PAWS Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 951 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make grants to eligible organi- zations to provide service dogs to veterans with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 24, 2021 Mrs. FISCHER (for herself, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. MENEN- DEZ, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. RUBIO, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make grants to eligible organizations to provide service dogs to vet- erans with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, 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 20:10 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S951.IS S951 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 951 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 2 ings: 3 (1) According to the analysis of veteran suicide 4 published by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 5 November 2020 entitled ‘‘VA National Veteran Sui- 6 cide Prevention Annual Report’’— 7 (A) an average of 17.6 veterans died by 8 suicide each day in 2018; 9 (B) mental health disorders, including 10 major depression and other mood disorders, 11 have been associated with increased risk for sui- 12 cide; 13 (C) nearly 60 percent of veterans who re- 14 ceived care from the Veterans Health Adminis- 15 tration and died by suicide in 2018 had a men- 16 tal health or substance use disorder diagnosis 17 within the two-year period preceding their 18 death; and 19 (D) in 2018, patients of the Veterans 20 Health Administration with a mental health or 21 substance abuse disorder diagnosis had a sui- 22 cide rate of 57.2 patients per 100,000, com- 23 pared to a suicide rate of 58.6 patients per 24 100,000 in 2005. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:10 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S951.IS S951 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 951 IS (2) Pairing a service dog with a veteran costs 1 approximately $25,000, including with respect to 2 training of the service dog as well as training of the 3 veteran with the service dog. 4 (3) New, rigorous scientific research provides 5 persuasive weight to the growing anecdotal evidence 6 that service dogs ameliorate the symptoms associ- 7 ated with post-traumatic stress disorder, and in par- 8 ticular, help prevent veteran suicide. 9 (4) According to the results of a recent study 10 by the Veterans Health Administration, veterans 11 paired with service dogs over an 18-month period ex- 12 perienced a 3.7 percent improvement on the post- 13 traumatic stress disorder checklist (PCL–5) and also 14 saw a decrease in depression and suicidal measures. 15 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 16 gress that the Department of Veterans Affairs must be 17 more effective in its approach to reducing the burden of 18 veteran suicide connected to mental health disorders, in- 19 cluding post-traumatic stress disorder, and should use all 20 tools at its disposal, including innovative treatments such 21 as pairing service dogs with veterans suffering from men- 22 tal health disorders. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:10 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S951.IS S951 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 951 IS SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PROGRAM TO 1 AWARD 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 carry out a program under which the 8 Secretary awards grants to eligible organizations for 9 eligible veterans referred to that organization for a 10 service dog pairing. 11 (2) LIMITATION.—The amount of the grant for 12 each eligible veteran referred to an eligible organiza- 13 tion under paragraph (1) shall not exceed $25,000. 14 (b) BENEFITS PROVIDED.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—An organization that re- 16 ceives a grant under subsection (a) shall provide the 17 following for each service dog and veteran partici- 18 pating in the program under this section: 19 (A) Coverage of a commercially available 20 veterinary health insurance policy to maintain 21 the health of the dog and keep the dog func- 22 tioning in the prescribed role for the life of the 23 dog. 24 (B) Hardware, or repairs or replacements 25 for hardware, that are clinically determined to 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:10 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S951.IS S951 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 951 IS be required by the dog to perform the tasks 1 necessary to assist the veteran with the diag- 2 nosed disorder of the veteran. 3 (C) Payment for travel expenses for the 4 veteran to obtain the dog, calculated in the 5 same manner as similar travel expenses pro- 6 vided pursuant to section 111 of title 38, 7 United States Code. 8 (2) OTHER TRAVEL EXPENSES.—If a veteran is 9 required to replace a service dog provided pursuant 10 to a grant under this section, the Secretary shall pay 11 for the travel expenses described in paragraph 12 (1)(C) required to obtain a new service dog pursuant 13 to subsection (c)(3), regardless of any other benefits 14 the veteran is receiving for the first service dog 15 under this section. 16 (c) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.—To be eligible to re- 17 ceive a grant under this section, an organization shall— 18 (1) be a nonprofit organization that— 19 (A)(i) is accredited by Assistance Dogs 20 International, the International Guide Dog Fed- 21 eration, or another similar widely recognized ac- 22 creditation organization that the Secretary de- 23 termines has accreditation standards that meet 24 or exceed the standards of Assistance Dogs 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:10 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S951.IS S951 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 951 IS International and the International Guide Dog 1 Federation; or 2 (ii) meets the publicly available standards 3 of the Association of Service Dog Providers for 4 Military Veterans; and 5 (B) has expertise in the unique needs of 6 veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder; 7 (2) agree to cover all costs in excess of the 8 grant amount to guarantee the benefits listed under 9 subsection (b)(1); 10 (3) agree to reaccept or replace a service dog 11 provided by the organization to a veteran, if nec- 12 essary, as determined by the veteran and the organi- 13 zation; and 14 (4) submit to the Secretary an application con- 15 taining such information, certification, and assur- 16 ances as the Secretary may require. 17 (d) ELIGIBLE VETERANS.— 18 (1) APPROVAL AND REFERRAL.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Vet- 20 erans Affairs shall review and approve veterans 21 eligible to participate under this section and 22 shall refer approved veterans to eligible organi- 23 zations. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:10 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S951.IS S951 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 951 IS (B) APPROVAL DETERMINATION.—The pe- 1 riod beginning on the date on which a veteran 2 applies to participate under this section and the 3 date on which the Secretary makes an approval 4 determination may not exceed 90 days. 5 (2) INITIAL ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of this 6 section, an eligible veteran is a veteran— 7 (A) who is enrolled in the system of annual 8 patient enrollment of the Department of Vet- 9 erans Affairs established and operated under 10 section 1705(a) of title 38, United States Code; 11 (B) who has been treated and has com- 12 pleted an established evidence-based treatment 13 for post-traumatic stress disorder yet remains 14 diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder 15 by a qualified health care provider as rated on 16 the post-traumatic stress disorder checklist 17 (PCL–5); 18 (C) with respect to whom the health care 19 provider or clinical team of the Department 20 that is treating the veteran for such disorder 21 determines based upon medical judgment that 22 the veteran may potentially benefit from a serv- 23 ice dog; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:10 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S951.IS S951 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 951 IS (D) who agrees to successfully complete 1 training provided by an eligible organization. 2 (3) ONGOING ELIGIBILITY.—To remain eligible 3 to participate in the program under this section, a 4 veteran shall see the health care provider or clinical 5 team of the Department treating the veteran for 6 post-traumatic stress disorder at least once every 7 180 days to determine, based on a clinical evaluation 8 of efficacy, whether the veteran continues to benefit 9 from a service dog. 10 (4) OTHER CASES.—If at any point the veteran 11 is no longer able or willing to care for the service 12 dog, the veteran and the organization that provided 13 the service dog to the veteran shall determine the 14 appropriate recourse to ensure the safety of both the 15 veteran and the service dog. 16 (e) POSSESSION OF SERVICE DOG.—Except if deter- 17 mined otherwise under subsection (d)(4), an eligible vet- 18 eran in possession of a service dog furnished under the 19 program under this section may elect to keep the service 20 dog for the life of the dog, regardless of the continued 21 participation of the veteran in the program. 22 (f) RELATIONSHIP TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 23 AFFAIRS BENEFITS.—The provision of a service dog to 24 a veteran under this section is in addition to any other 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:10 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S951.IS S951 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 951 IS hospital care or medical service furnished by the Depart- 1 ment for that veteran for post-traumatic stress disorder, 2 and an improvement in symptoms as a result of the provi- 3 sion of a service dog shall not affect the eligibility of the 4 veteran for any other benefit under the laws administered 5 by the Secretary. 6 (g) METRICS.—In carrying out this section, the Sec- 7 retary shall— 8 (1) develop metrics and other appropriate 9 means to measure, with respect to veterans partici- 10 pating in the program under this section, the im- 11 provement in psychosocial function and therapeutic 12 compliance of such veterans and changes with re- 13 spect to the dependence on prescription narcotics 14 and psychotropic medication of such veterans; and 15 (2) establish processes to document and track 16 the progress of such veterans under the program in 17 terms of the benefits and improvements noted as a 18 result of the program. 19 (h) COMPTROLLER GENERAL BRIEFING AND RE- 20 PORT.— 21 (1) BRIEFING.—Not later than one year after 22 the date on which the Secretary commences the pro- 23 gram under subsection (a), the Comptroller General 24 of the United States shall provide to the Committee 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:10 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S951.IS S951 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 951 IS on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com- 1 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep- 2 resentatives a briefing on the methodology estab- 3 lished for the program. 4 (2) REPORT.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than three 6 years after providing the briefing under para- 7 graph (1), the Comptroller General shall submit 8 to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 9 Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 10 of the House of Representatives a report on the 11 program under this section. 12 (B) ELEMENTS.—The report required 13 under subparagraph (A) shall include an eval- 14 uation of the approach and methodology used 15 for the program with respect to— 16 (i) helping veterans with severe post- 17 traumatic stress disorder return to civilian 18 life; 19 (ii) relevant metrics, such as reduction 20 in scores under the post-traumatic stress 21 disorder checklist (PCL–5), improvement 22 in psychosocial function, and therapeutic 23 compliance; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:10 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S951.IS S951 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 951 IS (iii) reducing the dependence of par- 1 ticipants in the program on prescription 2 narcotics and psychotropic medication. 3 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 4 authorized to be appropriated for the period of fiscal year 5 2022 through fiscal year 2024, $10,000,000 to carry out 6 the program under this section. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:10 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S951.IS S951 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS