,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bidh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november #ba1 
#bjai,mr4 ,tillis 7for himself1 ,ms4    
,sinema1 ,mrs4 ,fischer1 and ,mrs4      
,feinstein7 introduced the following    
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs
  ,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary  
of ,veterans ,affairs to carry out a    
pilot program for work therapy using    
service dog training4  #a4 ,short title 
,this ,act may be cited as the ,k#is for
 ,veterans ,therapy ,act4  #b4 ,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 and titled ,suicide ,among
 ,veterans and ,other ,americans1 and in
 ,june #bjah1 titled ,,va ,national     
,suicide ,date ,report--  7,a7 an       
average of #bj veterans died by suicide 
each day in #bjad2  7,b7 mental health  
disorders1 including major depression   

and other mood disorders1 have been     
associated with increased risk for      
suicide2  7,c7 since #bjja1 the         
proportion of users of health care from 
the ,veterans ,health ,administration   
with mental health conditions or        
substance use disorders has 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 diagnosis but  
were not at risk enough to require      
enhanced care from a mental health      
provider4  7#b7 ,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 disorder 7in this 
section referred to as ,,ptsd71 and new1
 rigorous scientific research provides  
persuasive weight to the growing        

anecdotal evidence that service dogs    
ameliorate the symptoms associated with 
,,ptsd1 and in particular1 may help     
prevent veteran suicide4  7#c7 ,several 
organizations have proven track records 
of training service dogs for veterans   
with mental health diagnoses1 including 
,,ptsd1 and dramatically improving their
 quality of life1 ability to re-enter   
society1 and overall health and         
wellness4  #c4 ,department of ,veterans 
,affairs pilot program for work therapy 
using service dog training  7a7 ,in     
general ,commencing not later than #abj 
days after the date of the enactment of 
this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans  
,affairs shall carry out a pilot program
 under which the ,secretary shall make  
grants to one or more appropriate       
non-government entities for the purpose 
of assessing the effectiveness of       
addressing symptoms of post-deployment  
mental health and post-traumatic stress 
disorder through a therapeutic medium of
 veterans training service dogs intended

 for veterans with disabilities4  7b7   
,duration of pilot program ,the pilot   
program required by subsection 7a7 shall
 be carried out during the five-year    
period beginning on the date of the     
commencement of the pilot program4  7c7 
,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 and is exempt from       
taxation under section #eja7;a7 of such 
,code that--  7,a7 trains service dogs  
for veterans with disabilities2 and     
7,b7 is accredited by1 or adheres to    
standards comparable to those of1 an    
accrediting organization with           
demonstrated experience1 national scope1
 and recognized leadership and expertise
 in the training of service dogs and    
education in the use of service dogs2   
7#b7 agree to cover all costs to provide

 services under this section in excess  
of the grant amount2  7#c7 agree to     
reaccept or replace the service dog     
trained by the veteran1 if necessary1 as
 determined by the organization and the 
veteran conducting the training2  7#d7  
provide a wellness certification from a 
licensed veterinarian for any dog       
participating in the pilot program2     
7#e7 employ at least one person with    
clinical experience related to mental   
health2  7#f7 ensure that veterans      
participating in the pilot program      
receive training from service dog       
training instructors for a period of    
time determined appropriate by the      
organization and the ,secretary1        
including service skills to address or  
alleviate symptoms unique to the needs  
of veterans2  7#g7 agree to provide     
lectures on service dog training        
methodologies and practical hands-on    
training and grooming of service dogs2  
7#h7 agree that in hiring service dog   
training instructors to carry out       

training under the pilot program1 the   
non-government entity will give a       
preference to veterans who have         
successfully graduated from             
post-traumatic stress disorder or other 
residential treatment program and who   
have received adequate certification in 
service dog training2  7#i7 agree not to
 use shock collars1 choke collars1 or   
prong collars as training tools and to  
use positive reinforcement training2    
7#aj7 agree that upon the conclusion of 
training provided using the grant       
funds-- 7,a7 the veteran who received   
the training will keep the dog he or she
 trained unless the veteran and the     
health care provider of the veteran     
decide it is not in the best interest of
 the veteran2  7,b7 if the veteran does 
not adopt the dog1 the entity will be   
responsible for caring for and          
appropriately placing the dog2  7,c7 the
 ,department of ,veterans ,affairs will 
have no additional responsibility to    
provide for any benefits under this     

section2 and  7,d7 the ,department of   
,veterans ,affairs will have no         
liability with respect to the dog2      
7#aa7 provide follow-up support service 
for the life of the dog1 including a    
contact plan between the veteran and the
 entity to allow the veteran to reach   
out for and receive adequate help with  
the service dog and the organization to 
communicate with the veteran to ensure  
the service dog is being properly cared 
for2 and  7#ab7 submit to the ,secretary
 an application containing such         
information1 certification1 and         
assurances as the ,secretary may        
require4  7d7 ,veteran eligibility  7#a7
 ,in general ,for the 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           
recommended for the pilot program under 
this section by a qualified health care 

provider or clinical team based on the  
medical judgment that the veteran may   
benefit from participating in the pilot 
program2 and  7,c7 agrees to            
successfully complete training provided 
by a non-government entity that receives
 a grant under this section4  7#b7      
,relationship to participation in other 
program ,veterans may participate in the
 pilot program under this section in    
conjunction with the compensated work   
therapy program of the ,department of   
,veterans ,affairs4  7#c7 ,continuing   
eligibility requirement ,to remain      
eligible to participate in the pilot    
program1 a veteran shall see the health 
care provider or clinical team of the   
,department of ,veterans ,affairs       
treating the veteran for post-traumatic 
stress disorder not less frequently than
 once every #ahj days to determine1     
based on a clinical evaluation of       
efficacy1 whether the veteran continues 
to benefit from the pilot program4  7#d7
 ,care for service dog ,if at any point 

a veteran is no longer able or willing  
to care for a service dog provided to   
the veteran under this section1 the     
entity 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  7e7 ,collection of data   
,in carrying out this section1 the      
,secretary shall-- 7#a7 develop metrics 
and other appropriate means to measure1 
with respect to veterans participation  
in the pilot program--  7,a7 the        
improvement in psychosocial function and
 therapeutic compliance of such         
veterans2  7,b7 changes with respect to 
the dependence of such veterans on      
prescription narcotics and psychotropic 
medication2 and  7,c7 quality of life   
indicators and other appropriate        
measures with respect to such veterans2 
7#b7 establish processes to document and
 track the progress of such veterans    
under the pilot program in terms of the 
benefits and improvements noted as a    

result of the pilot program2 and  7#c7  
with respect to any veteran who decides 
to keep the dog he or she has personally
 trained1 the ,secretary shall continue 
to collect the data under paragraphs    
7#a7 and 7#b7 during the five-year      
period following the date on which the  
veteran decides to keep the dog4  7f7   
,comptroller ,general briefings and     
report  7#a7 ,initial briefing ,not     
later than one 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 ,veterans' 
,affairs of the ,senate and the         
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the
 ,house of ,representatives a briefing  
on the methodology established for the  
pilot program4  7#b7 ,follow-up briefing
 ,not later than two years after the    
briefing on the methodology established 
for the pilot program under paragraph   
7#a71 the ,comptroller ,general shall   
provide to the committees specified in  

paragraph 7#a7 a briefing that          
includes--  7,a7 an assessment of the   
elements required for the report under  
paragraph 7#c77;,b72 and  7,b7 if there 
are any such elements that cannot be    
included in the briefing--  7i7 an      
explanation as to why those elements    
cannot be included2 and  7ii7 such      
recommendations as the ,comptroller     
,general may have to improve the pilot  
program to ensure such elements will be 
included in the report4  7#c7 ,final    
report  7,a7 ,in general ,not later than
 #bgj days after the date on which the  
pilot program terminates1 the           
,comptroller ,general shall submit to   
the committees specified in paragraph   
7#a7 a report on the pilot program4     
7,b7 ,elements ,the report required by  
subparagraph 7,a7 shall include an      
evaluation of the approach and          
methodology used for the pilot program  
with respect to--  7i7 helping veterans 
with post-traumatic stress disorder     
return to civilian life2  7ii7 relevant 

metrics1 including reduction in scores  
under the post-traumatic stress disorder
 check-list 7,,pcl-#e71 improvement in  
psychosocial function1 and therapeutic  
compliance2 and  7iii7 reducing the     
dependence of participants on           
prescription narcotics and psychotropic 
medication4  7g7 ,service dog training  
instructor defined ,in this section1 the
 term service dog training instructor   
means an instructor who provides the    
direct training of veterans with        
post-traumatic stress disorder and other
 post-deployment issues in the art and  
science of service dog training and     
handling4