,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cajc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #e1 #bjai,mr4  
,rutherford 7for himself1 ,mr4          
,cisneros1 ,mr4 ,waltz1 ,mr4 ,lawson of 
,florida1 and ,mr4 ,stivers7 introduced 
the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs
  ,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary  
of ,veterans ,affairs to carry out a    
grant program under which the ,secretary
 shall make grants to private entities  
for the provision of service dogs to    
eligible veterans with post-traumatic   
stress disorder1 and for other purposes4
  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be    
cited as the ,puppies ,assisting        
,wounded ,servicemembers ,act of #bjai  
or the ,,paws ,act of #bjai4  #b4       
,findings2 sense of ,congress  7a7      
,findings ,congress makes the following 
findings3  7#a7 ,according to the       
analyses of veteran suicide published by
 the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs  
in ,august #bjaf entitled ,suicide      

,among ,veterans and ,other ,americans  
and in ,june #bjah entitled ,,va        
,national ,suicide ,date ,report--  7,a7
 an average of #bj veterans died by     
suicide each day during #bjad2  7,b7    
mental health disorders1 including major
 depression and other mood disorders1   
have been associated with increased risk
 for suicide2  7,c7 the proportion of   
users of the ,veterans ,health          
,administration with mental health      
conditions or substance use disorders   
increased from approximately #bg percent
 in #bjja to more than #dj percent in   
#bjad2 and  7,d7 overall1 suicide rates 
are highest among patients with mental  
health and substance use disorder       
diagnoses who are in treatment and lower
 among those who received a mental      
health diagnoses but were not at risk   
enough to require enhanced care from a  
mental health provider4  7#b7 ,pairing a
 service dog with a veteran costs       
approximately #be1jjj1 including        
training of the service dog as well as  

training of the veteran with the service
 dog and follow-up services and support4
  7#c7 ,organizations like ,k#is ,for   
,warriors and other members of the      
,association of ,service ,dog ,providers
 for ,military ,veterans have proven    
track-records of training service dogs  
for veterans with severe post-traumatic 
stress disorder and dramatically        
improving those veterans' quality of    
life1 ability to re-enter society1 and1 
most importantly1 their chances of      
survival4  7#d7 ,new1 rigorous          
scientific research provides persuasive 
weight to the growing anecdotal evidence
 that service dogs ameliorate the       
symptoms associated with post-traumatic 
stress disorder1 and in particular1 help
 prevent veteran suicide4  7b7 ,sense of
 ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress
 that the ,department of ,veterans      
,affairs must be more effective in its  
approach to reducing the burden of      
veteran suicide connected to mental     
health disorders1 including             

post-traumatic stress disorder4  #c4    
,department of ,veterans ,affairs       
program to provide grants for the       
provision of service dogs to certain    
veterans with severe post-traumatic     
stress disorder  7a7 ,grants  7#a7 ,in  
general ,the ,secretary of ,veterans    
,affairs shall make grants to eligible  
organizations for the purposes of       
providing service dogs to eligible      
veterans4  7#b7 ,amount of grant ,a     
grant under this section shall be in an 
amount not to exceed #be1jjj for each   
eligible veteran paired with a service  
dog4  7b7 ,eligible organizations ,to be
 eligible to receive a grant under this 
section1 an organization shall-- 7#a7 be
 a nonprofit organization that--  7,a7  
provides service dogs to veterans with  
post-traumatic stress disorder          
7hereinafter in this section referred to
 as ,,ptsd72  7,b7 meets the publicly   
available ,national ,standard of the    
,association of ,service ,dog ,providers
 for ,military ,veterans2 and  7,c7 has 

expertise in the unique needs of        
veterans with ,,ptsd2  7#b7 agree to    
provide the benefits described in       
subsection 7c7 and1 if necessary1 to    
cover any costs associated with the     
provision of such benefits in excess of 
the amount of the grant2  7#c7 agree to 
reaccept or replace any service dog the 
organization provides to a veteran using
 a grant under this section1 if         
necessary1 as determined by the         
organization and the veteran2 and  7#d7 
submit to the ,secretary an application 
containing such information1            
certification1 and assurances as the    
,secretary may reasonably require4  7c7 
,benefits ,to be provided using grant   
funds ,an organization that receives a  
grant under subsection 7a7 shall use the
 grant to-- 7#a7 provide a service dog  
for each eligible veteran participating 
in the program2  7#b7 for each service  
dog provided1 to provide-- 7,a7         
commercially available or               
,government-guaranteed veterinary health

 insurance to maintain the health of the
 dog and keep the dog functioning in the
 prescribed role for the life of the    
dog2 and  7,b7 hardware1 or repairs or  
replacements for hardware1 that are     
clinically determined to be required by 
the dog to perform the tasks necessary  
to assist the veteran with the diagnosed
 disorder of the veteran4  7#c7 cover   
the cost of any travel expenses for the 
veteran to obtain the dog1 calculated in
 the same manner as similar travel      
expenses provided pursuant to section   
#aaa of title #ch1 ,united ,states      
,code4  7d7 ,travel expenses for        
replacement dogs ,if a veteran replaces 
a service dog provided pursuant to a    
grant under this section1 the ,secretary
 shall pay an additional amount for such
 the travel expenses1 to be calculated  
in the same manner as similar travel    
expenses provided pursuant to section   
#aaa of title #ch1 ,united ,states      
,code4 ,such payment shall be in        
addition to any other benefits the      

veteran receives for the first service  
dog provided under this section4  7e7   
,eligible veterans  7#a7 ,initial       
eligibility ,for purposes of this       
section1 an eligible veteran is a       
veteran who-- 7,a7 is enrolled in the   
patient enrollment system of the        
,department of ,veterans ,affairs under 
section #agje of title #ch1 ,united     
,states ,code2  7,b7 has been treated   
and has completed an established        
evidence-based treatment for ,,ptsd yet 
remains diagnosed with ,,ptsd by a      
qualified health care provider1 as rated
 on the post-traumatic stress disorder  
checklist 7,,pcl-#e72  7,c7 the health  
care provider or clinical team of the   
,department of ,veterans ,affairs that  
is treating the veteran for such        
disorder determines1 based upon medical 
judgment1 that the veteran may          
potentially benefit from a service dog2 
and  7,d7 agrees to successfully        
complete training provided by an        
eligible organization in conjunction    

with the receipt of a service dog4  7#b7
 ,ongoing eligibility ,to remain        
eligible to participate in the program1 
a veteran shall see the health care     
provider or clinical team of the        
,department of ,veterans ,affairs       
treating the veteran for such a disorder
 at least once every six months to      
determine1 based on a clinical          
evaluation of efficacy1 whether the     
veteran continues to benefit from a     
service dog4  7#c7 ,other cases ,if at  
any point1 the veteran is no longer able
 or willing to care for the service dog1
 the organization that provided the     
service dog and the veteran shall       
determine the appropriate recourse to   
ensure the safety of both the veteran   
and the service dog4  7f7 ,approval of  
grant applications ,the ,secretary of   
,veterans ,affairs may review an        
application submitted by an eligible    
organization for a grant under this     
section only after the organization     
accepts an eligible veteran into an     

appropriate program4 ,the ,secretary    
shall approve or deny such an           
application not later than #ij days     
after the date on which an eligible     
organization applies to participate     
under this section on behalf of an      
eligible veteran4  7g7 ,relationship to 
,department of ,veterans ,affairs       
benefits ,the provision of a service dog
 to a veteran under this section is in  
addition to any other hospital care or  
medical service furnished by the        
,department for that veteran for ,,ptsd4
 ,an improvement in symptoms as a result
 of the provision of a service dog shall
 not affect the eligibility of the      
veteran for any other benefit under the 
laws administered by the ,secretary4    
7h7 ,metrics ,in carrying out this      
section1 the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7    
develop metrics and other appropriate   
means to measure1 with respect to       
veterans participating in the program1  
the improvement in psychosocial function
 and therapeutic compliance of such     

veterans and changes with respect to the
 dependence on prescription narcotics   
and psychotropic medication of such     
veterans2 and  7#b7 establish processes 
to document and track the progress of   
such veterans under the program in terms
 of the benefits and improvements noted 
as a result of the program4  7i7 ,,gao  
briefing and study  7#a7 ,briefing ,not 
later than one year after the date on   
which the ,secretary commences the grant
 program under this section1 the        
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states shall provide to the ,committees
 on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of
 ,representatives and the ,senate a     
briefing on the methodology established 
for the program4  7#b7 ,report ,not     
later than #bgj days after the date on  
which the grant program under this      
section terminates1 the ,comptroller    
,general shall submit to the committees 
specified in paragraph 7#a7 a report on 
the program4 ,such report shall include 
an evaluation of the approach and       

methodology used for the program with   
respect to--  7,a7 helping veterans with
 severe ,,ptsd return to civilian life2 
7,b7 relevant metrics1 including any    
reduction in metrics1 including         
reduction in scores under the           
post-traumatic stress disorder checklist
 7,,pcl-#e71 improvement in psychosocial
 function1 and therapeutic compliance2  
and  7,c7 reducing the dependence of    
participants on prescription narcotics  
and psychotropic medication4  7j7       
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated for the
 period of fiscal year #bjai through    
fiscal year #bjbb1 #aj1jjj1jjj to carry 
out the program under this section4  7k7
 ,termination ,the authority to carry   
out a program under this section shall  
terminate on the date that is #c years  
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act4 ,an eligible veteran in possession
 of a service dog furnished under the   
program as of the date of the           
termination of the program may keep the 

service dog after the termination of the
 program for the life of the dog4