,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #fac  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,march #e1 #bjba    
,mr4 ,tillis 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,sinema1
 ,mr4 ,cramer1 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 on dog training therapy and to  
amend title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 
to authorize the ,secretary to provide  
service dogs to veterans with mental    
illnesses who do not have mobility      
impairments4  #a4 ,short title ,this    
,act may be cited as the ,puppies       
,assisting ,wounded ,servicemembers for 
,veterans ,therapy ,act or the ,,paws   
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 ,americans  
and in ,june #bjah and 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 help prevent 
veteran suicide4  7#c7 ,several         
organizations have proven track records 
of training service dogs for veterans   
with severe ,,ptsd and dramatically     
improving the quality of life1 ability  
to re-enter society1 and1 most          
importantly1 the chances of survival of 
those veterans4  #c4 ,department of     
,veterans ,affairs pilot program on dog 
training therapy  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 post-deployment mental health
 and the symptoms of post-traumatic     
stress disorder 7in this section        
referred to as ,,ptsd7 through a        
therapeutic medium of training service  
dogs 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       
provides service dogs to veterans with  
,,ptsd2 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 in excess 
of the grant amount2  7#c7 agree to     
reaccept or replace the service dog the 
entity provided to a veteran1 if        
necessary1 as determined by the entity  
and the veteran2  7#d7 provide a        
wellness certification from a licensed  
veterinarian for any dog participating  
in the pilot program under this section2
  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 certified service 
dog training instructors for a period of
 time determined appropriate by the     
entity and the ,secretary1 including    
service skills to address or alleviate  
symptoms unique to the needs of         

veterans2  7#g7 agree to provide-- 7,a7 
lectures on service dog training        
methodologies2 and  7,b7 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 entity will give a         
preference to veterans who have         
successfully graduated from ,,ptsd or   
other residential treatment program and 
who have received adequate certification
 in service dog training2  7#i7 agree   
not to use shock collars 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 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 opt to own 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 entity 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 ,a veteran
 is eligible to participate in the pilot
 program under this section if the      
veteran-- 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 to participate in the pilot 
program by a qualified health care      
provider or clinical team based on the  
medical judgment that the veteran may   
potentially benefit from participating2 
and  7,c7 agrees to successfully        
complete training provided by a         
non-government entity in receipt of 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    
program under this section1 a veteran   
shall see the health care provider or   
clinical team of the ,department of     
,veterans ,affairs treating the veteran 
for ,,ptsd not less frequently than once

 every six months to determine1 based on
 a clinical evaluation of efficacy1     
whether the veteran continues to benefit
 from the pilot program4  7e7           
,collection of data  7#a7 ,in general   
,in carrying out the pilot program under
 this section1 the ,secretary shall--   
7,a7 develop metrics and other          
appropriate means to measure1 with      
respect to veterans participation in the
 pilot program1 the improvement in      
psychosocial function and therapeutic   
compliance of such veterans and changes 
with respect to the dependence of such  
veterans on prescription narcotics and  
psychotropic medication2 and  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 program4  7#b7      
,continued collection ,the ,secretary   
shall continue to collect data under    
paragraph 7#a7 for each veteran who has 
continued with the dog he or she has    

personally trained under the pilot      
program under this section for a        
five-year period following the date on  
which the veteran decides to keep the   
dog4  7f7 ,,gao briefing and report     
7#a7 ,briefing ,not later than one year 
after the date of the commencement of   
the pilot program under this section1   
the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united
 ,states shall brief the ,committee on  
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and  
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of
 the ,house of ,representatives on the  
methodology established for the pilot   
program4  7#b7 ,report  7,a7 ,in general
 ,not later than #bgj days after the    
date on which the pilot program under   
this section terminates1 the            
,comptroller ,general shall submit to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of
 the ,senate and the ,committee on      
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of    
,representatives 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 under this section with respect 
to-- 7i7 helping veterans with severe   
,,ptsd return to civilian life2  7ii7   
relevant metrics1 including reduction in
 scores under the ,,ptsd checklist      
7,,pcl-#e71 improvement in psychosocial 
function1 and therapeutic compliance2   
and  7iii7 reducing the dependence of   
participants in the pilot program 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 ,,ptsd 
and other post-deployment issues in the 
art and science of service dog training 
and handling4  #d4 ,authority of        
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to     
provide service dogs to veterans with   
mental illnesses who do not have        
mobility impairments ,section #agad of  
title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is    

amended by adding at the end the        
following new subsection3  7e7 ,the     
,secretary may provide a service dog to 
a veteran under subsection 7c77#c7      
regardless of whether the veteran has a 
mobility impairment4  4