,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bjfg  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #ba1     
#bjbc,mr4 ,tillis 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,cramer1 and ,mr4     
,heinrich7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs
  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the ,secretary 
of ,veterans ,affairs to award grants to
 nonprofit organizations to assist such 
organizations in carrying out programs  
to provide service dogs to eligible     
veterans1 and for other purposes4  #a4  
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,service ,dogs ,assisting ,veterans 
,act or the ,,saves ,act4  #b4          
,department of ,veterans ,affairs       
program to award grants for the         
provision of service dogs to veterans   
7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of      
,veterans ,affairs shall require the    
,under ,secretary for ,health of the    
,department of ,veterans ,affairs to    
establish a program under which the     

,secretary shall award grants1 on a     
competitive basis1 to nonprofit         
organizations to assist such            
organizations in carrying out programs  
to provide service dogs to eligible     
veterans4  7b7 ,applications  7#a7 ,in  
general ,to be eligible to receive a    
grant under this section1 a nonprofit   
organization shall submit an application
 to the ,secretary at such time1 in such
 manner1 and containing such information
 as the ,secretary may require4  7#b7   
,elements ,an application submitted     
under paragraph 7#a7 shall include the  
following3 7,a7 ,a proposal for the     
evaluation required by subsection 7d74  
7,b7 ,a description of the following3   
7i7 ,the training that will be provided 
by the organization to eligible         
veterans4  7ii7 ,the training of dogs   
that will serve as service dogs4  7iii7 
,the aftercare services that the        
organization will provide for such dogs 
and eligible veterans4  7iv7 ,the plan  
for publicizing the availability of such

 dogs through a marketing campaign that 
targets eligible veterans4  7v7 ,the    
commitment of the organization to have  
humane standards for animals4  7,c7 ,a  
statement certifying that the           
organization is accredited by           
,assistance ,dogs ,international or     
another similar widely recognized       
accreditation organization that the     
,secretary determines has accreditation 
standards that meet or exceed the       
standards of ,assistance ,dogs          
,international4  7c7 ,use of funds  7#a7
 ,in general ,the recipient of a grant  
under this section shall use the grant  
amounts to plan1 design1 establish1 or  
operate 7or any combination thereof7 one
 or more programs that provide service  
dogs to eligible veterans4  7#b7 ,equal 
access ,the ,secretary shall require    
each recipient of a grant under this    
section to provide equal access to      
service dogs to eligible veterans who   
are women4  7d7 ,evaluations ,the       
,secretary shall require each recipient 

of a grant under this section to conduct
 an evaluation of the effectiveness of  
the activities carried out through the  
grant by such recipient4  7e7 ,maximum  
amount ,the total amount of grants      
awarded to each nonprofit organization  
under this section may not exceed       
#b1jjj1jjj4  7f7 ,definitions ,in this  
section3 7#a7 ,eligible veteran  7,a7   
,in general ,the term eligible veteran  
means a veteran who-- 7i7 is enrolled in
 the system of annual patient enrollment
 of the ,department of ,veterans        
,affairs established and operated under 
section #agje7;a7 of title #ch1 ,united 
,states ,code2 and  7ii7 has one or more
 disabilities described in subparagraph 
7,b74  7,b7 ,disability described ,a    
disability described in this            
subparagraph is any of the following3   
7i7 ,blindness or visual impairment4    
7ii7 ,loss of use of a limb1 paralysis1 
or other significant mobility issue4    
7iii7 ,loss of hearing4  7iv7 ,traumatic
 brain injury4  7v7 ,post-traumatic     

stress disorder4  7vi7 ,military sexual 
trauma4  7vii7 ,any other disability    
that the ,secretary considers           
appropriate4  7#b7 ,service dog  7,a7   
,in general ,the term service dog means 
any dog that is individually trained to 
do work or perform tasks that are-- 7i7 
for the benefit of an individual with a 
disability1 including a physical or     
sensory disability or a psychiatric1    
intellectual1 or other mental           
disability2 and  7ii7 directly related  
to the disability of the individual4    
7,b7 ,work and tasks ,the               
crime-deterrent effects of the presence 
of a dog and the provision by a dog of  
emotional support1 well-being1 comfort1 
or companionship do not constitute work 
or tasks for the purposes of            
subparagraph 7,a74  7g7 ,authorization  
of appropriations ,there is authorized  
to be appropriated to carry out this    
,act #aj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal     
years #bjbd through #bjbh4