3.0.0 2949 2022-10-28T02:15:19Z 2022-10-28T02:15:19Z Senate S 2019-11-21 116 ssva00 Veterans' Affairs Committee Senate Standing Referred to 2019-11-21T20:38:54Z PAWS Act of 2019 116 3103 HR 2019-06-17 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. Related bill CRS 2019-11-21 ssva00 Veterans' Affairs Committee Senate Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. IntroReferral 2019-11-21 Introduced in Senate IntroReferral 10000 9 Library of Congress F000463 Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE] Deb Fischer R NE N B001288 Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] Cory Booker D NJ 2019-11-21 True T000476 Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] Thomas Tillis R NC Roland 2019-11-21 True M001197 Sen. McSally, Martha [R-AZ] Martha McSally R AZ 2019-11-21 True B000944 Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] Sherrod Brown D OH 2019-11-21 True C001056 Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] John Cornyn R TX 2019-11-21 True M000639 Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ] Robert Menendez D NJ 2019-11-21 True W000817 Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] Elizabeth Warren D MA A. 2019-11-21 True R000595 Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL] Marco Rubio R FL 2019-11-21 True S001217 Sen. Scott, Rick [R-FL] Rick Scott R FL 2019-12-04 False F000062 Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] Dianne Feinstein D CA 2019-12-12 False K000393 Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA] John Kennedy R LA Neely 2019-12-17 False R000608 Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV] Jacklyn Rosen D NV 2020-01-15 False C001113 Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] Catherine Cortez Masto D NV 2020-02-10 False C001088 Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] Christopher Coons D DE A. 2020-03-02 False Armed Forces and National Security Animal protection and human-animal relationships Congressional oversight Government studies and investigations Mammals Mental health Neurological disorders Service animals Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation Veterans' medical care Armed Forces and National Security 00 2019-11-21 Introduced in Senate 2020-05-18T16:39:41Z Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers Act of 2019 or the PAWS Act of 2019

This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a grant program for the purpose of pairing service dogs with eligible veterans. Organizations that receive grants shall provide veterinary health insurance coverage, hardware, and travel expenses for each service dog and veteran participating in the program.

Eligible veterans are those who (1) are enrolled in the VA health care system, (2) have been evaluated and treated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but remain diagnosed with PTSD, (3) may benefit from a service dog, and (4) agree to successfully complete training provided by an eligible organization. Veterans are required to see a VA health care provider at least once every 180 days to determine whether the veteran continues to benefit from a service dog.

Eligible organizations are nonprofit organizations that

  • provide service dogs to veterans with PTSD,
  • meet publicly available standards set forth by the Association of Service Dog Providers for Military Veterans,
  • have expertise in the needs of veterans with PTSD,
  • agree to cover all costs in excess of the grant amount to guarantee the benefits of the program,
  • agree to reaccept or replace a service dog provided to a veteran, and
  • submit an application to the VA.

Any improvement in PTSD symptoms as a result of the provision of a service dog shall not affect the veteran's eligibility for any other VA benefits.

The Government Accountability Office must report on the grant program.

]]> PAWS Act of 2019 Display Title PAWS Act of 2019 Short Title(s) as Introduced PAWS Act of 2019 Introduced in Senate IS Short Title(s) as Introduced Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers Act of 2019 Introduced in Senate IS Official Title as Introduced A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make grants to eligible organizations to provide service dogs to veterans with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, and for other purposes. Introduced in Senate IS Introduced in Senate 2019-11-21T05:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-116s2949is/xml/BILLS-116s2949is.xml 2019-11-21 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.