I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4764 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program 

to provide service dogs to certain veterans with severe post-traumatic 

stress disorder. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 16, 2016 

Mr. DESANTIS (for himself, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, Mr. ROTHFUS, Ms. 

STEFANIK, Mr. NUGENT, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mrs. ELLMERS of North 

Carolina, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. BYRNE, Mr. BISHOP of Michigan, Mr. FLORES, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. JOLLY, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. SALMON, 

Ms. GABBARD, and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out 

a pilot program to provide service dogs to certain veterans with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. 

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 ‘‘Puppies Assisting 

5 Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) An estimated 14 percent of members of the 

2 Armed Forces returning from active duty service in 

3 support of Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation 

4 Enduring Freedom suffer from post-traumatic stress 

5 disorder. 

6 (2) The resulting hyperstimulation of the fight7 flight-freeze response associated with post-traumatic 

8 stress disorder poses a threat to the successful soci9 etal reintegration of such members of the Armed 

10 Forces. 

11 (3) Animals such as dogs can buffer this stress 

12 response when humans fail to provide social support. 

13 (4) Interaction with dogs has been shown to 

14 modulate symptoms of post-traumatic stress dis15 order, such as anxiety, including fear response and 

16 hyperarousal, interpersonal difficulties, social isola17 tion, physical pain, and sleep disturbances. 

18 SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM ON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

19 AFFAIRS PROVISION OF SERVICE DOGS TO 

20 CERTAIN VETERANS WITH SEVERE POST21 TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Af23 fairs, acting through the Office of Patient Centered Care 

24 and Cultural Transformation, shall carry out a pilot pro25 gram under which the Secretary shall provide to eligible 


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1 veterans with service dogs. The provision of a service dog 

2 under the pilot program shall be done in addition to other 

3 types of treatment provided for post-traumatic stress dis4 order and shall not replace established treatment modali5 ties. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall furnish vet6 erinary health insurance for each dog provided under the 

7 pilot program. 

8 (b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

9 (1) INITIAL ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a 

10 service dog under the pilot program a veteran 

11 shall— 

12 (A) be diagnosed with post-traumatic 

13 stress disorder rated at a severity level of three 

14 or four on the Clinician-Administered PTSD 

15 Scale for DSM–5 (CAPS–5); 

16 (B) have been treated and have completed 

17 an established evidence-based treatment and re18 main significantly symptomatic, as evidenced by 

19 the Global Assessment of Functioning or a 

20 similar clinical metric; 

21 (C) have served on active duty in the 

22 Armed Forces on or after September 11, 2001; 

23 and 

24 (D) have not experienced satisfactory im25 provement in post-traumatic stress disorder 


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1 symptoms after being treated with established 

2 evidence-based therapies. 

3 (2) ONGOING ELIGIBILITY.—To remain eligible 

4 to receive canine health insurance furnished by the 

5 Department of Veterans Affairs, a veteran shall see 

6 a physician who is a primary care provider or mental 

7 health care provider at a Department of Veterans 

8 Affairs medical facility at least quarterly. 

9 (c) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pilot 

11 program under this section, the Secretary shall enter 

12 into such contracts as may be necessary for the pro13 curement and training of service dogs with appro14 priate providers that are certified by Assistance 

15 Dogs International or a similar organization that— 

16 (A) on average, provides one-on-one train17 ing for each service canine for a minimum of 30 

18 hours over at least 90 days including a wellness 

19 verification from a licensed veterinarian; 

20 (B) provides an in-house residential facility 

21 in which service dog recipients stay for a min22 imum of ten days while receiving at least 30 

23 hours of training with their new service canine; 

24 (C) ensures all service canines pass the 

25 American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen 


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1 test prior to permanent placement with a recipi2 ent; and 

3 (D) provides follow-up support service for 

4 the life of the service canine. 

5 (2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not obli6 gate or expend more than $27,000 for the procure7 ment and training of any dog under a contract en8 tered into under this subsection. 

9 (d) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the 

10 termination of the pilot program under this section, the 

11 Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to 

12 Congress a report on the pilot program. Such report shall 

13 include— 

14 (1) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the 

15 pilot program with respect to— 

16 (A) helping veterans with severe post-trau17 matic stress disorder live normally; 

18 (B) relevant metrics, including reduction in 

19 metrics such as reduction in scores under the 

20 post-traumatic stress disorder checklist (PCL), 

21 improvement in psychosocial function, and 

22 therapeutic compliance; 

23 (C) lessening the symptoms of post-trau24 matic stress disorder; and 


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1 (D) reducing the dependence of partici2 pants on prescription narcotics and psycho3 tropic medication; and 

4 (2) the recommendations of the Comptroller 

5 General with respect to the continuation or expan6 sion of the program. 

7 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

8 authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2017 

9 through 2022 $10,000,000 to carry out the pilot program 

10 under this section. 

11 (f) OFFSET.—The amounts otherwise authorized to 

12 be appropriated for Department of Veterans Affairs Office 

13 of Human Resources and Administration for each of fiscal 

14 years 2017 through 2022 shall be reduced by 

15 $10,000,000. 

16 (g) TERMINATION.—The authority to carry out a 

17 pilot program under this section shall terminate on the 

18 date that is five years after the date of the enactment of 

19 this Act. 

Æ 


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