Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Service Ani-
mals Memorial Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) the National Service Animals Monument 
Corporation’s mission is to honor and recognize the 
broad scope of service animals, including working 
animals, through the creation of a memorial to edu-
cate the public of the contributions by service ani-
mals and the human-animal bond between service 
animals and their handlers, whether a person with 
a disability, a law enforcement officer, military per-
sonnel, or other handler; 
(2) formalized service animal work began in 
1929 when the Eustice School in New Jersey estab-
lished the first guide-dog school; 
(3) the purple poppy is the international symbol 
for the service and sacrifice of service animals; 
(4) on February 24 of each year, National 
Service Animals Day is celebrated in the United 
States and throughout the world; 
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(5) service and working animals, such as dogs, 
horses, homing pigeons, donkeys, mules, dolphins, 
sea lions, and other animals, have worked alongside 
and supported humans throughout history and have 
created strong human-animal bonds, including— 
(A) during the Revolutionary War, horses 
served in combat carrying soldiers, as well as 
transporting the wounded and critical supplies; 
(B) during World War I and World War 
II— 
(i) homing pigeons served as critical 
messengers with tiny message capsules at-
tached to their legs that were used to send 
communications that saved the lives of 
countless soldiers, resulting in many pi-
geons becoming the target of enemy fire; 
and 
(ii) donkeys and mules transported 
food, 
supplies, 
and 
wounded 
servicemembers; and 
(C) during the war in Afghanistan— 
(i) military working dogs safeguarded 
the lives of thousands of servicemen by 
clearing areas of improvised explosion de-
vices; and 
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(ii) in one example, Lucca, a German 
Shepherd-Belgian Malinois service dog, 
was employed by the United States Marine 
Corps for 6 years and trained to detect ex-
plosives, deploying twice to Iraq and once 
to Afghanistan, supporting over 400 mis-
sions without a single human fatality, and 
ultimately sustaining an injury and ampu-
tation in 2012 due to an improvised explo-
sive device while on patrol in Afghanistan; 
(6) the bonds formed between military per-
sonnel and law enforcement and their working dogs 
are so strong that they have risked their lives will-
ingly to save the other; 
(7) the tasks that service dogs perform for per-
sons with disabilities are essential activities of daily 
living, such as guiding people with visual impair-
ments, signaling sounds for those who are deaf, re-
trieving items for people with mobility issues, alert-
ing about impending cardiac episodes or seizures, 
turning on lights, providing stability for their owner 
while standing, and pressing elevator and accessi-
bility buttons; 
(8) in addition to service animals’ help with 
functional tasks and missions, the human-animal 
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bond provides handlers the ability to live independ-
ently, work confidently, and socialize freely; 
(9) shelter dogs can be trained as service ani-
mals; 
(10) service animals, such as horses and dogs— 
(A) support a variety of health and ther-
apy services, including for people with autism, 
schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and bipolar 
disorder; and 
(B) 
specifically, 
can 
support 
servicemembers and veterans who experience 
traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic 
stress disorder; 
(11) search and rescue dogs working with civil-
ian or law enforcement handlers make United States 
communities and the Nation safer when they assist 
with the rescue of lost children, seniors, and other 
at-risk individuals, including in the event of natural 
or manmade disasters, for example— 
(A) service animals have supported search 
and rescue missions after terrorist attacks, in-
cluding September 11 and the Oklahoma City 
bombing; and 
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(B) service animals have supported local 
search and rescue missions involving lost chil-
dren, such as— 
(i) the service dog Mercy, a blood-
hound with the Lee County, Florida, Sher-
iff’s department, who tracked a 12-year-old 
girl for more than a half mile through 
thick woods after she went missing during 
Tropical Storm Elsa in July 2021; and 
(ii) the service dog Gandalf, trained 
by the South Carolina Search and Rescue 
Dog Association, who found a 12-year-old 
boy who had vanished from a campsite in 
the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Caro-
lina in March 2019; 
(12) the extraordinary abilities of service ani-
mals, including smell, sensing, hearing, eyesight, and 
empathy, make them uniquely capable of helping hu-
mans, including by assisting with the identification 
of illegal drugs, detecting an impending seizure, 
hearing a person buried beneath rubble, or seeing an 
expensive or vital tool dropped by a naval diver; 
(13) service animals provide well-documented 
value to human health, safety, and security; and 
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(14) the National Service Animals Memorial 
will represent a place of pride, introspection, and 
education to pay tribute to the contributions and 
sacrifices made by all service animals and their han-
dlers throughout history. 
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION TO ESTABLISH COMMEMORATIVE 
WORK. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The National Service Animals 
Monument Corporation (referred to in this section as the 
‘‘Corporation’’) may establish a commemorative work on 
Federal land in the District of Columbia and its environs 
to commemorate the heroic deeds and sacrifices of service 
animals and handlers of service animals in the United 
States. 
(b) COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS FOR COMMEMO-
RATIVE WORKS.—The establishment of the commemora-
tive work under this section shall be in accordance with 
chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code (commonly 
known as the ‘‘Commemorative Works Act’’). 
(c) PROHIBITION
ON
THE
USE
OF
FEDERAL 
FUNDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Federal funds may not be 
used to pay any expense of the establishment of the 
commemorative work under this section. 
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with the National Park Foundation for memorials, 
to be available to the Secretary of the Interior or the 
Administrator of General Services, as appropriate, in 
accordance with the process provided in section 
8906(b)(4) of title 40, United States Code, for ac-
counts established under paragraph (2) or (3) of 
section 8906(b) of such title. 
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Union Calendar No. 364 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6353 
[Report No. 117–468] 
A BILL 
To authorize the National Service Animals Monu-
ment Corporation to establish a commemorative 
work in the District of Columbia and its envi-
rons, and for other purposes. 
SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
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