I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2493 
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 
MAY 21, 2015 
Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. POCAN, Ms. CLARKE of New 
York, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. NEAL, Mr. 
LIPINSKI, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. DELANEY, 
Ms. TITUS, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. MOORE, Mr. QUIGLEY, and Mr. HONDA) 
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 assist-
ance dogs by certain members of the Armed Forces 
and veterans. 
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 ‘‘Wounded Warrior 
Service Dog Act of 2015’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:25 May 28, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2493.IH
H2493
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. WOUNDED WARRIOR K–9 CORPS. 
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the avail-
ability of appropriations provided for such purpose, the 
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs shall jointly establish a program, to be known as the 
‘‘K–9 Companion Corps Program’’, to award competitive 
grants to nonprofit organizations to assist such organiza-
tions in the planning, designing, establishing, or operating 
(or any combination thereof) of programs to provide as-
sistance dogs to covered members and veterans. 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The recipient of a grant 
under this section shall use the grant to carry out 
programs that provide assistance dogs to covered 
members and veterans who have a disability de-
scribed in paragraph (2). 
(2) DISABILITY.—A disability described in this 
paragraph is any of the following: 
(A) Blindness or visual impairment. 
(B) Loss of use of a limb, paralysis, or 
other significant mobility issues. 
(C) Loss of hearing. 
(D) Traumatic brain injury. 
(E) Post-traumatic stress disorder. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:25 May 28, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2493.IH
H2493
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(F) Any other disability that the Secretary 
of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs consider appropriate. 
(3) TIMING OF AWARD.—The Secretaries may 
not award a grant under this section to reimburse 
a recipient for costs previously incurred by the re-
cipient in carrying out a program to provide assist-
ance dogs to covered members and veterans unless 
the recipient elects for the award to be such a reim-
bursement. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, a nonprofit organization shall submit 
an application to the Secretary of Defense and the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Secretary of De-
fense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may require. 
Such application shall include— 
(1) a proposal for the evaluation required by 
subsection (d); and 
(2) a description of— 
(A) the training that will be provided by 
the organization to covered members and vet-
erans; 
(B) the training of dogs that will serve as 
assistance dogs; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:25 May 28, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2493.IH
H2493
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(C) the aftercare services that the organi-
zation will provide for such dogs and covered 
members and veterans; 
(D) the plan for publicizing the availability 
of such dogs through a targeted marketing 
campaign to covered members and veterans; 
(E) the recognized expertise of the organi-
zation in breeding and training such dogs; 
(F) the commitment of the organization to 
comparable standards as that of the Inter-
national Guide Dog Federation or Assistance 
Dogs International; 
(G) the commitment of the organization to 
humane standards for animals; and 
(H) the experience of the organization with 
working with military medical treatment facili-
ties or medical facilities of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs. 
(d) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall require each 
recipient of a grant to use a portion of the funds made 
available through the grant to conduct an evaluation of 
the effectiveness of the activities carried out through the 
grant by such recipient. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:25 May 28, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2493.IH
H2493
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(1) ASSISTANCE
DOG.—The term ‘‘assistance 
dog’’ means a dog specifically trained to perform 
physical tasks to mitigate the effects of a disability 
described in subsection (b)(2), except that the term 
does not include a dog specifically trained for com-
fort or personal defense. 
(2) COVERED MEMBERS AND VETERANS.—The 
term ‘‘covered members and veterans’’ means— 
(A) with respect to a member of the 
Armed Forces, such member who is— 
(i) receiving medical treatment, recu-
peration, or therapy under chapter 55 of 
title 10, United States Code; 
(ii) in medical hold or medical hold-
over status; or 
(iii) covered under section 1202 or 
1205 of title 10, United States Code; and 
(B) with respect to a veteran, a veteran 
who is enrolled in the health care system estab-
lished under section 1705(a) of title 38, United 
States Code. 
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:25 May 28, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H2493.IH
H2493
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS