I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9525 

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 veterans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 

Mr. LUTTRELL (for himself, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mr. HUNT, Mr. CISCOMANI, and 

Mr. VAN ORDEN) introduced the following bill; which was 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 veterans, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Service Dogs Assisting 

5 Veterans Act’’ or the ‘‘SAVES Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PRO2 GRAM TO AWARD GRANTS FOR THE PROVI3 SION OF SERVICE DOGS TO VETERANS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

5 (1) PILOT PROGRAM REQUIRED.—Not later 

6 than 24 months after the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall es8 tablish a pilot program under which the Secretary 

9 shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to non10 profit entities to provide service dogs to eligible vet11 erans. 

12 (2) DURATION.—The Secretary shall carry out 

13 the pilot program during the five-year period begin14 ning on the date on which the first grant is awarded 

15 under this section. 

16 (b) APPLICATIONS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

18 grant under this section, a nonprofit entity shall 

19 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

20 in such manner, and containing such commitments 

21 and information as the Secretary may require. 

22 (2) ELEMENTS.—An application submitted 

23 under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

24 (A) A proposal for the provision of service 

25 dogs to eligible veterans, including how the non26 profit entity will communicate with the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Sep 17, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9525.IH H9525

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1 retary to ensure an increasing number of serv2 ice dogs are provided to veterans. 

3 (B) A description of the following: 

4 (i) The training that will be provided 

5 by the nonprofit entity to eligible veterans. 

6 (ii) The training of dogs that will 

7 serve as service dogs. 

8 (iii) Any additional support or services 

9 the nonprofit entity will provide for such 

10 dogs and eligible veterans. 

11 (iv) The plan for publicizing the avail12 ability of such dogs through a marketing 

13 campaign that targets eligible veterans. 

14 (v) The commitment of the nonprofit 

15 entity to have humane standards for ani16 mals. 

17 (C) Documentation certifying that the non18 profit entity is accredited by Assistance Dogs 

19 International or the International Guide Dog 

20 Federation. 

21 (c) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award a 

23 grant to each nonprofit entity for which the Sec24 retary has approved an application submitted under 

25 subsection (b)(1). 


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1 (2) AGREEMENT REQUIRED.—Before the provi2 sion of any grant amounts to a nonprofit entity se3 lected to receive a grant under this section, the Sec4 retary shall enter into an agreement, containing 

5 such terms, conditions, and limitations as the Sec6 retary determines appropriate, with such entity. 

7 (3) GRANT AMOUNTS AND INTERVALS OF PAY8 MENT.—The Secretary— 

9 (A) may establish a maximum amount to 

10 be awarded to each nonprofit entity each fiscal 

11 year under this section; and 

12 (B) shall establish intervals of payment for 

13 the administration of each grant awarded under 

14 this section. 

15 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a grant under 

17 this section shall use the grant amounts to plan, de18 velop, implement, or manage (or any combination 

19 thereof) one or more programs that provide service 

20 dogs to eligible veterans. 

21 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The Sec22 retary may establish a maximum amount for each 

23 grant awarded under this section that may be used 

24 by the recipient of the grant to cover administrative 

25 expenses. 


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1 (3) OTHER CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS.— 

2 The Secretary may establish other conditions or lim3 itations on the use of grant amounts under this sec4 tion. 

5 (e) REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT RECIPIENTS.— 

6 (1) NOTIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION.—A re7 cipient of a grant under this section shall— 

8 (A) notify each veteran who receives a 

9 service dog through such grant that the service 

10 dog is being paid for, in whole or in part, by 

11 the Department of Veterans Affairs; and 

12 (B) inform each such veteran of the bene13 fits and services available from the Secretary 

14 for the veteran and the service dog. 

15 (2) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN FEES.—A recipi16 ent of a grant under this section may not charge a 

17 fee to a veteran receiving a service dog through such 

18 grant. 

19 (f) PROCESS FOR VETERANS WITH MENTAL

20 HEALTH CONDITIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—A veteran with a mental 

22 health condition seeking a service dog from a recipi23 ent of a grant under this section shall meet with a 

24 mental health provider of the Department. 


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1 (2) EVALUATION AND DETERMINATION; RE2 QUEST.—The mental health provider and the care 

3 team of a veteran described in paragraph (1) shall— 

4 (A) evaluate the veteran and determine— 

5 (i) whether the veteran has substan6 tial mobility limitations; 

7 (ii) whether the mental health condi8 tion of the veteran is the primary cause of 

9 such limitations; and 

10 (iii) whether a service dog would be 

11 the optimal intervention or treatment ap12 proach for the veteran; and 

13 (B) if the mental health provider and the 

14 care team determine that a service dog would 

15 be the optimal intervention or treatment ap16 proach for the veteran, request a service dog 

17 from a recipient of a grant under this section 

18 on behalf of the veteran through coordination 

19 with the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service of 

20 the medical center of the Department local to 

21 the veteran. 

22 (g) VETERINARY INSURANCE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

24 to each veteran who receives a service dog through 


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1 a grant under this section a commercially available 

2 veterinary insurance policy for the service dog. 

3 (2) CONTINUATION.—If the Secretary provides 

4 a veterinary insurance policy to a veteran under 

5 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall continue to pro6 vide the policy to the veteran without regard to the 

7 continuation or termination of the pilot program. 

8 (h) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

9 Secretary may provide training and technical assistance 

10 to recipients of grants under this section. 

11 (i) OVERSIGHT AND MONITORING.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary— 

13 (A) shall establish such oversight and mon14 itoring requirements as the Secretary deter15 mines appropriate to ensure that grant amounts 

16 awarded under this section are used appro17 priately; and 

18 (B) may take such actions as the Secretary 

19 determines necessary to address any issues 

20 identified through the enforcement of such re21 quirements. 

22 (2) REPORTS AND ANSWERS.—The Secretary 

23 may require each recipient of a grant under this sec24 tion to provide, in such form as may be prescribed 

25 by the Secretary, such reports or answers in writing 


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1 to specific questions, surveys, or questionnaires as 

2 the Secretary determines necessary to carry out the 

3 pilot program. 

4 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) ELIGIBLE VETERAN.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible vet7 eran’’ means a veteran who— 

8 (i) is enrolled in the system of annual 

9 patient enrollment of the Department es10 tablished and operated under subsection 

11 (a) of section 1705 of title 38, United 

12 States Code, or is otherwise entitled to 

13 hospital care and medical services under 

14 subsection (c)(2) of such section; and 

15 (ii) has one or more disabilities, condi16 tions, or diagnoses described in subpara17 graph (B). 

18 (B) DISABILITY, CONDITION, DIAGNOSIS

19 DESCRIBED.—A disability, condition, or diag20 nosis described in this subparagraph is any of 

21 the following: 

22 (i) Blindness or visual impairment. 

23 (ii) Loss of use of a limb, paralysis, or 

24 other significant mobility issue, including 

25 mental health mobility. 


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1 (iii) Loss of hearing. 

2 (iv) Post-traumatic stress disorder. 

3 (v) Traumatic brain injury. 

4 (vi) Any other disability, condition, or 

5 diagnosis for which the Secretary deter6 mines, based on medical judgment, that it 

7 is optimal for the veteran to manage the 

8 disability, condition, or diagnosis and live 

9 independently through the assistance of a 

10 service dog. 

11 (2) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘pilot pro12 gram’’ means the pilot program required by sub13 section (a)(1). 

14 (3) SERVICE DOG.—The term ‘‘service dog’’ 

15 means any dog that is individually trained to do 

16 work or perform tasks that are— 

17 (A) for the benefit of a veteran with a dis18 ability, condition, or diagnosis described in 

19 paragraph (1)(B); and 

20 (B) directly related to the disability, condi21 tion, or diagnosis of the veteran. 

22 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

24 $10,000,000 for each of the five consecutive fiscal years 


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1 following the fiscal year in which the pilot program is es2 tablished under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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