I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3266 

To establish a grant program to encourage the use of assistance dogs by 

certain members of the Armed Forces and veterans. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 20, 2009 

Mr. KLEIN of Florida (for himself and Mr. WHITFIELD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and 

in addition to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program to encourage the use of assistance dogs by certain members of the Armed Forces 

and veterans. 

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

3 SECTION 1. WOUNDED WARRIOR K–9 CORPS. 

4 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the avail5 ability of appropriations provided for such purpose, the 

6 Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Af7 fairs shall jointly establish a program, to be known as the 

8 ‘‘Wounded Warrior K–9 Corps’’, to award competitive 


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1 grants to nonprofit organizations to assist such organiza2 tions in planning, designing, establishing, and operating 

3 programs to provide assistance dogs to covered members 

4 and veterans. 

5 (b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The recipient of a grant 

7 under this section shall use the grant to carry out 

8 programs that provide assistance dogs to covered 

9 members and veterans who have a disability de10 scribed in paragraph (2). 

11 (2) DISABILITY.—A disability described in this 

12 paragraph is any of the following: 

13 (A) Blindness or visual impairment. 

14 (B) Loss of use of a limb, paralysis, or 

15 other significant mobility issues. 

16 (C) Loss of hearing. 

17 (D) Traumatic brain injury. 

18 (E) Post-traumatic stress disorder. 

19 (F) Any other disability that the Secretary 

20 of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Af21 fairs consider appropriate. 

22 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

23 under this title, a nonprofit organization shall submit an 

24 application to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary 

25 of Veterans Affairs at such time, in such manner, and conVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:50 Jul 21, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3266.IH H3266

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1 taining such information as the Secretary of Defense and 

2 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may require. Such appli3 cation shall include— 

4 (1) a proposal for the evaluation required by 

5 subsection (d); and 

6 (2) a description of— 

7 (A) the training that will be provided by 

8 the organization to covered members and vet9 erans; 

10 (B) the training of dogs that will serve as 

11 assistance dogs; 

12 (C) the aftercare services that the organi13 zation will provide for such dogs and covered 

14 members and veterans; 

15 (D) the plan for publicizing the availability 

16 of such dogs through a targeted marketing 

17 campaign to covered members and veterans; 

18 (E) the recognized expertise of the organi19 zation in breeding and training such dogs; 

20 (F) the commitment of the organization to 

21 comparable standards as that of the Inter22 national Guide Dog Federation or Assistance 

23 Dogs International; 

24 (G) the commitment of the organization to 

25 humane standards for animals; and 


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1 (H) the experience of the organization with 

2 working with military medical treatment facili3 ties or medical facilities of the Department of 

4 Veterans Affairs. 

5 (d) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall require each 

6 recipient of a grant to use a portion of the funds made 

7 available through the grant to conduct an evaluation of 

8 the effectiveness of the activities carried out through the 

9 grant by such recipient. 

10 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

11 (1) The term ‘‘assistance dog’’ means a dog 

12 specifically trained to perform physical tasks to miti13 gate the effects of a disability described in sub14 section (b)(2), except that the term does not include 

15 a dog specifically trained for comfort or personal de16 fense. 

17 (2) The term ‘‘covered members and veterans’’ 

18 means— 

19 (A) with respect to a member of the 

20 Armed Forces, such member who is— 

21 (i) receiving medical treatment, recu22 peration, or therapy under chapter 55 of 

23 title 10, United States Code; 

24 (ii) in medical hold or medical hold25 over status; or 


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1 (iii) covered under section 1202 or 

2 1205 of title 10, United States Code; and 

3 (B) with respect to a veteran, a veteran 

4 who is enrolled in the health care system estab5 lished under section 1705(a) of title 38, United 

6 States Code. 

7 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

8 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 

9 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014. 

Æ 


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