,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #fagj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #aj1 #bjbj,mr4
 ,lipinski introduced the following     
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce  ,a 
,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of    
,health and ,human ,services to carry   
out a pilot program to study the        
efficacy of dog-assisted therapy on     
vulnerable populations1 and for other   
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,dogs ,offering     
,gentle ,support ,actor the ,,dogs ,act4
  #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the     
following findings3 7#a7 ,medical       
research has demonstrated mental1       
emotional1 and cognitive benefits of    
dog-assisted therapy in various         
populations4  7#b7 ,vulnerable          
populations1 such as children with low  
reading comprehension1 elderly nursing  
home residents and veterans suffering   
from post-traumatic stress disorder1 can
 see particularly strong benefits from  

dog-assisted therapy4  7#c7 ,congress   
should support this growing body of     
research by deploying ,federal agency   
resources to determine the ways in which
 dog-assisted therapy can be most       
beneficial4  7#d7 ,findings from the    
pilot program established under this    
,act can be instructive to ,state and   
local governments1 non-profit           
organizations and other entities seeking
 to make use of dog-assisted therapy4   
#c4 ,department of ,health and ,human   
,services pilot program on dog-assisted 
therapy  7a7 ,in general ,commencing not
 later than #abj days after the date of 
the enactment of the ,act1 subject to   
the availability of appropriations1 the 
,secretary of ,health and ,human        
,services shall carry out a pilot       
program under which the ,secretary shall
 make grants to appropriate             
non-government entities for the purpose 
of conducting routine dog-assisted      
therapy in various community settings   
and populations4 ,in addition to the    

eligibility criteria in subsection 7e71 
the ,secretary may impose additional    
eligibility criteria necessary for the  
effective functioning of the pilot      
program4  7b7 ,purpose ,the purpose of  
this program is to add to the growing   
body of research on the effectiveness of
 dog-assisted therapy in various        
settings and among various populations1 
and to encourage the broader adoption of
 dog-assisted therapy in settings and   
among populations where such therapy    
offers proven benefits4  7c7 ,sense of  
,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress 
that vulnerable populations should be   
prioritized in grant awards from the    
,secretary to eligible entities4 ,such  
populations may include1 but are not    
limited to1 patients in nursing or      
assisted-living facilities1 children    
with intellectual and developmental     
disabilities in academic settings1 and  
veterans seeking care in ,state or      
,federal veterans' facilities4  7d7     
,duration of pilot program ,the pilot   

program required by subsection 7a7 shall
 be carried out during the #c-year      
period beginning on the date of the     
commencement of the pilot program4  7e7 
,eligibility and conditions on receipt  
of grants ,as a condition of receiving a
 grant under this section1 a            
non-government entity shall-- 7#a7      
submit to the ,secretary certification  
that the entity is an organization      
described in section #eja7;c77#c7 of the
 ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf that 
visits community settings with dogs for 
the purposes of providing dog-assisted  
therapy2  7#b7 ensure that dogs making  
therapy visits are certified by a       
therapy dog certification with          
demonstrated experience1 national scope1
 and recognized leadership and expertise
 in the training of therapy dogs and    
their handlers2  7#c7 agree to cover all
 costs in excess of the grant amount2   
7#d7 agree to a minimum number of       
routine visits to a community setting1  
as determined by the ,secretary to      

ensure meaningful impact on those       
present in the setting2  7#e7 ensure    
that any training of dogs does not      
involve abusive methods such as shock   
collars1 and instead uses positive      
reinforcement training2  7#f7 provide a 
wellness certification from a licensed  
veterinarian for any dog making a       
therapy visit under this program2 and   
7#g7 submit to the ,secretary an        
application containing such information1
 certification1 and assurances as the   
,secretary may require4  7f7 ,collection
 of data ,in carrying out this section1 
the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7 develop     
metrics and other appropriate means to  
measure the impact of routine           
dog-assisted therapy on the populations 
visited by non-government organizations 
approved under subsection 7e72 and  7#b7
 establish processes to document and    
track the progress of populations under 
the program in terms of the benefits and
 improvements noted as a result of the  
program4  7g7 ,,gao briefing and study  

7#a7 ,briefing ,not later than #a year  
after the date of the commencement of   
the pilot program under subsection 7a71 
the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united
 ,states shall provide to the ,committee
 on ,energy and ,commerce of the ,house 
of ,representatives and to the          
,committee on ,health1 ,education1      
,labor1 and ,pensions of 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 program 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 vulnerable populations overcome 
emotional or cognitive challenges2 and  
7,b7 relevant metrics1 including those  
developed by the ,secretary under       
paragraph 7#a7 of subsection 7f74