IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4305 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 10, 2020 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

AN ACT 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out 

a pilot program on dog training therapy. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Puppies Assisting 

3 Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act’’ or 

4 the ‘‘PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress makes the following findings: 

7 (1) According to the analyses of veteran suicide 

8 published by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 

9 August 2016 and titled ‘‘Suicide Among Veterans 

10 and Other Americans’’, and in June 2018, titled 

11 ‘‘VA National Suicide Date Report’’— 

12 (A) an average of 20 veterans died by sui13 cide each day in 2014; 

14 (B) mental health disorders, including 

15 major depression and other mood disorders, 

16 have been associated with increased risk for sui17 cide; 

18 (C) since 2001, the proportion of users of 

19 the Veterans Health Administration with men20 tal health conditions or substance use disorders 

21 has increased from approximately 27 percent in 

22 2001 to more than 40 percent in 2014; and 

23 (D) overall, suicide rates are highest 

24 among patients with mental health and sub25 stance use disorder diagnoses who are in treat26 ment and lower among those who received a 


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1 mental health diagnosis but were not at risk 

2 enough to require enhanced care from a mental 

3 health provider. 

4 (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs must 

5 be more effective in its approach to reducing the 

6 burden of veteran suicide connected to mental health 

7 disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder 

8 (in this section referred to as ‘‘PTSD’’), and new, 

9 rigorous scientific research provides persuasive 

10 weight to the growing anecdotal evidence that serv11 ice dogs ameliorate the symptoms associated with 

12 PTSD, and in particular, help prevent veteran sui13 cide. 

14 (3) Several organizations have proven track 

15 records of training service dogs for veterans with se16 vere PTSD and dramatically improving those vet17 erans’ quality of life, ability to re-enter society, and, 

18 most importantly, their chances of survival. 

19 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PRO20 GRAM ON DOG TRAINING THERAPY. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Commencing not later than 120 

22 days after the date of the enactment of the Act, subject 

23 to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary of Vet24 erans Affairs shall carry out a pilot program under which 

25 the Secretary shall make grants to one or more approVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Feb 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4305.RFS H4305

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1 priate non-government entities for the purpose of assess2 ing the effectiveness of addressing post-deployment mental 

3 health and post-traumatic stress disorder (in this section 

4 referred to as ‘‘PTSD’’) symptoms through a therapeutic 

5 medium of training service dogs for veterans with disabil6 ities. 

7 (b) DURATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.—The pilot pro8 gram required by subsection (a) shall be carried out dur9 ing the 5-year period beginning on the date of the com10 mencement of the pilot program. 

11 (c) CONDITIONS ON RECEIPT OF GRANTS.—As a con12 dition of receiving a grant under this section, a non-gov13 ernment entity shall— 

14 (1) submit to the Secretary certification that 

15 the entity is an organization described in section 

16 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

17 that— 

18 (A) provides service dogs to veterans with 

19 PTSD; and 

20 (B) is accredited by, or adheres to stand21 ards comparable to those of, an accrediting or22 ganization with demonstrated experience, na23 tional scope, and recognized leadership and ex24 pertise in the training of service dogs and edu25 cation in the use of service dogs; 


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1 (2) agree to cover all costs in excess of the 

2 grant amount; 

3 (3) agree to reaccept or replace the service dog 

4 the organization provided to the veteran, if nec5 essary, as determined by the organization and the 

6 veteran; 

7 (4) provide a wellness certification from a li8 censed veterinarian for any dog participating in the 

9 program; 

10 (5) employ at least one person with clinical ex11 perience related to mental health; 

12 (6) ensure that veterans participating in the 

13 pilot program receive training from certified service 

14 dog training instructors for a period of time deter15 mined appropriate by the organization and the Sec16 retary, including service skills to address or alleviate 

17 symptoms unique to veterans’ needs; 

18 (7) agree to provide both lectures on service dog 

19 training methodologies and practical hands-on train20 ing and grooming of service dogs; 

21 (8) agree that in hiring service dog training in22 structors to carry out training under the pilot pro23 gram, the non-government entity will give a pref24 erence to veterans who have successfully graduated 

25 from PTSD or other residential treatment program 


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1 and who have received adequate certification in serv2 ice dog training; 

3 (9) agree not to use shock collars or prong col4 lars as training tools and to use positive reinforce5 ment training; 

6 (10) agree that upon the conclusion of training 

7 provided using the grant funds— 

8 (A) the veteran who received the training 

9 will keep the dog unless the veteran and the 

10 veteran’s health provider decide it is not in the 

11 best interest of the veteran; 

12 (B) if the veteran does not opt to own the 

13 dog, the entity will be responsible for caring for 

14 and appropriately placing the dog; 

15 (C) the Department of Veterans Affairs 

16 will have no additional responsibility to provide 

17 for any benefits under this section; and 

18 (D) the Department of Veterans Affairs 

19 will have no liability with respect to the dog; 

20 (11) provide follow-up support service for the 

21 life of the dog, including a contact plan between the 

22 veteran and the entity to allow the veteran to reach 

23 out for and receive adequate help with the service 

24 dog and the organization to communicate with the 


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1 veteran to ensure the service dog is being properly 

2 cared for; and 

3 (12) submit to the Secretary an application 

4 containing such information, certification, and assur5 ances as the Secretary may require. 

6 (d) VETERAN ELIGIBILITY.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this sec8 tion, an eligible veteran is a veteran who— 

9 (A) is enrolled in the patient enrollment 

10 system in the Department of Veterans Affairs 

11 under section 1705 of title 38, United States 

12 Code; 

13 (B) has been recommended for the pilot 

14 program under this section by a qualified health 

15 care provider or clinical team based on the med16 ical judgment that the veteran may potentially 

17 benefit from participating; and 

18 (C) agrees to successfully complete train19 ing provided by an eligible organization that re20 ceives a grant under this section. 

21 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO PARTICIPATION IN

22 OTHER PROGRAM.—Veterans may participate in the 

23 pilot program in conjunction with the compensated 

24 work therapy program of the Department of Vet25 erans Affairs. 


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1 (3) CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT.— 

2 To remain eligible to participate in the program, a 

3 veteran shall see the health care provider or clinical 

4 team of the Department of Veterans Affairs treating 

5 the veteran for PTSD at least once every 6 months 

6 to determine, based on a clinical evaluation of effi7 cacy, whether the veteran continues to benefit from 

8 the program. 

9 (e) COLLECTION OF DATA.—In carrying out this sec10 tion, the Secretary shall— 

11 (1) develop metrics and other appropriate 

12 means to measure, with respect to veterans partici13 pation in the program, the improvement in psycho14 social function and therapeutic compliance of such 

15 veterans and changes with respect to the dependence 

16 on prescription narcotics and psychotropic medica17 tion of such veterans; 

18 (2) establish processes to document and track 

19 the progress of such veterans under the program in 

20 terms of the benefits and improvements noted as a 

21 result of the program; and 

22 (3) in addition, the Secretary shall continue to 

23 collect these data over the course of 5 years for each 

24 veteran who has continued with the dog he or she 

25 has personally trained. 


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1 (f) GAO BRIEFING AND STUDY.— 

2 (1) BRIEFING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

3 date of the commencement of the pilot program 

4 under subsection (a), the Comptroller General of the 

5 United States shall provide to the Committees on 

6 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 

7 and the Senate a briefing on the methodology estab8 lished for the program. 

9 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after 

10 the date on which the program terminates, the 

11 Comptroller General shall submit to the committees 

12 specified in paragraph (1) a report on the program. 

13 Such report shall include an evaluation of the ap14 proach and methodology used for the program with 

15 respect to— 

16 (A) helping veterans with severe PTSD re17 turn to civilian life; 

18 (B) relevant metrics, including reduction in 

19 metrics such as reduction in scores under the 

20 PTSD check-list (PCL–5), improvement in psy21 chosocial function, and therapeutic compliance; 

22 and 

23 (C) reducing the dependence of partici24 pants on prescription narcotics and psycho25 tropic medication. 


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1 (g) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section, 

2 the term ‘‘service dog training instructor’’ means an in3 structor who provides the direct training of veterans with 

4 PTSD and other post-deployment issues in the art and 

5 science of service dog training and handling. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 5, 

2020. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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