PAWS Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1022 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a grant program under which the Secretary shall make grants to private entities for the provision of service dogs to eligible veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 11, 2021 Mr. RUTHERFORD (for himself, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. PAPPAS, and Mr. STIVERS) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a grant program under which the Secretary shall make grants to private entities for the provision of service dogs to eligible veterans with post-traumatic stress dis- order, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Puppies Assisting 4 Wounded Servicemembers Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘PAWS 5 Act of 2021’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Mar 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1022.IH H1022 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1022 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 2 ings: 3 (1) According to the analyses of veteran suicide 4 published by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 5 August 2016 entitled ‘‘Suicide Among Veterans and 6 Other Americans’’ and in June 2018 entitled ‘‘VA 7 National Suicide Date Report’’— 8 (A) an average of 20 veterans died by sui- 9 cide each day during 2014; 10 (B) mental health disorders, including 11 major depression and other mood disorders, 12 have been associated with increased risk for sui- 13 cide; 14 (C) the proportion of users of the Veterans 15 Health Administration with mental health con- 16 ditions or substance use disorders increased 17 from approximately 27 percent in 2001 to more 18 than 40 percent in 2014; and 19 (D) overall, suicide rates are highest 20 among patients with mental health and sub- 21 stance use disorder diagnoses who are in treat- 22 ment and lower among those who received a 23 mental health diagnoses but were not at risk 24 enough to require enhanced care from a mental 25 health provider. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Mar 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1022.IH H1022 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1022 IH (2) Pairing a service dog with a veteran costs 1 approximately $25,000, including training of the 2 service dog as well as training of the veteran with 3 the service dog and follow-up services and support. 4 (3) Organizations like K9s For Warriors and 5 other members of the Association of Service Dog 6 Providers for Military Veterans have proven track- 7 records of training service dogs for veterans with se- 8 vere post-traumatic stress disorder and dramatically 9 improving those veterans’ quality of life, ability to 10 re-enter society, and, most importantly, their 11 chances of survival. 12 (4) New, rigorous scientific research provides 13 persuasive weight to the growing anecdotal evidence 14 that service dogs ameliorate the symptoms associ- 15 ated with post-traumatic stress disorder, and in par- 16 ticular, help prevent veteran suicide. 17 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 18 gress that the Department of Veterans Affairs must be 19 more effective in its approach to reducing the burden of 20 veteran suicide connected to mental health disorders, in- 21 cluding post-traumatic stress disorder. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Mar 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1022.IH H1022 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1022 IH SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PROGRAM TO 1 PROVIDE GRANTS FOR THE PROVISION OF 2 SERVICE DOGS TO CERTAIN VETERANS WITH 3 SEVERE POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DIS- 4 ORDER. 5 (a) GRANTS.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 7 Affairs shall make grants to eligible organizations 8 for the purposes of providing service dogs to eligible 9 veterans. 10 (2) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—A grant under this 11 section shall be in an amount not to exceed $25,000 12 for each eligible veteran paired with a service dog. 13 (b) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.—To be eligible to re- 14 ceive a grant under this section, an organization shall— 15 (1) be a nonprofit organization that— 16 (A) provides service dogs to veterans with 17 post-traumatic stress disorder (hereinafter in 18 this section referred to as ‘‘PTSD’’); 19 (B) meets the publicly available National 20 Standard of the Association of Service Dog 21 Providers for Military Veterans; and 22 (C) has expertise in the unique needs of 23 veterans with PTSD; 24 (2) agree to provide the benefits described in 25 subsection (c) and, if necessary, to cover any costs 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Mar 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1022.IH H1022 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1022 IH associated with the provision of such benefits in ex- 1 cess of the amount of the grant; 2 (3) agree to reaccept or replace any service dog 3 the organization provides to a veteran using a grant 4 under this section, if necessary, as determined by 5 the organization and the veteran; and 6 (4) submit to the Secretary an application con- 7 taining such information, certification, and assur- 8 ances as the Secretary may reasonably require. 9 (c) BENEFITS TO BE PROVIDED USING GRANT 10 FUNDS.—An organization that receives a grant under 11 subsection (a) shall use the grant to— 12 (1) provide a service dog for each eligible vet- 13 eran participating in the program; 14 (2) for each service dog provided, to provide— 15 (A) commercially available or government- 16 guaranteed veterinary health insurance to main- 17 tain the health of the dog and keep the dog 18 functioning in the prescribed role for the life of 19 the dog; and 20 (B) hardware, or repairs or replacements 21 for hardware, that are clinically determined to 22 be required by the dog to perform the tasks 23 necessary to assist the veteran with the diag- 24 nosed disorder of the veteran; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Mar 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1022.IH H1022 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1022 IH (3) cover the cost of any travel expenses for the 1 veteran to obtain the dog, calculated in the same 2 manner as similar travel expenses provided pursuant 3 to section 111 of title 38, United States Code. 4 (d) TRAVEL EXPENSES FOR REPLACEMENT DOGS.— 5 If a veteran replaces a service dog provided pursuant to 6 a grant under this section, the Secretary shall pay an addi- 7 tional amount for such the travel expenses, to be cal- 8 culated in the same manner as similar travel expenses pro- 9 vided pursuant to section 111 of title 38, United States 10 Code. Such payment shall be in addition to any other ben- 11 efits the veteran receives for the first service dog provided 12 under this section. 13 (e) ELIGIBLE VETERANS.— 14 (1) INITIAL ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of this 15 section, an eligible veteran is a veteran who— 16 (A) is enrolled in the patient enrollment 17 system of the Department of Veterans Affairs 18 under section 1705 of title 38, United States 19 Code; 20 (B) has been treated and has completed an 21 established evidence-based treatment for PTSD 22 yet remains diagnosed with PTSD by a quali- 23 fied health care provider, as rated on the post- 24 traumatic stress disorder checklist (PCL–5); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Mar 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1022.IH H1022 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1022 IH (C) the health care provider or clinical 1 team of the Department of Veterans Affairs 2 that is treating the veteran for such disorder 3 determines, based upon medical judgment, that 4 the veteran may potentially benefit from a serv- 5 ice dog; and 6 (D) agrees to successfully complete train- 7 ing provided by an eligible organization in con- 8 junction with the receipt of a service dog. 9 (2) ONGOING ELIGIBILITY.—To remain eligible 10 to participate in the program, a veteran shall see the 11 health care provider or clinical team of the Depart- 12 ment of Veterans Affairs treating the veteran for 13 such a disorder at least once every six months to de- 14 termine, based on a clinical evaluation of efficacy, 15 whether the veteran continues to benefit from a 16 service dog. 17 (3) OTHER CASES.—If at any point, the veteran 18 is no longer able or willing to care for the service 19 dog, the organization that provided the service dog 20 and the veteran shall determine the appropriate re- 21 course to ensure the safety of both the veteran and 22 the service dog. 23 (f) APPROVAL OF GRANT APPLICATIONS.—The Sec- 24 retary of Veterans Affairs may review an application sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Mar 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1022.IH H1022 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1022 IH mitted by an eligible organization for a grant under this 1 section only after the organization accepts an eligible vet- 2 eran into an appropriate program. The Secretary shall ap- 3 prove or deny such an application not later than 90 days 4 after the date on which an eligible organization applies 5 to participate under this section on behalf of an eligible 6 veteran. 7 (g) RELATIONSHIP TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 8 AFFAIRS BENEFITS.—The provision of a service dog to 9 a veteran under this section is in addition to any other 10 hospital care or medical service furnished by the Depart- 11 ment for that veteran for PTSD. An improvement in 12 symptoms as a result of the provision of a service dog shall 13 not affect the eligibility of the veteran for any other ben- 14 efit under the laws administered by the Secretary. 15 (h) METRICS.—In carrying out this section, the Sec- 16 retary shall— 17 (1) develop metrics and other appropriate 18 means to measure, with respect to veterans partici- 19 pating in the program, the improvement in psycho- 20 social function and therapeutic compliance of such 21 veterans and changes with respect to the dependence 22 on prescription narcotics and psychotropic medica- 23 tion of such veterans; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Mar 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1022.IH H1022 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1022 IH (2) establish processes to document and track 1 the progress of such veterans under the program in 2 terms of the benefits and improvements noted as a 3 result of the program. 4 (i) GAO BRIEFING AND STUDY.— 5 (1) BRIEFING.—Not later than one year after 6 the date on which the Secretary commences the 7 grant program under this section, the Comptroller 8 General of the United States shall provide to the 9 Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 10 Representatives and the Senate a briefing on the 11 methodology established for the program. 12 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after 13 the date on which the grant program under this sec- 14 tion terminates, the Comptroller General shall sub- 15 mit to the committees specified in paragraph (1) a 16 report on the program. Such report shall include an 17 evaluation of the approach and methodology used for 18 the program with respect to— 19 (A) helping veterans with severe PTSD re- 20 turn to civilian life; 21 (B) relevant metrics, including any reduc- 22 tion in metrics, including reduction in scores 23 under the post-traumatic stress disorder check- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Mar 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1022.IH H1022 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1022 IH list (PCL–5), improvement in psychosocial 1 function, and therapeutic compliance; and 2 (C) reducing the dependence of partici- 3 pants on prescription narcotics and psycho- 4 tropic medication. 5 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 6 authorized to be appropriated for the period of fiscal year 7 2021 through fiscal year 2024, $10,000,000 to carry out 8 the program under this section. 9 (k) TERMINATION.—The authority to carry out a 10 program under this section shall terminate on the date 11 that is 3 years after the date of the enactment of this 12 Act. An eligible veteran in possession of a service dog fur- 13 nished under the program as of the date of the termi- 14 nation of the program may keep the service dog after the 15 termination of the program for the life of the dog. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Mar 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1022.IH H1022 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS