I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4305 

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

on dog training therapy. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 

Mr. STIVERS (for himself, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Ms. 

SHERRILL, Mr. DUNN, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. WALTZ, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. 

ROY, and Mr. JOYCE of Ohio) 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 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act’’ or 

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

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) According to the analyses of veteran suicide 

2 published by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 

3 August 2016 and titled ‘‘Suicide Among Veterans 

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

5 ‘‘VA National Suicide Date Report’’— 

6 (A) an average of 20 veterans died by sui7 cide each day in 2014; 

8 (B) mental health disorders, including 

9 major depression and other mood disorders, 

10 have been associated with increased risk for sui11 cide; 

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

13 the Veterans Health Administration with men14 tal health conditions or substance use disorders 

15 has increased from approximately 27 percent in 

16 2001 to more than 40 percent in 2014; and 

17 (D) overall, suicide rates are highest 

18 among patients with mental health and sub19 stance use disorder diagnoses who are in treat20 ment and lower among those who received a 

21 mental health diagnosis but were not at risk 

22 enough to require enhanced care from a mental 

23 health provider. 

24 (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs must 

25 be more effective in its approach to reducing the 


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1 burden of veteran suicide connected to mental health 

2 disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder 

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

4 rigorous scientific research provides persuasive 

5 weight to the growing anecdotal evidence that serv6 ice dogs ameliorate the symptoms associated with 

7 PTSD, and in particular, help prevent veteran sui8 cide. 

9 (3) Several organizations have proven track 

10 records of training service dogs for veterans with se11 vere PTSD and dramatically improving those vet12 erans’ quality of life, ability to re-enter society, and, 

13 most importantly, their chances of survival. 

14 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PRO15 GRAM ON DOG TRAINING THERAPY. 

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

17 days after the date of the enactment of the Act, the Sec18 retary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out a pilot program 

19 under which the Secretary shall make grants to one or 

20 more appropriate non-government entities for the purpose 

21 of assessing the effectiveness of addressing post-deploy22 ment mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder (in 

23 this section referred to as ‘‘PTSD’’) symptoms through 

24 a therapeutic medium of training service dogs for veterans 

25 with disabilities. 


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1 (b) DURATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.—The pilot pro2 gram required by subsection (a) shall be carried out dur3 ing the five-year period beginning on the date of the com4 mencement of the pilot program. 

5 (c) CONDITIONS ON RECEIPT OF GRANTS.—As a con6 dition of receiving a grant under this section, a non-gov7 ernment entity shall— 

8 (1) submit to the Secretary certification that 

9 the entity is an organization described in section 

10 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

11 that— 

12 (A) provides service dogs to veterans with 

13 PTSD; and 

14 (B) is accredited by, or adheres to stand15 ards comparable to those of, an accrediting or16 ganization with demonstrated experience, na17 tional scope, and recognized leadership and ex18 pertise in the training of service dogs and edu19 cation in the use of service dogs; 

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

21 grant amount; 

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

23 the organization provided to the veteran, if nec24 essary, as determined by the organization and the 

25 veteran; 


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1 (4) provide a wellness certification from a li2 censed veterinarian for any dog participating in the 

3 program; 

4 (5) employ at least one person with clinical ex5 perience related to mental health; 

6 (6) ensure that veterans participating in the 

7 pilot program receive training from certified service 

8 dog training instructors for a period of time deter9 mined appropriate by the organization and the Sec10 retary, including service skills to address or alleviate 

11 symptoms unique to veterans’ needs; 

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

13 training methodologies and practical hands-on train14 ing and grooming of service dogs; 

15 (8) agree that in hiring service dog training in16 structors to carry out training under the pilot pro17 gram, the non-government entity will give a pref18 erence to veterans who have successfully graduated 

19 from PTSD or other residential treatment program 

20 and who have received adequate certification in serv21 ice dog training; 

22 (9) agree not to use shock collars or prong col23 lars as training tools and to use positive reinforce24 ment training; 


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1 (10) agree that upon the conclusion of training 

2 provided using the grant funds— 

3 (A) the veteran who received the training 

4 will keep the dog unless the veteran and the 

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

6 best interest of the veteran; 

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

8 dog, the entity will be responsible for caring for 

9 and appropriately placing the dog; 

10 (C) the Department of Veterans Affairs 

11 will have no additional responsibility to provide 

12 for any benefits under this section; and 

13 (D) the Department of Veterans Affairs 

14 will have no liability with respect to the dog; 

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

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

17 veteran and the entity to allow the veteran to reach 

18 out for and receive adequate help with the service 

19 dog and the organization to communicate with the 

20 veteran to ensure the service dog is being properly 

21 cared for; and 

22 (12) submit to the Secretary an application 

23 containing such information, certification, and assur24 ances as the Secretary may require. 

25 (d) VETERAN ELIGIBILITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this sec2 tion, an eligible veteran is a veteran who— 

3 (A) is enrolled in the patient enrollment 

4 system in the Department of Veterans Affairs 

5 under section 1705 of title 38, United States 

6 Code; 

7 (B) has been recommended for the pilot 

8 program under this section by a qualified health 

9 care provider or clinical team based on the med10 ical judgment that the veteran may potentially 

11 benefit from participating; and 

12 (C) agrees to successfully complete train13 ing provided by an eligible organization that re14 ceives a grant under this section. 

15 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO PARTICIPATION IN

16 OTHER PROGRAM.—Veterans may participate in the 

17 pilot program in conjunction with the compensated 

18 work therapy program of the Department of Vet19 erans Affairs. 

20 (3) CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT.— 

21 To remain eligible to participate in the program, a 

22 veteran shall see the health care provider or clinical 

23 team of the Department of Veterans Affairs treating 

24 the veteran for PTSD at least once every six months 

25 to determine, based on a clinical evaluation of effiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4305.IH H4305

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1 cacy, whether the veteran continues to benefit from 

2 the program. 

3 (e) COLLECTION OF DATA.—In carrying out this sec4 tion, the Secretary shall— 

5 (1) develop metrics and other appropriate 

6 means to measure, with respect to veterans partici7 pation in the program, the improvement in psycho8 social function and therapeutic compliance of such 

9 veterans and changes with respect to the dependence 

10 on prescription narcotics and psychotropic medica11 tion of such veterans; 

12 (2) establish processes to document and track 

13 the progress of such veterans under the program in 

14 terms of the benefits and improvements noted as a 

15 result of the program; and 

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

17 collect these data over the course of five years for 

18 each veteran who has continued with the dog he or 

19 she has personally trained. 

20 (f) GAO BRIEFING AND STUDY.— 

21 (1) BRIEFING.—Not later than one year after 

22 the date of the commencement of the pilot program 

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

24 United States shall provide to the Committees on 

25 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 


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1 and the Senate a briefing on the methodology estab2 lished for the program. 

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

4 the date on which the program terminates, the 

5 Comptroller General shall submit to the committees 

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

7 Such report shall include an evaluation of the ap8 proach and methodology used for the program with 

9 respect to— 

10 (A) helping veterans with severe PTSD re11 turn to civilian life; 

12 (B) relevant metrics, including reduction in 

13 metrics such as reduction in scores under the 

14 PTSD check-list (PCL–5), improvement in psy15 chosocial function, and therapeutic compliance; 

16 and 

17 (C) reducing the dependence of partici18 pants on prescription narcotics and psycho19 tropic medication. 

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

21 the term ‘‘service dog training instructor’’ means an in22 structor who provides the direct training of veterans with 

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

24 science of service dog training and handling. 

Æ 


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