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[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1448 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.1448

                    One Hundred Seventeenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Sunday,
          the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-one

                                 An Act

 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program 
 on dog training therapy, and to amend title 38, United States Code, to 
 authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide service dogs to 
  veterans with mental illnesses who do not have mobility impairments.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Puppies Assisting Wounded 
Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act'' or the ``PAWS for Veterans 
Therapy Act''.
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PROGRAM ON DOG TRAINING 
THERAPY.
    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of the Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall commence 
the conduct of a pilot program to provide canine training to eligible 
veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (in this section 
referred to as ``PTSD'') as an element of a complementary and 
integrative health program for such veterans.
    (b) Duration; Medical Centers.--
        (1) Duration.--The Secretary shall carry out the pilot program 
    under subsection (a) for a 5-year period beginning on the date of 
    the commencement of the pilot program.
        (2) Medical centers.--The Secretary shall ensure that such 
    pilot program is carried out by not fewer than five medical centers 
    of the Department of Veterans Affairs located in geographically 
    diverse areas.
    (c) Agreements With Entities.--In carrying out the pilot program 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall seek to enter into agreements 
with nongovernmental entities that the Secretary determines have the 
demonstrated ability to provide the canine training specified in 
subsection (a).
    (d) Required Conditions.--The Secretary shall include in any 
agreement under subsection (c) conditions requiring that the 
nongovernmental entity seeking to enter into the agreement--
        (1) submits to the Secretary certification that the entity is 
    an accredited service dog training organization;
        (2) agrees to ensure that veterans participating in the pilot 
    program under subsection (a) receive training from certified 
    service dog training instructors for a period of time determined 
    appropriate by the entity;
        (3) agrees to ensure that veterans participating in such pilot 
    program are prohibited from having access to a dog under such pilot 
    program at any time during such participation without the 
    supervision of a certified service dog training instructor;
        (4) agrees to ensure that veterans participating in such pilot 
    program receive training in skills unique to the needs of the 
    veteran to address or alleviate PTSD symptoms of the veteran;
        (5) agrees not to use shock collars or prong collars as 
    training tools and to use positive reinforcement training; and
        (6) agrees to provide any follow-up training support specified 
    in subsection (e)(2), as applicable.
    (e) Adoption of Dog.--
        (1) In general.--A veteran who has participated in the pilot 
    program under subsection (a) may adopt a dog that the veteran 
    assisted in training during such pilot program if the veteran and 
    the veteran's health provider (in consultation with the entity that 
    provided the canine training with respect to the dog under such 
    pilot program) determine that it is in the best interest of the 
    veteran.
        (2) Follow-up training support.--If a veteran adopts a dog 
    under paragraph (1), the entity that provided the canine training 
    with respect to the dog under the pilot program shall provide 
    follow-up training support for the life of the dog. Such support 
    shall include the provision of a contact plan between the veteran 
    and the entity that enables the veteran to seek and receive 
    assistance from the entity to ensure the dog is being properly 
    cared for.
    (f) Eligibility for Other Care and Treatment.--Participation in the 
pilot program under subsection (a) may not preclude a veteran from 
receiving any other medical care or treatment for PTSD furnished by the 
Department, including therapy, for which the veteran is otherwise 
eligible.
    (g) Collection of Data.--In carrying out this section, the 
Secretary shall--
        (1) develop metrics and other appropriate means to measure, 
    with respect to veterans participating in the pilot program under 
    subsection (a)--
            (A) the number of such veterans participating;
            (B) the satisfaction of such veterans with the pilot 
        program;
            (C) whether participation in the pilot program resulted in 
        any clinically relevant improvements for such veterans, as 
        determined by the health care provider or clinical team that 
        referred the veteran to participate in the pilot program; and
            (D) such other factors as the Secretary may determine 
        appropriate; and
        (2) establish processes to document and track the progress of 
    such veterans under the pilot program with respect to health 
    benefits and improvements.
    (h) Report by Secretary.--Not later than 1 year before the date on 
which the pilot program under subsection (a) terminates, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate a report containing the recommendations 
of the Secretary regarding--
        (1) whether to extend or make permanent the pilot program; and
        (2) the feasibility and advisability of expanding the pilot 
    program to address mental health conditions other than PTSD.
    (i) GAO Briefing and Study.--
        (1) Briefing.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
    commencement of the pilot program under subsection (a), the 
    Comptroller General of the United States shall provide to the 
    Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and 
    the Senate a briefing on the methodology established for the pilot 
    program.
        (2) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date on which 
    the pilot program terminates, the Comptroller General shall submit 
    to the committees specified in paragraph (1) a report on the pilot 
    program. Such report shall include an evaluation of the approach 
    and methodology used for the pilot program with respect to--
            (A) assisting veterans with PTSD; and
            (B) measuring relevant metrics, such as reduction in scores 
        under the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), improvement 
        in psychosocial function, and therapeutic compliance.
    (j) Definitions.--In this section:
        (1) The term ``accredited service dog training organization'' 
    means an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the 
    Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that--
            (A) provides service dogs to veterans with PTSD; and
            (B) is accredited by an accrediting organization with 
        demonstrated experience, national scope, and recognized 
        leadership and expertise in the training of service dogs and 
        education in the use of service dogs (as determined by the 
        Secretary).
        (2) The term ``eligible veteran'' means a veteran who--
            (A) is enrolled in the patient enrollment system in the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs under section 1705 of title 38, 
        United States Code; and
            (B) has been recommended for participation in the pilot 
        program under subsection (a) by a qualified mental health care 
        provider or clinical team based on medical judgment that the 
        veteran may benefit from such participation with respect to the 
        diagnosed PTSD of the veteran.
        (3) The term ``service dog training instructor'' means an 
    instructor who provides the direct training of veterans with PTSD 
    in the art and science of service dog training and handling.
SEC. 3. PROVISION OF SERVICE DOGS AND VETERINARY INSURANCE BENEFITS TO 
VETERANS WITH POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER WHO DO NOT HAVE CERTAIN 
IMPAIRMENTS.
    (a) In General.--Section 1714 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(e) The Secretary may provide a service dog to a veteran under 
subsection (c)(3) regardless of whether the veteran has a mobility 
impairment.
    ``(f)(1) The Secretary shall provide to any veteran described in 
paragraph (2) a commercially available veterinary insurance policy for 
each dog provided to such veteran under subsection (b) or (c).
    ``(2) A veteran described in this paragraph is a veteran who--
        ``(A) is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or a 
    visual, hearing, or substantial mobility impairment;
        ``(B) has received a dog under subsection (b) or (c) in 
    connection with such disorder or impairment; and
        ``(C) meets such other requirements as the Secretary may 
    prescribe.''.
    (b) Applicability.--Section 1714(f) of title 38, United States 
Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to a veteran 
provided a dog by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on or after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.
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