[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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