Top Legislation - View All

Latest Action: 10/02/2008 - Message on Senate action sent to the House.

Bill Text
A bill to provide for retirement equity for Federal employees in nonforeign areas outside the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 5/13/2008--Introduced. Non-Foreign Area Retirement Equity Assurance Act of 2008 or the Non-Foreign AREA Act of 2008 - Revises federal employee locality-based comparability payments provisions to include U.S. territories and possessions, including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, within a pay locality. Revises the calculation of allowances based on living costs and conditions of environment for pay of employees stationed outside the continental United States or in Alaska to apply it only to areas designated as of December 31, 2008. Provides a formula for adjustment of such rate using a transition schedule for calendar years 2009-2011. Requires adjustment of special rates of pay in such areas in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Director [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 10/06/2008 - Presented to President.

Bill Text
To direct the United States Sentencing Commission to assure appropriate punishment enhancements for those involved in receiving stolen property where that property consists of grave markers of veterans, and for other purposes. 6/12/2008--Reported to Senate without amendment.    (There are 3 other summaries) (This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on May 15, 2008. The summary of that version is repeated here.)Let Our Veterans Rest in Peace Act of 2008 - Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and, if appropriate, amend its sentencing guidelines and policy statements to provide adequate sentencing enhancements for any offense involving the desecration, theft, or trafficking in a grave marker, headstone, monument, or other object intended to permanently mark a veteran's grave. Requires the Commission to ensure that the sentences, guidelines, and policy statements for these crimes are appropriately [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 10/09/2008 - Signed by President.

Bill Text
A bill to establish a liaison with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to expedite naturalization applications filed by members of the Armed Forces and to establish a deadline for processing such applications. 8/1/2008--Reported to Senate amended.    (There is 1 other summary) Military Personnel Citizenship Processing Act - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an Office of the FBI Liaison in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which shall monitor and assist with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) functions related to expeditiously processing naturalization applications filed by or on behalf of: (1) members and former members of the Armed Forces; (2) current spouses of active Armed Forces members and surviving spouses and children of U.S. citizens who died while on active duty; or (3) deceased individuals eligible for posthumous citizenship.Authorizes appropriations.Amends [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 10/10/2008 - Presented to President.

Bill Text
To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, as the Michael A. Marzano Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic.

3/20/2007--Introduced.

Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, as the "Michael A. Marzano Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic."

Latest Action: 10/06/2008 - Presented to President.

Bill Text
An original bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2009 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes. 5/12/2008--Reported to Senate without amendment.    (There is 1 other summary) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 - Division A: Department of Defense Authorizations - Title I: Procurement - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for FY2009 for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force for aircraft, missiles, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, shipbuilding and conversion, and other procurement.(Sec. 104) Authorizes appropriations [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 10/06/2008 - Presented to President.

Bill Text
To require the issuance of medals to recognize the dedication and valor of Native American code talkers.

12/13/2007--Introduced.

Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2007 - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of gold medals to Native American code talkers of specified Indian tribes. Defines "code talker" as a Native American who served in the Armed Forces during a foreign conflict and who participated in military communications using a native language.

Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and Indian tribes, to identify code talkers eligible for a gold medal.

Latest Action: 10/02/2008 - Presented to President.

Bill Text
A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve and enhance compensation and pension, housing, labor and education, and insurance benefits for veterans, and for other purposes.

5/15/2008--Introduced.

Veterans' Notice Clarification Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to prescribe regulations specifying the contents of a currently-required notice to claimants of a complete or substantially complete application, including regarding: (1) different contents for notice depending on whether the claim is an original claim, a claim for reopening a prior decision on a claim, or a claim for increased benefits; (2) additional or alternative contents depending on the benefit or services sought; (3) for each type of claim for benefits, the general information and evidence required; and (4) the timing of the notice issuance.

Latest Action: 10/02/2008 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Bill Text
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to permit facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs to be designated as voter registration agencies, and for other purposes. 9/17/2008--Passed House amended.    (There are 2 other summaries) Veteran Voting Support Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to permit a state to designate facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) located in the state as voter registration agencies under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 solely for the purposes of providing voter registration services to individuals receiving (or applying to receive) services or assistance from the facility. Requires any VA facility designated as a voter registration agency, with respect to such individuals, to: (1) provide information relating to the opportunity to request an absentee ballot; (2) make available absentee ballot applications and, upon request, assistance in completing such applications [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 10/02/2008 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Bill Text
To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Gadsden, Alabama, as the Colonel Ola Lee Mize Veterans Clinic.

4/9/2008--Introduced.

Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) outpatient clinic in Gadsden, Alabama, as the "Colonel Ola Lee Mize Veterans Clinic."

Latest Action: 05/24/2007 - Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Bill Text
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the outreach activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 5/23/2007--Passed House amended.    (There is 1 other summary) Veterans Outreach Improvement Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish, maintain, and modify as necessary procedures for ensuring the effective coordination of outreach activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs between and among the Office of the Secretary, the Office of Public Affairs, the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the National Cemetery Administration. Directs the Secretary to give priority to state and county outreach assistance in locations that: (1) have relatively large concentrations of veterans; or (2) are experiencing growth in veteran populations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to state or county veterans agencies for state and local outreach services.[...]

show full description

Latest Legislation - View All

Latest Action: 09/30/2008 - Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S10127-10129; text as passed Senate: CR S10127; text of measure as introduced: CR S10178)

Bill Text
A resolution commending the Honor Flight Network and its volunteers and donors for making it possible for World War II veterans to travel to the Nation's capital to visit the World War II Memorial created in their honor.
Latest Action: 09/26/2008 - Referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee conc

Bill Text
Making supplemental appropriations for job creation and preservation, infrastructure investment, and economic and energy assistance for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes.
Latest Action: 09/18/2008 - The House Committee on Appropriations reported an original measure, H. Rept. 110-862, by Mr. Price (NC).

Bill Text
Making appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes. 9/18/2008--Introduced. Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2009 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for FY2009 for: (1) the Offices of the Secretary, the Under Secretary for Management, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Information Officer, the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding, and the Inspector General; (2) Customs and Border Protection (CBP), including for customs and border protection fencing, infrastructure, and technology; (3) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including for detention and removal operations (including to identify and remove aliens who have been convicted of a crime once they are judged deportable) and the Federal Protective Service; (4) the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), including for screening operations and procurement and installation [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 09/12/2008 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8482-8498)

Bill Text
A bill to amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to expand and improve opportunities for service, and for other purposes. 9/12/2008--Introduced. Serve America Act - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to create two new service-learning programs: (1) a Youth Engagement Zones to Strengthen Communities program, providing competitive grants to partnerships between local educational agencies that serve high-need, low-income communities and certain community-based or state entities to engage students and out-of-school youth in service-learning addressing specific challenges faced by their communities; and (2) a Campus of Service program, which annually grants up to 30 institutions of higher education (IHEs) with exemplary service-learning programs the funds to assist their students' pursuit of public service careers, and the right to nominate additional individuals for ServeAmerica Fellowships. Directs the Corporation for National and Community [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 09/23/2008 - On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 392 - 23 (Roll no. 624). (text: CR 9/22/2008 H8483)

Bill Text
To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make certain payments to eligible persons who served in the Philippines during World War II.

9/15/2008--Introduced.

Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2008 - Establishes in the Treasury the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund, whose amounts shall be available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs without fiscal year limitation to make payments to specified eligible persons who served: (1) before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, while in the service of the Armed Forces of the United States; or (2) in the Philippine Scouts.

Sets the payment amounts at $15,000 for U.S. citizens and $9,000 for non-U.S. citizens.

Latest Action: 09/12/2008 - Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Bill Text
To authorize major medical facility projects and major medical facility leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2009, to extend certain authorities of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 9/8/2008--Introduced. Veterans' Programs Extension and Construction Authorization Act of 2008 - Authorizes specified major medical facility projects and leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for FY2009. Revises amounts of certain previously-authorized projects. Requires reports from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on VA facilities administration and outpatient clinics. Extends for specified periods, or makes permanent, certain VA programs and activities, including: (1) recovery audit authority; (2) health care for veterans who participated in certain chemical and biological tests conducted by the Department of Defense (DOD); (3) third-party insurance provider collection authority; (4) required nursing home care [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 07/28/2008 - Referred to the Committee on Armed Services. (text of measure as introduced: CR S7576-7577)

Bill Text
A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that a site to be selected by the Secretary of the Army should be provided for a memorial marker to honor the memory of the 40 members of the Armed Forces who lost their lives in the air crash at Bakers Creek, Australia, on June 14, 1943.
Latest Action: 10/02/2008 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Bill Text
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to permit facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs to be designated as voter registration agencies, and for other purposes. 9/17/2008--Passed House amended.    (There are 2 other summaries) Veteran Voting Support Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to permit a state to designate facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) located in the state as voter registration agencies under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 solely for the purposes of providing voter registration services to individuals receiving (or applying to receive) services or assistance from the facility. Requires any VA facility designated as a voter registration agency, with respect to such individuals, to: (1) provide information relating to the opportunity to request an absentee ballot; (2) make available absentee ballot applications and, upon request, assistance in completing such applications [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 07/26/2008 - Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Original measure reported to Senate by Senator Akaka. With written report No. 110-433. Supplemental views filed.

Bill Text
An original bill to amend chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code, to clarify and improve authorities relating to the availability of post-9/11 veterans educational assistance, and for other purposes.