,,ii #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cddg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,january #g1 #bjbb,mr4 ,blumenthal 7for himself and ,mrs4 ,blackburn7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources ,a ,,bill ,to authorize the ,national ,service ,animals ,monument ,corporation to establish a commemorative work in the ,district of ,columbia and its environs1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,national ,service ,animals ,memorial ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 the mission of the ,national ,service ,animals ,monument ,corporation is to honor and recognize the broad scope of service animals1 including working animals1 through the establishment of a memorial to educate the public about the contributions made by service animals and the human-animal bond between service animals and the handlers of the service animals1 regardless of whether the handler is an individual with a disability1 a law enforcement officer1 military personnel1 or any other individual2 7#b7 in #aibi1 formalized service animal work began when the ,eustice ,school in ,new ,jersey established the first guide-dog school2 7#c7 the purple poppy is the international symbol for the service and sacrifice of service animals2 7#d7 on ,february #bd of each year1 ,national ,service ,animals ,day is celebrated in the ,united ,states and throughout the world2 7#e7 service and working animals1 such as dogs1 horses1 homing pigeons1 donkeys1 mules1 dolphins1 sea lions1 and other animals1 have worked alongside and supported humans throughout history and have created strong human-animal bonds1 including when-- 7,a7 during the ,revolutionary ,war1 horses served in combat carrying soldiers and transporting the wounded and critical supplies2 7,b7 during ,world ,war ,i and ,world ,war ,,ii-- 7i7 homing pigeons served as critical messengers with tiny message capsules attached to the legs of the pigeons that were used to send communications that saved the lives of countless soldiers1 resulting in many pigeons becoming the target of enemy fire2 and 7ii7 donkeys and mules transported food1 supplies1 and wounded servicemembers2 and 7,c7 during the war in ,afghanistan-- 7i7 military working dogs safeguarded the lives of thousands of servicemembers by clearing areas of improvised explosive devices2 and 7ii7 as #a example1 ,lucca1 a ,german ,shepherd-,belgian ,malinois service dog-- 7,i7 was employed by the ,united ,states ,marine ,corps for #f years2 7,,ii7 was trained to detect explosives2 7,,iii7 deployed twice to ,iraq and once to ,afghanistan2 7,,iv7 supported over #djj missions without a single human fatality2 and 7,v7 sustained an injury and amputation in #bjab due to an improvised explosive device while on patrol in ,afghanistan2 7#f7 the bonds formed between law enforcement and military personnel and working dogs are so strong that the personnel and dogs have willingly risked their lives to save each other2 7#g7 the tasks that service dogs perform for individuals with disabilities are essential activities of daily living1 such as-- 7,a7 guiding individuals with visual impairments2 7,b7 signaling sounds for individuals who are deaf2 7,c7 retrieving items for individuals with mobility issues2 7,d7 alerting the individuals about impending cardiac episodes or seizures2 7,e7 turning on lights for the individuals2 7,f7 providing stability for the individuals while the individuals are standing2 and 7,g7 pressing elevator and accessibility buttons for the individuals2 7#h7 in addition to the help of service animals with functional tasks and missions1 the human-animal bond provides handlers the ability to-- 7,a7 live independently2 7,b7 work confidently2 and 7,c7 socialize freely2 7#i7 shelter dogs can be trained as service animals2 7#aj7 service animals1 such as horses and dogs1 support-- 7,a7 a variety of health and therapy services1 including for individuals with autism1 schizophrenia1 depression1 anxiety1 and bipolar disorder2 and 7,b7 servicemembers and veterans who experience traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder2 7#aa7 search and rescue dogs working with civilian or law enforcement handlers make communities in the ,united ,states and the ,united ,states overall safer when assisting with the rescue of lost children1 seniors1 and other at-risk individuals1 including in the event of natural or manmade disasters1 such as the support by service animals of-- 7,a7 search and rescue missions after terrorist attacks1 including the ,oklahoma ,city bombing on ,april #ai1 #aiie1 and the terrorist attack on ,september #aa1 #bjja2 and 7,b7 local search and rescue missions involving lost children1 such as-- 7i7 the service dog ,mercy1 a bloodhound with the ,lee ,county1 ,florida1 ,sheriff's department1 who tracked a #ab-year-old girl for more than half a mile through thick woods after the girl went missing during ,tropical ,storm ,elsa in ,july #bjba2 and 7ii7 the service dog ,gandalf1 trained by the ,south ,carolina ,search and ,rescue ,dog ,association1 who found a #ab-year-old boy who had vanished from a campsite in the ,blue ,ridge ,mountains in ,north ,carolina in ,march #bjai2 7#ab7 the extraordinary abilities of service animals1 including smell1 sensing1 hearing1 eyesight1 and empathy1 make the service animals uniquely capable of helping humans1 including by-- 7,a7 assisting with the identification of illegal drugs2 7,b7 detecting an impending seizure2 7,c7 hearing an individual buried beneath rubble2 or 7,d7 seeing an expensive or vital tool dropped by a naval diver2 7#ac7 service animals provide well-documented value to human health1 safety1 and security2 and 7#ad7 the ,national ,service ,animals ,memorial will represent a place of pride1 introspection1 and education to pay tribute to the contributions and sacrifices made by all service animals and the handlers of service animals throughout history4 #c4 ,authorization to establish commemorative work 7a7 ,in general ,the ,national ,service ,animals ,monument ,corporation 7referred to in this section as the ,corporation7 may establish a commemorative work on ,federal land in the ,district of ,columbia and its environs to commemorate the heroic deeds and sacrifices of service animals and handlers of service animals in the ,united ,states4 7b7 ,compliance with standards for commemorative works ,the establishment of the commemorative work under this section shall be in accordance with chapter #hi of title #dj1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly known as the ,commemorative ,works ,act74 7c7 ,prohibition on the use of ,federal funds 7#a7 ,in general ,federal funds may not be used to pay any expense of the establishment of the commemorative work under this section4 7#b7 ,responsibility of the ,national ,service ,animals ,monument ,corporation ,the ,corporation shall be solely responsible for the acceptance of contributions for1 and the payment of the expenses of1 the establishment of the commemorative work under this section4 7d7 ,deposit of excess funds 7#a7 ,in general ,if1 on payment of all expenses for the establishment of the commemorative work under this section 7including the maintenance and preservation amount required by section #hijf7;b77#a7 of title #dj1 ,united ,states ,code71 there remains a balance of funds received for the establishment of the commemorative work1 the ,corporation shall transmit the amount of the balance to the ,secretary of the ,interior for deposit in the account provided for in section #hijf7;b77#c7 of title #dj1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,on expiration of authority ,if1 on expiration of the authority for the commemorative work under section #hijc7;e7 of title #dj1 ,united ,states ,code1 there remains a balance of funds received for the establishment of the commemorative work under this section1 the ,corporation shall transmit the amount of the balance to a separate account with the ,national ,park ,foundation for memorials1 to be available to the ,secretary of the ,interior or the ,administrator of ,general ,services1 as appropriate1 in accordance with the process provided in section #hijf7;b77#d7 of title #dj1 ,united ,states ,code1 for accounts established under paragraph 7#b7 or 7#c7 of section #hijf7;b7 of that title4 #d4 ,effective date ,this ,act shall take effect #a day after the date of enactment of this ,act4