GovTrack’s Bill Summary
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S. 1315 (110th): Veterans’ Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007
- Introduced:
- May 07, 2007 (110th Congress, 2007–2009)
- Sponsor:
- (bill introduced by rule or other special circumstance)
- Status:
- Died (Passed House with Changes)
The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. S. stands for Senate bill.
Library of Congress Summary
The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
9/22/2008.
Title
I
-
Insurance Matters
Section
101
-
Allows administrative costs of the Service-Disabled Veterans' Insurance program to be paid through premiums.
Section
102
-
Includes all (under current law, only certain active-duty) members of the Individual Ready Reserve under the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program. Revises provisions relating to the termination of SGLI coverage for a dependent to provide that such coverage may terminate upon termination of the dependent's status as an insurable dependent of the member. (Under current law, such coverage may terminate 120 days following termination of such status.)
Section
103
-
Requires the Secretary of Defense to develop a form for the designation of a recipient of funds for traumatic injury coverage under SGLI in cases where the member is mentally incapacitated or experiencing an extended loss of consciousness.
Title
II
-
Housing Matters
Section
201
-
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary), in the case of a member determined to have a total and permanent disability incurred or aggravated in the line of active duty, to furnish home improvements and structural alterations for the member for such disability while the member is hospitalized or receiving outpatient care, medical services, or treatment, if the Secretary determines that the member is likely to be discharged or released from the Armed Forces due to the disability.
Title
III
-
Labor and Education Matters
Section
301
-
Directs the Secretary to ensure the coordination of educational course approval activities by state approving agencies with approval activities performed by the Departments of Labor and Education and other appropriate entities. Requires a report from the Secretary to the congressional veterans' committees on actions taken to establish outcome-oriented performance standards for, and a tracking and reporting system for resources expended by, approving agencies.
Section
302
-
Authorizes the Secretary to waive, for public interest purposes on a case-by-case basis, the residency requirement for a Director for Veterans' Employment and Training.
Section
303
-
Includes veterans of the Post 9/11 Global War on Terror within an annual (currently, biennial) veterans' unemployment study.
Title
IV
-
Court Matters
Section
401
-
Eliminates the 180-day per-year limit on service of retired judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) who voluntarily return to such service. Establishes a three-tiered retirement pay structure for Court judges appointed after the enactment of this Act. Requires recalled judges to receive the pay of current judges during the period of recall, less the amount of any applicable annuity. Prohibits recall service in excess of five years for judges recalled involuntarily.
Section
402
-
Removes the $30 annual limit on practice and registration fees for those admitted to practice before the Court. Requires any fees charged to be reasonable.
Section
403
-
Requires an annual report from the chief judge to the veterans' committees summarizing the Court's workload.
Section
404
-
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Court should be provided with appropriate office space, without undue disruption, inconvenience, or cost. Requires a report from the Administrator of General Services to the veterans' committees on the feasibility of leasing additional space for the Court, and on using the entire building in which the Court is housed as a Veterans Courthouse and Justice Center.
Title
V
-
Other Matters
Section
501
-
Revises provisions concerning the VA's program of outreach to veterans to: (1) include members of the National Guard and reserves; and (2) define "outreach" as the proactive provision of information, services, and benefits counseling to veterans, and to the spouses, children, and parents of veterans who may be eligible to receive benefits through the VA.
Section
502
-
Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to allow members of the Armed Forces who receive orders to deploy outside the United States for not less than 90 days to terminate or suspend their cell phone contracts without incurring early termination or reactivation fees if their ability to fulfill the service contract or to utilize the service will be materially affected by such deployment.
Section
503
-
Directs the Medical Follow-Up Agency of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to maintain and manage the assets (including electronic data files and biological specimens of study participants) transferred to the Agency from the Air Force Health Study. Authorizes the Agency, during FY2008-FY2012, to conduct additional research on such assets toward the goal of understanding the determinants of health, and promoting wellness, in veterans.
Requires an Agency report to Congress assessing the feasibility and advisability of conducting additional research on such assets after the end of FY2012. Provides funding.
Section
504
-
Requires: (1) the Secretary to contract with the Institute, above, to conduct a comprehensive epidemiological study to identify any increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis as a result of service in the Persian Gulf or in the Post 9/11 global operations theaters; and (2) an interim and final results report from the Institute to the Secretary and the veterans' committees.
Section
505
-
Directs the Comptroller General to report to the veterans' and appropriations committees on the adequacy of dependency and indemnity compensation in replacing a deceased veteran's income for surviving spouses and dependents of veterans who die from service-connected disabilities.
House Republican Conference Summary
The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
No summary available.
House Democratic Caucus Summary
The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:
Slip Laws
Slip laws refer to enacted bills and joint resolutions in their original form as enacted by Congress, that is, before other laws amend them. Slip laws are cited as “Public Law XXX-YYY”, where XXX is the number of the Congress in which the bill or resolution was introduced.
- Public Law 109-364
United States Code
The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)
- Title 38: VETERANS’ BENEFITS
- Part I: GENERAL PROVISIONS
- Chapter 1: GENERAL
- Section 101: Definitions
- Part II: GENERAL BENEFITS
- Chapter 19: INSURANCE
- Subchapter III: SERVICEMEMBERS’ GROUP LIFE INSURANCE
- Section 1980A: Traumatic injury protection
- Part III: READJUSTMENT AND RELATED BENEFITS
- Chapter 36: ADMINISTRATION OF EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS
- Subchapter I: STATE APPROVING AGENCIES
- Section 3671: Designation
- Section 3674A: Evaluations of agency performance; qualifications and performance of agency personnel
- Title 50a: WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE (APPENDIX)
- Heading: SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL RELIEF ACT
- Heading: ACT OCT. 17, 1940, CH. 888, 54 STAT. 1178
- Title III: RENT, INSTALLMENT CONTRACTS, MORTGAGES, LIENS, ASSIGNMENT, LEASES, TELEPHONE SERVICE CONTRACTS
- Section 531: Evictions and distress
Statutes at Large
The United States Statutes at Large is the compilation of all laws enacted by Congress.
- 120 Stat. 2290