[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3137 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3137

To establish a grant program to encourage the use of assistance dogs by 
                  certain members of the Armed Forces.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 5, 2019

 Mr. McGovern (for himself, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Cohen, Ms. DeLauro, Ms. 
  Norton, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Peters, Ms. Frankel, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. 
Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Welch, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Price of 
  North Carolina, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Sean Patrick 
    Maloney of New York, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Moulton, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. 
   Quigley, Mrs. Walorski, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Lee of California, Mrs. 
 Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Mr. Neal, Mr. Swalwell of California, 
  and Mr. Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a grant program to encourage the use of assistance dogs by 
                  certain members of the Armed Forces.

    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 ``Wounded Warrior Service Dog Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. WOUNDED WARRIOR K-9 CORPS.

    (a) Grants Authorized.--Subject to the availability of 
appropriations provided for such purpose, the Secretary of Defense 
shall establish a program, to be known as the ``K-9 Service Corps 
Program'', to award competitive grants to nonprofit organizations to 
assist such organizations in the planning, designing, establishing, or 
operating (or any combination thereof) of programs to provide 
assistance dogs to covered members.
    (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 who have a disability 
        described 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.
                    (F) Any other disability that the Secretary 
                considers appropriate.
            (3) Timing of award.--The Secretary may not award a grant 
        under this section to reimburse a recipient for costs 
        previously incurred by the recipient in carrying out a program 
        to provide assistance dogs to covered members unless the 
        recipient elects for the award to be such a reimbursement.
    (c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, a nonprofit organization shall submit an application to the 
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information 
as the Secretary 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;
                    (B) the training of dogs that will serve as 
                assistance dogs;
                    (C) the aftercare services that the organization 
                will provide for such dogs and covered members;
                    (D) the plan for publicizing the availability of 
                such dogs through a targeted marketing campaign to 
                covered members;
                    (E) the recognized expertise of the organization in 
                breeding and training such dogs;
                    (F) the commitment of the organization to humane 
                standards for animals; and
                    (G) the experience of the organization with working 
                with military medical treatment facilities; and
            (3) a statement certifying that the organization--
                    (A) is accredited by Assistance Dogs International, 
                the International Guide Dog Federation, or another 
                similar widely recognized accreditation organization 
                that the Secretaries determine has accreditation 
                standards that meet or exceed the standards of 
                Assistance Dogs International and the International 
                Guide Dog Federation; or
                    (B) is a candidate for such accreditation or 
                otherwise meets or exceeds such standards, as 
                determined by the Secretary.
    (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:
            (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 comfort or personal defense.
            (2) Covered member.--The term ``covered member'' means a 
        member of the Armed Forces who is--
                    (A) receiving medical treatment, recuperation, or 
                therapy under chapter 55 of title 10, United States 
                Code;
                    (B) in medical hold or medical holdover status; or
                    (C) covered under section 1202 or 1205 of title 10, 
                United States Code.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act $11,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2020 through 2024.
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