I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2605 
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants to nonprofit 
organizations to assist such organizations in carrying out programs to 
provide service dogs to eligible veterans, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 2, 2025 
Mr. LUTTRELL
(for himself, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mr. CISCOMANI, Mr. 
BUCHANAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. VAN ORDEN, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. DAVIS of 
North Carolina, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. HUNT, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. CROW, Mrs. 
RADEWAGEN, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mrs. KIGGANS
of Virginia, Mr. 
DELUZIO, Ms. MACE, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. LAWLER, 
Mr. RULLI, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. GOLDMAN of Texas, Mr. PFLUGER, Ms. 
KING-HINDS, and Mr. LALOTA) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants 
to nonprofit organizations to assist such organizations 
in carrying out programs to provide service dogs to eligi-
ble veterans, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Service Dogs Assisting 
Veterans Act’’ or the ‘‘SAVES Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PRO-
GRAM TO AWARD GRANTS FOR THE PROVI-
SION OF SERVICE DOGS TO VETERANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) PILOT
PROGRAM
REQUIRED.—Not later 
than 24 months after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall es-
tablish a pilot program under which the Secretary 
shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to non-
profit entities to provide service dogs to eligible vet-
erans. 
(2) DURATION.—The Secretary shall carry out 
the pilot program during the five-year period begin-
ning on the date on which the first grant is awarded 
under this section. 
(b) APPLICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this section, a nonprofit entity shall 
submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 
in such manner, and containing such commitments 
and information as the Secretary may require. 
(2) 
ELEMENTS.—An 
application 
submitted 
under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 
(A) A proposal for the provision of service 
dogs to eligible veterans, including how the non-
profit entity will communicate with the Sec-
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retary to ensure an increasing number of serv-
ice dogs are provided to veterans. 
(B) A description of the following: 
(i) The training that will be provided 
by the nonprofit entity to eligible veterans. 
(ii) The training of dogs that will 
serve as service dogs. 
(iii) Any additional support or services 
the nonprofit entity will provide for such 
dogs and eligible veterans. 
(iv) The plan for publicizing the avail-
ability of such dogs through a marketing 
campaign that targets eligible veterans. 
(v) The commitment of the nonprofit 
entity to have humane standards for ani-
mals. 
(C) Documentation that demonstrates that 
the nonprofit entity has experience in training 
dogs as service animals. 
(c) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award a 
grant to each nonprofit entity for which the Sec-
retary has approved an application submitted under 
subsection (b)(1). 
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(2) AGREEMENT REQUIRED.—Before the provi-
sion of any grant amounts to a nonprofit entity se-
lected to receive a grant under this section, the Sec-
retary shall enter into an agreement, containing 
such terms, conditions, and limitations as the Sec-
retary determines appropriate, with such entity. 
(3) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant under 
this section may not exceed $2,000,000. 
(4) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall establish 
intervals of payment for the administration of each 
grant awarded under this section. 
(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a grant under 
this section shall use the grant amounts to plan, de-
velop, implement, or manage (or any combination 
thereof) one or more programs that provide service 
dogs to eligible veterans. 
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE
EXPENSES.—The Sec-
retary may establish a maximum amount for each 
grant awarded under this section that may be used 
by the recipient of the grant to cover administrative 
expenses. 
(3) OTHER CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS.— 
The Secretary may establish other conditions or lim-
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itations on the use of grant amounts under this sec-
tion. 
(e) REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT RECIPIENTS.— 
(1) NOTIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION.—A re-
cipient of a grant under this section shall— 
(A) notify each veteran who receives a 
service dog through such grant that the service 
dog is being paid for, in whole or in part, by 
the Department of Veterans Affairs; and 
(B) inform each such veteran of the bene-
fits and services available from the Secretary 
for the veteran and the service dog. 
(2) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN FEES.—A recipi-
ent of a grant under this section may not charge a 
fee to a veteran receiving a service dog through such 
grant. 
(f) VETERINARY INSURANCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 
to each veteran who receives a service dog through 
a grant under this section a commercially available 
veterinary insurance policy for the service dog. 
(2) CONTINUATION.—If the Secretary provides 
a veterinary insurance policy to a veteran under 
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall continue to pro-
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vide the policy to the veteran without regard to the 
continuation or termination of the pilot program. 
(g) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The 
Secretary may provide training and technical assistance 
to recipients of grants under this section. 
(h) OVERSIGHT AND MONITORING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary— 
(A) shall establish such oversight and mon-
itoring requirements as the Secretary deter-
mines appropriate to ensure that grant amounts 
awarded under this section are used appro-
priately; and 
(B) may take such actions as the Secretary 
determines necessary to address any issues 
identified through the enforcement of such re-
quirements. 
(2) REPORTS
AND
ANSWERS.—The Secretary 
may require each recipient of a grant under this sec-
tion to provide, in such form as may be prescribed 
by the Secretary, such reports or answers in writing 
to specific questions, surveys, or questionnaires as 
the Secretary determines necessary to carry out the 
pilot program. 
(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) The term ‘‘eligible veteran’’ means a vet-
eran who has a covered condition=. 
(2) The term ‘‘covered condition’’ means any of 
the following: 
(A) Blindness or visual impairment. 
(B) Loss of use of a limb, paralysis, or 
other significant mobility issue, including men-
tal health mobility. 
(C) Loss of hearing. 
(D) Post-traumatic stress disorder. 
(E) Traumatic brain injury. 
(F) Any other disability, condition, or di-
agnosis for which the Secretary determines, 
based on medical judgment, that it is optimal 
for the veteran to manage the disability, condi-
tion, or diagnosis, and live independently 
through the assistance of a service dog. 
(3) The term ‘‘service animal’’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 36.104 of title 28, Code 
of Federal Regulations (or successor regulation). 
(4) The term ‘‘service dog’’ means any dog that 
is individually trained to do work or perform tasks 
that are— 
(A) for the benefit of a veteran with a cov-
ered condition; and 
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(B) directly related to the covered condi-
tion of the veteran. 
(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$10,000,000 for each of the five consecutive fiscal years 
following the fiscal year in which the pilot program is es-
tablished under subsection (a). 
Æ 
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