a servicemembers insurance choice notice if a household member notifies the insurer of such a move.

Directs the Federal Insurance Office of the Department of the Treasury to promulgate a standard servicemembers insurance choice notice that: (1) summarizes the right of servicemembers and members of their households, in addition to options available under current law, to continue an existing auto insurance policy as allowed by the insurer with appropriate adjustments that relate only to location risk factors; (2) notifies the servicemember that the insurer will explain the coverage options available to the servicemember as a result of the move; and (3) requires no alterations or additions for an insurer to be in compliance with such notification requirements.

Prohibits this Act from requiring an insurer to continue providing coverage to such a member.

Provides enforcement authority to the states in which the relevant auto insurance policy was issued or renewed.

Date: 2014-05-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act with respect to an item of adverse information about an active duty military consumer.

Declares that, if the action or inaction that gave rise to the item occurred while the consumer was an active duty military consumer, then: (1) the consumer may provide appropriate proof, including official orders, to a consumer reporting agency that the consumer was an active duty military consumer at the time the action or inaction occurred; and (2) any consumer report made by the agency including that item of information shall clearly and conspicuously disclose that the consumer was an active duty military consumer when the action or inaction that gave rise to the item occurred.

Requires a consumer reporting agency to notify promptly an active duty military consumer whenever it receives an item of adverse information about him or her, along with a description of the item and the method by which the consumer can dispute the validity of the item.

Requires an agency also to use any separate contact information an active duty military consumer has given it for all communications while the individual is an active duty military consumer.

Declares the sense of Congress that any person making use of a consumer report containing an item of adverse information that occurred while the consumer was an active duty military consumer should take that fact into account when evaluating the consumer's creditworthiness.

Requires a consumer reporting agency, with respect to an item of information under dispute by an active duty military consumer, to include in the consumer's file that he or she was an active duty military consumer at the time the action or inaction that gave rise to the disputed item occurred.

Date: 2014-05-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Opportunity for Military Academies and Readiness Act - Authorizes an alien who possesses an employment authorization document issued by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and who otherwise satisfies the requirements for admission to a military service academy to be appointed to and to attend such academy and, upon graduation, to be appointed as a commissioned officer in the Armed Forces.

Date: 2014-05-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 to allow the return of personal property retained as evidence in connection with an incident of sexual assault involving a member of the Armed Forces to its rightful owner after the conclusion of all legal, adverse action, and administrative proceedings related to such incident.

Date: 2014-05-22
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Spouse Career Advancement Act - Requires (current law authorizes) the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to establish programs to provide education and training opportunities for military spouses to expand employment and portable career opportunities.

Directs the Secretary to continue to carry out the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) program, under which the spouse of a member of the armed forces who is serving on active duty may receive up to the amount that the Secretary determines is equal to the average amount of in-state tuition at public four-year colleges and universities located in the state in which the spouse resides in tuition assistance for education and training courses and licensing and credentialing fees.

Requires financial assistance provided under the program to be available to cover the costs of:

 state certifications for teachers, medical professionals, and other occupations; licensing exams and related preparation courses; continuing education classes; degree programs leading to employment in portable careers; and secondary education completion courses, GED tests, and English as a Second Language classes. Prohibits the Secretary from restricting participation in the program to spouses of members serving in particular grades.

Date: 2014-06-09
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Readying Our Troops for Combat Act of 2014 or the ROTC Act of 2014 - Prohibits the Secretary of the Army from disestablishing, or initiating the disestablishment of, a Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program of the Army pursuant to specified administrative instructions of the Department of Defense (DOD) until July 1, 2020.

Date: 2014-06-20
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Requires the Secretary of the Air Force to carry out a demonstration program to assess the feasibility and advisability of permitting individuals with auditory impairments (including deafness) access as officers of the Air Force.

Authorizes between 15 and 20 individuals who are deaf or have a range of other auditory impairments, who otherwise meet all essential qualifications for accession as an officer of the Air Force, and who have not previously served as officers to participate in such program.

Requires selected participants to undergo the Basic Officer Training course or the Commissioned Officer Training course at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, at the election of the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to designate a special advisor to act as a resource for participants, as well as a liaison between participants and those providing the officer training.

Date: 2014-07-30
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Operation United Assistance Tax Exclusion Act of 2014 - Provides for a tax exclusion of compensation paid to a member of the Armed Forces serving in Operation United Assistance in the Ebola virus disease outbreak area (i.e. Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and any other region designated as experiencing a widespread Ebola virus disease outbreak). Requires that such service member undergo a program of not less than 21 days of controlled monitoring upon return from the outbreak area.

Date: 2014-12-08
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Proudly Restoring Officers of Prior Enlistment Retirement Act or the PROPER Act - Reduces to four the number of years that previously enlisted commissioned officers who have performed a certain minimum number of years of military service to become eligible for retirement must have actively served in the rank of commissioned officer in order to retire in the officer rank instead of in their previous enlisted rank. (Currently, a requirement for 10 years of active service as a commissioned officer has been reduced temporarily to 8 years.)

Makes the reduction to four years applicable during the period from January 1, 2014, to September 30, 2016.

Date: 2014-12-10
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veteran Employment Transition Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the definition of "qualified veteran" for purposes of the work opportunity tax credit to include recently discharged veterans.

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.

Veterans Employment and Training Services Act of 2013 or the VETS Act - Requires the Secretaries of Labor, Veterans Affairs, and Defense to enter into an agreement to govern the coordination of veteran job training services. Requires the Secretaries of Labor and Veterans Affairs to prepare reports on the veteran job training programs of their respective departments.

Amends the DOD pilot program for assessing the feasibility and advisability of permitting enlisted personnel to obtain civilian credentialing or licensing for skills required for military occupational specialties to require the designation as military occupational specialties of the MOS 31B Military Police, MOS 15Q AC-Air Traffic Controller, and the MOS 12M Fire Protection, in addition to not fewer than three and not more than five additional military occupational specialties.

Honoring Promises to Service-Disabled Veterans Act of 2013 - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the head of each executive department to submit an annual report to the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) containing the percentage of the total value of all prime contracts awarded by the executive department during the preceding one-year period to small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans.

Date: 2013-01-24
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Taxation
Reserve Retirement Deployment Credit Correction Act - Requires the days of active duty or active service used to reduce the minimum age at which a member of the reserves may retire for non-regular (reserve) service to occur in in any two consecutive fiscal years (under current law, in the same fiscal year).

Date: 2013-02-07
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Charlie Morgan Military Spouses Equal Treatment Act of 2013 - Considers a person a spouse, for purposes of military personnel policies and military and veterans' benefits, if the marriage of the individual is valid in the state in which the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any state, if the marriage is valid in the place in which the marriage was entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a state. Includes as a state the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. territories and possessions.

Date: 2013-02-14
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to require a convening authority (the official acting on the sentence of a court-martial), when taking any action other than approving a sentence, to prepare a written justification of such action which shall be made part of the record of the court-martial.

Prohibits a convening authority (or person acting in such capacity) from: (1) dismissing or setting aside a finding of guilty, or (2) reducing a finding of guilty to a finding of guilty to a lesser included offense. Repeals an inconsistent UCMJ provision.

Date: 2013-03-12
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: 2013-03-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Servicemember Mental Health Review Act - Extends through 2014 (under current law, through 2009) the authority of the Physical Disability Board of Review (Board) to review the disability determinations of individuals who, since September 11, 2001, are separated from the Armed Forces due to unfitness for duty because of a mental condition with a disability rating of 20% or less and are found to be ineligible for retirement. Adds to those eligible for such review individuals who, before December 31, 2014, are separated due to unfitness because of a mental condition not amounting to disability, including separation based on a personality or adjustment disorder. Requires the Board to: (1) review, upon request, the findings and decisions of the appropriate physical evaluation board with respect to such latter individuals; and (2) include as Board members at least one licensed psychologist and one licensed psychiatrist who have had no fiduciary relationship to the Department of Defense (DOD) since December 31, 2001. Allows the Board to review disability determinations of non-requesting individuals, after obtaining their consent.

Requires the Secretary of the military department concerned to correct the military records of individuals in accordance with Board recommendations, unless such Secretary finds that the Board has made a clearly erroneous recommendation.

Requires the Secretary of Defense to ensure that eligible individuals receive notification of their right to a separation review by the Board, including the right to obtain counsel.

Date: 2013-03-20
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Service Members Student Loan Relief Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow members of the Armed Forces and National Guard to defer payments of principal on their Federal Family Education Loans, William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans, and Federal Perkins Loans for the period (up to 180 days) beginning on the date they receive a call or order to duty in connection with a war, military operation, or national emergency and ending on their first day of service. (Currently, the payment of principal on those loans is also deferred during their period of service and for the 180-day period after their demobilization date.)

Allows individuals whose call to duty is cancelled before their first day of service: (1) due to a service training injury, to defer payments of principal on those loans through what would have been their period of service; and (2) for a reason other than a service training injury, to defer payments of principal on those loans for 14 days after that cancellation.

Date: 2013-03-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Education
Troop Talent Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretaries of the military departments, to the maximum extent practicable, to make information on civilian credentialing opportunities available to members of the Armed Forces (members) beginning with, and at every stage of, their training for military occupational specialities, in order to permit such members to: (1) evaluate the extent to which such training correlates with skills and training required for various civilian certifications and licenses, and (2) assess the suitability of such training for obtaining and pursuing such certifications and licenses.

Requires the information made available to: (1) be consistent with the Transition Goals Plans Success program, and (2) include information on the civilian occupational equivalents of military occupational specialties.

Requires such Secretaries to make available to civilian credentialing agencies specified information on the content of military training provided to members.

Allows members or veterans to use educational assistance provided through the Department of Defense (DOD) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in pursuit of a civilian certification or license only if the successful completion of a curriculum fully qualifies such student to take the appropriate examination and be certified or licensed to meet any other academic conditions required for entry into that occupation or profession.

Requires the military occupational specialties designated for a military skills to civilian credentialing pilot program under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 to include those specialties relating to the military information technology workforce.

Directs the VA Secretary to reestablish the Professional Certification and Licensure Advisory Committee (under current law, terminated on December 31, 2006). Provides additional Committee duties, including the development of: (1) guidance for audits of licensure and certification programs in order to ensure high-quality education to members and veterans, and (2) a plan to improve outreach to members and veterans on the importance of licensing and certification and the availability of educational benefits.

Date: 2013-04-10
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Repeals a statutory restriction on using a medical treatment facility or other facility of the Department of Defense (DOD) to perform an abortion.

Date: 2013-04-23
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that, as the United States draws down combat operations in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense (DOD) should continue to seek to assist in the identification of behavior indicating a risk of suicide in members of the Armed Forces (members).

Directs the Secretary of Defense to carry out a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of using an online computerized assessment to assist DOD in detecting behaviors in members that indicate a risk of suicide or other mental health conditions. Requires: (1) 1,000 members of each regular component and 500 members of each reserve and National Guard component to be used in the pilot program, and (2) each participating member to complete two assessments. Requires the first superior officer of each participating member to also complete a computerized assessment on the behavior of that member as it relates to the risk of suicide or other mental health conditions.

Requires each member determined under the pilot program to have behavior indicating a risk of suicide or other mental health conditions to be referred to an appropriate mental health care provider for further assessment, care, and services.

Directs the Secretary to establish one or more control groups whose behavior permit comparison with the behavior and experiences of the participants.

Provides for the privacy of any medical or other information obtained under the pilot program. Prohibits information obtained from being used in determining the promotion or advancement of the member. Excludes the use of participant personally identifiable information in any required report.

Date: 2013-04-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Combating Military Sexual Assault Act of 2013 - Directs each military department Secretary to implement a program providing a Special Victims' Counsel (Counsel) to a victim of a sexual assault committed by a member of the Armed Forces (member). Outlines Counsel qualifications and duties, including providing advice and assistance in connection with criminal and civil legal matters related to the assault.

Allows a member or member dependent who is a victim of an assault by another member to receive Counsel assistance. Requires such victim to be informed of the availability of such assistance at the time the victim originally seeks assistance from a sexual response coordinator or sexual assault victim advocate, a military criminal investigator, a victim/witness liaison, a trial counsel, health care providers, or any other personnel designated by the Secretary concerned. Makes such assistance available regardless of whether the victim elects unrestricted or restricted (confidential) reporting of the incident.

Provides additional duties of the Director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office within the Department of Defense (DOD), including: (1) providing guidance and assistance for the military departments in addressing matters relating to sexual assault prevention and response, (2) acting as liaison between DOD and other federal and state agencies on sexual assault prevention and response programs, and (3) overseeing development of program guidance and joint planning objectives in support of such program. Requires the Director to also collect and maintain data of the military departments concerning sexual assault prevention and response.

Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to provide for disposition and other requirements in connection with charges of rape or sexual assault, and to provide for victims' rights under such actions (including the right to a Counsel).

Adds new provisions to the UCMJ concerning the commission of a sexual act upon, or abusive sexual contact with, a member by a military instructor.

Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 to require the National Guard of each state and territory to ensure that a sexual assault response coordinator is available at all times to its members.

Date: 2013-05-07
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Servicemembers' Choice in Transition Act of 2013 - Amends provisions concerning the Transition Assistance Program of the Department of Defense (DOD) (employment and job training assistance and related services for members of the Armed Forces being separated from active duty, and for their spouses) to require such Program to include: (1) information about disability-related employment and education protections, (2) instruction in the use of educational assistance entitlements, (3) testing to determine academic readiness for post-secondary education and appropriate courses, (4) instruction on the financing of post-secondary education, and (5) information on benefits provided under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) and in other subjects determined by the Secretary concerned.

Requires the VA Secretary to submit to the congressional veterans committees the results of a study to determine the feasibility of providing veterans' benefits instruction at all overseas locations where such instruction is provided through a joint contract with the Secretary of Labor.

Date: 2013-05-07
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Franchise Education for Veterans Act of 2013 - 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: 2013-05-14
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to review the adequacy of the training, qualifications, and experience of each member of the Armed Forces and civilian DOD employee who is currently responsible for sexual assault prevention and response within the Armed Forces. Includes in such review an assessment of the adequacy of the training and certifications required of Sexual Assault Response Coordinators and Sexual Assault Victim Advocates by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.

Requires the Secretary, upon a determination that any member or civilian employee responsible for sexual assault prevention and response does not have the training, qualifications, or experience required to discharge such responsibilities, to take appropriate responsive actions that include: (1) retraining or recertification, or (2) reassignment and replacement of the member or employee.

Directs the Secretary, following the review required by this Act, to prescribe in regulations: (1) appropriate minimum levels of training, qualifications, and experience for such personnel; and (2) requirements for improvements in training, including of Sexual Assault Response Coordinators and Sexual Assault Victim Advocates.

Date: 2013-05-15
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Requires each Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces to establish and maintain an office within such Chief of Staff on the sexual assault prevention and response program carried out by that armed force.

Directs each military department Secretary to submit to the congressional defense committees an assessment of the feasibility and advisability of: (1) establishing such an office within each department, and (2) selecting members of the Armed Forces and department personnel to be assigned to positions that include responsibility for sexual assault prevention and response within the Armed Forces.

Date: 2013-05-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Disabled Military Child Protection Act of 2013 - Authorizes monthly annuity payments under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to a supplemental or special needs trust established for the sole benefit of a disabled dependent child who is incapable of self-support because of mental or physical incapacity.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2013 - Revises provisions concerning protected communications from members of the Armed Forces (members) to specified military and government officials (military whistleblower provisions) to include communications made to a court, grand jury, or court-martial proceeding or to an authorized official of the Department of Justice (DOJ) or another law enforcement agency.

Includes as additional protected communications any alleged violation of law, rule, or regulation, including those prohibiting rape, sexual assault, or other sexual misconduct under provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

Provides that neither an initial determination of whether a prohibited personnel retaliatory action was taken against a member for such a communication nor a subsequent investigation is required in the case of an allegation made more than one year (under current law, 60 days) after the member first becomes aware of the personnel action.

Requires reports by inspectors general of the military departments concerned on prohibited retaliatory personnel actions to: (1) be submitted to such department's Secretary (under current law, to the Secretary of Defense [DOD]); and (2) include an explicit determination as to whether a prohibited personnel action has occurred and recommendations for disposition of the complaint, including appropriate corrective action for the member. Requires any such corrective action to occur within 30 days after the receipt of such report. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (with respect to the Coast Guard) and the Secretary concerned, upon determining that an order for corrective or disciplinary action is not appropriate, to notify the Secretary of Defense, the congressional defense committees, and the member of such determination and the reasons for not taking action. Requires (under current law, allows) the appropriate correction of military records upon the request of a member for whom a prohibited action determination has been made.

Establishes the member's and agency's burden of proof with respect to military whistleblower protection investigations and determinations.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Requires the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with respect to the Coast Guard, or any of the military departments to investigate allegations of retaliatory personnel actions taken in response to making protected communications to such Inspector General regarding alleged instances of rape, sexual assault, or other forms of sexual misconduct in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Date: 2013-06-04
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Conservation Corps Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a veterans conservation corps to assist veterans in the transition from service in the Armed Forces to civilian life and to employ veterans: (1) in conservation, resource management, and historic preservation projects on public lands; (2) in maintenance and improvement projects for cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the National Cemetery Administration; and (3) as firefighters, law enforcement officers, and disaster relief personnel.

Requires priority to be given to the employment of veterans who served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001.

Requires, as part of the veterans conservation corps: (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to award grants under the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to hire veterans as firefighters; (2) the Attorney General to award grants under the public safety and community policing grant program (COPS ON THE BEAT grant program) under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to hire veterans as law enforcement officers; and (3) the DHS Secretary to provide funds to increase participation by veterans in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Corps program.

Authorizes the VA Secretary to transfer amounts to carry out the corps to the Attorney General, the Chief of Engineers, and the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, DHS, and Interior.

Directs the VA Secretary to establish a steering committee to establish selection criteria for, and provide advice to the VA Secretary on, the awarding of assistance under this Act.

Date: 2013-06-27
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: 2013-08-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to include military technicians (dual status) in military personnel accounts for purposes of any sequestration order issued by the President after January 1, 2014.

Date: 2013-08-01
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Honoring the Fort Hood Heroes Act - Directs: (1) the Secretary of the military department concerned to award the Purple Heart to members of the Armed Forces (members) who were killed or wounded in the attack at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009; and (2) the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to award the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom to civilian employees and contractors of DOD who were killed or wounded in such attack.

Deems, for purposes of all applicable federal benefit laws, regulations, and policies: (1) such members to have been killed or wounded in a combat zone as the result of an enemy act; and (2) such employees to have been killed or wounded by hostile action while serving with the Armed Forces in a contingency operation and to have been killed or wounded in a terrorist attack. Excludes any member whose death or wound was the result of willful misconduct. Applies such provisions to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other psychological injuries that were a result of such attack.

Date: 2013-09-12
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Battlefield Excellence through Superior Training Practices Act or the BEST Practices Act - Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD), no later than: (1) October 1, 2016, to develop, test, and validate human-based training methods for training members of the Armed Forces in the treatment of combat trauma injuries, with the goal of replacing live animal-based training methods; and (2) October 1, 2018, to use only use human-based training methods for such purposes. Prohibits the use of animals in such training after the latter date. Provides an exception when the Secretary determines that human-based training methods will not provide an educationally equivalent or superior substitute for live animal-based training methods.

Requires an annual report from the Secretary to the congressional defense committees on the development and implementation of the human-based training methods, as well as any exceptions implemented.

Date: 2013-09-25
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Pay Our Military Technical Corrections Act of 2013 - Amends the Pay Our Military Act (P.L. 113-39) to specify that FY2014 continuing appropriations provided for pay and allowances to members of the Armed Forces, including reserve components, is to include cadets in the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy appointed as midshipmen in Navy Reserve (including the Merchant Marine Reserve, Navy Reserve) who perform active service for any period during which interim or full-year appropriations for FY2014 are not in effect.

Makes continuing appropriations for pay and allowances to civilian personnel of the Department of Transportation (DOT) whom the Secretary of Transportation determines are providing support to such members of the Armed Forces, including reserve components, performing active service during such period (under such Act only civilian personnel and contractors of the Department of Defense [DOD], and the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] in the case of the Coast Guard, whom the Secretary concerned determines are providing such support).

Provides for pay and allowances to DOD, DHS, and DOT civilian personnel providing support to those in training for such service.

Date: 2013-10-07
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
SCRA Enhancement and Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to:

 extend the period during which a contract for the purchase of real or personal property or the lease or bailment of such property entered into by a member of the uniformed services (servicemember) may not be rescinded or terminated for a breach to one year after such member's period of military service; change the period during which an action to enforce a mortgage, trust deed, or other security against a servicemember is covered by a stay of proceedings or adjustment of obligation to the period in which such action is pending (instead of the period in which such action is filed); prohibit the accrual of a mortgage prepayment penalty incurred by a servicemember during military service; delay the expiration of a license issued by a state or local licensing authority to a servicemember, or a continuing education requirement to maintain such a license, to 180 days after such servicemember is no longer eligible for hostile fire or imminent danger special pay; expand protections against collection of taxes owned by a servicemember with respect to personal property or real property occupied for dwelling, professional, trade, business, or agricultural purposes; prohibit the denial of credit to a servicemember solely by reason of entitlement to protections under SCRA; expand due diligence requirements for determining whether an individual is a servicemember prior to taking a default judgment against such individual; extend the protections of SCRA to servicemembers who are personally liable as a guarantor or co-maker of a mortgage, trust deed, or other security in the nature of a mortgage; permit the use of arbitration to settle a dispute under SCRA; authorize the Attorney General to issue a civil investigate demand for documents relating to an investigation under SCRA prior to initiating a civil action for violations of such Act; and double the amount of civil penalties for a first violation of SCRA and for subsequent violations.

Date: 2013-10-28
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Servicemember Housing Protection Act of 2013 - Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to protect a surviving spouse who is the successor in interest to a servicemember who dies from a service-connected cause while in military service against a mortgage foreclosure or residential lease termination. Extends such protection for the one-month period following the death of the servicemember.

Allows the termination of an existing lease by the lessee, without penalties, when the lessee is assigned to or otherwise relocates to federal quarters or military housing. Requires, in such case, the lessee to deliver to the lessor written notice of such termination and a letter from the servicemember's commanding officer indicating such relocation.

Date: 2013-10-28
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Article 32 Reform Act - Revises requirements relating to an Article 32 investigative hearing under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to require a judge advocate to conduct a preliminary hearing prior to referring a charge or specification to a general court-martial for trial. Requires such judge advocate to have a grade equal to or higher than the grade of the trial counsel and any defense counsel who is representing the accused at the preliminary hearing. Limits the preliminary hearing to the purpose of determining whether there is probable cause to believe an offense has been committed and whether the accused committed it.

Requires the judge advocate conducting the preliminary hearing to prepare a report that includes: (1) a determination as to the court-martial jurisdiction over the offense and the accused, (2) a determination as to probable cause, (3) a consideration of the form of charges, and (4) a recommendation as to the disposition of the case.

Allows a victim of the alleged offense to decline to testify at the preliminary hearing. Requires the preliminary hearing to be recorded by a court reporter or by a suitable recording device.

Date: 2013-11-05
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to report on the impact of mental and physical trauma relating to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, behavioral health matters not related to PTSD, and other neurological combat traumas on the discharge of members of the Armed Forces for misconduct.

Date: 2013-11-07
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Savings Act of 2013 - Requires the Under Secretary of Defense (DOD) to carry out a five-year pilot program at at least 10 military installations to develop innovative consumer financial products that encourage savings and wealth-creation among members of the Armed Forces on active duty.

Authorizes products designed to: (1) increase the rate of savings among such members by providing automatic deposit of special pay and allowances; (2) reduce the need for high-cost short-term lending services by providing alternatives, such as financial institutions providing an option for members to receive advances on salary payments; and (3) address obstacles to traditional consumer banking and lending for members with limited credit history.

Requires a financial institution seeking to begin or renew operating on a military installation selected for such program to agree to offer such products and to notify members about the availability of such products.

Directs the Under Secretary to contract for an annual independent evaluation of such program.

Authorizes the Under Secretary to extend the program and expand it nationwide upon determining that such expansion would improve member savings rates or decrease their need to rely on payday lenders.

Date: 2013-11-20
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Military Installations Enhancement Act of 2013 - Requires each major military installation master plan to include consideration of: (1) planning for redevelopment and infill development to reduce consumption of undeveloped land on installations, (2) horizontal and vertical mixed-use development, (3) the full lifecycle costs of planning decisions, (4) capacity planning through the establishment of growth boundaries around cantonment areas to focus development towards the core and preserve range and training space, and (5) ways to diversify and connect transit systems and increase safety for all road users.

Date: 2013-11-20
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Victims Protection Act of 2013 - Revises or adds provisions concerning sexual assault prevention and response programs and activities within the Department of Defense (DOD), including provisions concerning:

 a prohibition on service within the Armed Forces by individuals convicted of certain sexual offenses; the inclusion of information on sexual-related offenses within military service records; increased responsibilities within DOD's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office; review of the adequacy of training for members of the Armed Forces (members) on sexual assault prevention and response; programs for the provision of a Special Victims' Counsel for victims of sexual assault; commanding officer responsibilities and actions with respect to sexual offenses involving members; the investigation of allegations of retaliatory personnel actions after protected communications regarding sexual assault; independent panel duties concerning the review and assessment of judicial proceedings of sexual assault cases; additional military department actions on sexual assault prevention and response; sexual assault prevention and response within the military service academies; and collaboration between DOD and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in efforts to prevent and respond to sexual assault. Revises or adds provisions concerning court-martial actions for offenses involving sex-related crimes, including provisions concerning:

 elimination of the five-year statute of limitations on trial by court-martial; mandatory discharge or dismissal upon conviction for certain sex-related offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ); limitations on the modification of court-martial findings; a report on UCMJ modifications to prohibit sexual acts and contacts between military instructors and trainees; and the discharge, in lieu of court-martial, of members who commit sex-related offenses. Outlines provisions concerning other military justice and legal matters, including provisions concerning:

 the prohibition of retaliation against members for reporting a criminal offense; the extension of crime victims' rights to victims of offenses under the UCMJ; and preliminary hearings on alleged offenses under the UCMJ.

Date: 2013-11-21
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Requires the Secretary of the Air Force to carry out a demonstration program to assess the feasibility and advisability of permitting individuals with auditory impairments (including deafness) access as officers of the Air Force.

Authorizes between 15 and 20 individuals who are deaf or have a range of other auditory impairments, who otherwise meet all essential qualifications for accession as an officer of the Air Force, and who have not previously served as officers to participate in such program.

Requires selected participants to undergo the Basic Officer Training course or the Commissioned Officer Training course at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, at the election of the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to designate a special advisor to act as a resource for participants, as well as a liaison between participants and those providing the officer training.

Date: 2013-12-19
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Restore Honor to Service Members Act - Requires appropriate military record correction boards or discharge review boards to review the discharge characterization of any former members of the Armed Forces requesting a review who were discharged because of their sexual orientation. Permits such boards to change a characterization to honorable if such characterization is any characterization except honorable.

Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to ensure that any such changes are carried out consistently and uniformly across the military departments using specified criteria, including that: (1) the original discharge was based on the policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell (as in effect before it was repealed pursuant to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010) or a similar earlier policy; and (2) the discharge characterization will be changed if, with respect to the original discharge, there were no aggravating circumstances, such as misconduct, that would have independently led to any discharge characterization except honorable.

Prohibits "aggravating circumstances" from including: (1) an offense of sodomy committed by the member against a consenting person of the same sex; or (2) statements, consensual sexual conduct, or consensual acts relating to sexual orientation or identity, or the disclosure of such statements, conduct, or acts, that were prohibited at the time of discharge but that became permitted after such discharge.

Directs the Secretary of each military department to ensure that oral historians of the department: (1) review discharges between World War II and September 2011 based on sexual orientation, and (2) receive oral testimony of individuals who personally experienced discrimination and discharge because of actual or perceived sexual orientation so that such testimony may serve as an official record of such discriminatory policies and their impact on American lives.

Requires the reissuance of specified military personnel records and discharge forms in a manner that shall not reflect the sexual orientation of the member.

Date: 2014-01-16
Topic: Defense (Personnel Issues)
Subject: Armed forces and national security