National Service Animals Memorial Act
Bill: S.3438 | Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard (D-CT)
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
National Service Animals Memorial Act
This bill authorizes the National Service Animals Monument Corporation to establish a commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia to commemorate the heroic deeds and sacrifices of service animals and handlers of service animals in the United States.
The corporation shall be solely responsible for the acceptance of contributions for, and the payment of the expenses of, the establishment of the commemorative work.
The establishment of the commemorative work shall be in accordance with the Commemorative Works Act.
Federal funds may not be used to pay any expenses for the establishment of the commemorative work.

To authorize the National Service Animals Monument Corporation to 
  establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its 
                   environs, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Service Animals Memorial 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the mission of the National Service Animals Monument 
        Corporation is to honor and recognize the broad scope of 
        service animals, including working animals, through the 
        establishment of a memorial to educate the public about the 
        contributions made by service animals and the human-animal bond 
        between service animals and the handlers of the service 
        animals, regardless of whether the handler is an individual 
        with a disability, a law enforcement officer, military 
        personnel, or any other individual;
            (2) in 1929, formalized service animal work began when the 
        Eustice School in New Jersey established 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;
            (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 
        when--
                    (A) during the Revolutionary War, horses served in 
                combat carrying soldiers and 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 attached 
                        to the legs of the pigeons that were used to 
                        send communications that saved the lives of 
                        countless soldiers, resulting in many pigeons 
                        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 servicemembers by 
                        clearing areas of improvised explosion devices; 
                        and
                            (ii) as 1 example, Lucca, a German 
                        Shepherd-Belgian Malinois service dog--
                                    (I) was employed by the United 
                                States Marine Corps for 6 years;
                                    (II) was trained to detect 
                                explosives;
                                    (III) deployed twice to Iraq and 
                                once to Afghanistan;
                                    (IV) supported over 400 missions 
                                without a single human fatality; and
                                    (V) sustained an injury and 
                                amputation in 2012 due to an improvised 
                                explosive device while on patrol in 
                                Afghanistan;
            (6) the bonds formed between law enforcement and military 
        personnel and working dogs are so strong that the personnel and 
        dogs have willingly risked their lives to save each other;
            (7) the tasks that service dogs perform for individuals 
        with disabilities are essential activities of daily living, 
        such as--
                    (A) guiding individuals with visual impairments;
                    (B) signaling sounds for individuals who are deaf;
                    (C) retrieving items for individuals with mobility 
                issues;
                    (D) alerting the individuals about impending 
                cardiac episodes or seizures;
                    (E) turning on lights for the individuals;
                    (F) providing stability for the individuals while 
                the individuals are standing; and
                    (G) pressing elevator and accessibility buttons for 
                the individuals;
            (8) in addition to the help of service animals with 
        functional tasks and missions, the human-animal bond provides 
        handlers the ability to--
                    (A) live independently;
                    (B) work confidently; and
                    (C) socialize freely;
            (9) shelter dogs can be trained as service animals;
            (10) service animals, such as horses and dogs, support--
                    (A) a variety of health and therapy services, 
                including for individuals with autism, schizophrenia, 
                depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder; and
                    (B) servicemembers and veterans who experience 
                traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress 
                disorder;
            (11) search and rescue dogs working with civilian or law 
        enforcement handlers make communities in the United States and 
        the United States overall safer when assisting with the rescue 
        of lost children, seniors, and other at-risk individuals, 
        including in the event of natural or manmade disasters, such as 
        the support by service animals of--
                    (A) search and rescue missions after terrorist 
                attacks, including the Oklahoma City bombing on April 
                19, 1995, and the terrorist attack on September 11, 
                2001; and
                    (B) local search and rescue missions involving lost 
                children, such as--
                            (i) the service dog Mercy, a bloodhound 
                        with the Lee County, Florida, Sheriff's 
                        department, who tracked a 12-year-old girl for 
                        more than half a mile through thick woods after 
                        the girl 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 Carolina in March 2019;
            (12) the extraordinary abilities of service animals, 
        including smell, sensing, hearing, eyesight, and empathy, make 
        the service animals uniquely capable of helping humans, 
        including by--
                    (A) assisting with the identification of illegal 
                drugs;
                    (B) detecting an impending seizure;
                    (C) hearing an individual buried beneath rubble; or
                    (D) 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
            (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 the handlers of service animals 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 Commemorative Works.--The 
establishment of the commemorative 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.
            (2) Responsibility of the national service animals monument 
        corporation.--The Corporation shall be solely responsible for 
        the acceptance of contributions for, and the payment of the 
        expenses of, the establishment of the commemorative work under 
        this section.
    (d) Deposit of Excess Funds.--
            (1) In general.--If, on payment of all expenses for the 
        establishment of the commemorative work under this section 
        (including the maintenance and preservation amount required by 
        section 8906(b)(1) of title 40, United States Code), there 
        remains a balance of funds received for the establishment of 
        the commemorative work, the Corporation shall transmit the 
        amount of the balance to the Secretary of the Interior for 
        deposit in the account provided for in section 8906(b)(3) of 
        title 40, United States Code.
            (2) On expiration of authority.--If, on expiration of the 
        authority for the commemorative work under section 8903(e) of 
        title 40, United States Code, there remains a balance of funds 
        received for the establishment of the commemorative work under 
        this section, the Corporation shall transmit the amount of the 
        balance to a separate account 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 accounts established under 
        paragraph (2) or (3) of section 8906(b) of that title.
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