A bill to establish a grant program to encourage the use of assistance dogs by certain members of the Armed Forces and veterans, and for other purposes.

Summary: Senior Airman Michael Malarsie Act - Directs the Secretaries of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) to jointly establish the Senior Airman Michael Malarsie Program for the awarding of grants to certain nonprofit organizations to assist them in establishing and operating programs to provide assistance dogs to certain members of the Armed Forces and veterans who have certain visual, hearing, or mobility disabilities. Requires such Secretaries to determine whether such assistance for members or veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury would be appropriate, taking into account the findings of a specified study conducted under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.

Defines the term "assistance dog" to mean a dog specifically trained to perform physical tasks to mitigate the effects of such a disability, except that such term does not include a dog specifically trained for comfort or personal defense.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Senior Airman Michael Malarsie 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) As of the day before the date of the enactment of this 
        Act, thousands of members of the Armed Forces and veterans have 
        visual, hearing, or substantial mobility impairments and 
        receive benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
            (2) In fiscal year 2011, 269 veterans received benefits 
        from the Department of Veterans Affairs for guide dogs (visual 
        impairments), hearing dogs, and mobility dogs.
            (3) As of the day before the date of the enactment of this 
        Act, the number of veterans who need the assistance of guide 
        dogs is expected to increase as more members of the Armed 
        Forces who serve in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi 
        Freedom, and Operation New Dawn are diagnosed with disabilities 
        and veterans who already have assistance dogs need replacement 
        dogs.
            (4) As of the day before the date of the enactment of this 
        Act, members of the Armed Forces and veterans diagnosed with 
        visual, hearing, or mobility impairments are subject to long 
        waiting periods to receive assistance dogs. Nonprofit 
        organizations train and provide service dogs free of charge to 
        such members and veterans, but rely solely on fundraising and 
        volunteer staff to meet growing demand.
            (5) According to the annual survey conducted by Assistance 
        Dogs International for 2011, there was a backlog of 188 
        veterans waiting for dog placement of guide and service dogs. 
        In that same survey, agency members of Assistance Dogs 
        International were able to place dogs with only 72 veterans.
            (6) As of the day before the date of the enactment of this 
        Act, each guide dog costs approximately $45,000 and takes about 
        two years to raise and train.
            (7) In fiscal year 2011, the Department of Veterans Affairs 
        spent $243,992 on veterinary care and necessary hardware for 
        266 service dogs, including those trained to aid visually, 
        hearing, or mobility impairments. The average cost per veteran 
        was $917.
            (8) As of the day before the date of the enactment of this 
        Act, service dogs work on average 10 years, and young veterans 
        can require multiple replacements during the span of their 
        lifetime.

SEC. 3. SENIOR AIRMAN MICHAEL MALARSIE PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to the availability of 
        appropriations provided for such purpose, the Secretary of 
        Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly 
        establish a program to award competitive grants to eligible 
        entities to assist eligible entities in planning, designing, 
        establishing, and operating programs to provide assistance dogs 
        to covered members and veterans.
            (2) Designation.--The program established under paragraph 
        (1) shall be known as the ``Senior Airman Michael Malarsie 
        Program'' (in this section referred to as the ``Program'').
    (b) Eligible Entities.--For purposes of the Program, an eligible 
entity is any entity that--
            (1) is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 
        501(a) of such Code; and
            (2) is a member of the International Guide Dog Federation 
        or Assistance Dogs International.
    (c) Covered Members and Veterans.--For purposes of the Program--
            (1) a covered member of the Armed Forces is any member of 
        the Armed Forces who is--
                    (A) receiving medical treatment, recuperation, or 
                therapy under chapter 55 of title 10, United States 
                Code;
                    (B) in medical hold or medical holdover status; or
                    (C) covered under section 1202 or 1205 of title 10, 
                United States Code; and
            (2) a covered veteran is any veteran who is enrolled in the 
        system of annual patient enrollment established under section 
        1705(a) of title 38, United States Code.
    (d) Application.--
            (1) In general.--An eligible entity seeking a grant under 
        the Program shall submit an application to the Secretary of 
        Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs therefor at such 
        time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
        Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may 
        require.
            (2) Elements.--Each application submitted under paragraph 
        (1) shall include the following:
                    (A) A proposal for the evaluation required by 
                subsection (f).
                    (B) A description of the following:
                            (i) The training that will be provided by 
                        the eligible entity to covered members and 
                        veterans.
                            (ii) The training of dogs that will serve 
                        as assistance dogs.
                            (iii) The aftercare services that the 
                        eligible entity will provide for such dogs and 
                        covered members and veterans.
                            (iv) The plan for publicizing the 
                        availability of such dogs through a targeted 
                        marketing campaign to covered members and 
                        veterans.
                            (v) The recognized expertise of the 
                        eligible entity in breeding and training such 
                        dogs, including how many of such dogs were 
                        provided to covered members and veterans during 
                        the most recent three-year period.
                            (vi) The commitment of the eligible entity 
                        to humane standards for animals.
                            (vii) The experience of the eligible entity 
                        with working with military medical treatment 
                        facilities or medical facilities of the 
                        Department of Veterans Affairs.
    (e) Use of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--The recipient of a grant under the Program 
        shall use the grant to carry out programs that provide 
        assistance dogs to covered members and veterans who have a 
        disability described in paragraph (2).
            (2) Disability.--A disability described in this paragraph 
        is any of the following:
                    (A) Blindness or visual impairment.
                    (B) Loss of use of a limb, paralysis, or other 
                significant mobility issues.
                    (C) Loss of hearing.
                    (D) Any other disability with respect to which the 
                Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans 
                Affairs determine that provision of an assistance dog 
                under the Program would be appropriate for the 
                treatment or rehabilitation of a covered member or 
                veteran with such disability.
            (3) Post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain 
        injury.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary of Defense and the 
                Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall determine whether 
                the provision of an assistance dog under the Program to 
                a covered member or veteran with post-traumatic stress 
                disorder or traumatic brain injury would be appropriate 
                for the treatment or rehabilitation of such covered 
                member or veteran.
                    (B) Consideration of study on use of service dogs 
                for treatment or rehabilitation of veterans with mental 
                injuries or disabilities.--In making a determination 
                under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Defense and 
                the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall consider the 
                findings of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs regarding 
                the study conducted under section 1077(d) of the 
                National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal year 2010 
                (Public Law 111-84).
    (f) Evaluation.--The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall require each recipient of a grant under the 
Program to use a portion of the funds made available through the grant 
to conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities carried 
out through the grant by such recipient.
    (g) Assistance Dog Defined.--In this section, the term ``assistance 
dog'' means a dog specifically trained to perform physical tasks to 
mitigate the effects of a disability described in subsection (e)(2), 
except that the term does not include a dog specifically trained for 
comfort or personal defense.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2012 through 2016.