[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6353 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 364
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6353
[Report No. 117-468]
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2022
Ms. Wild (for herself and Ms. Mace) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
September 19, 2022
Additional sponsors: Mr. Harder of California, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Levin
of California, and Ms. Stansbury
September 19, 2022
Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources; committed to the
Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to
be printed
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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 National Service Animals Monument Corporation's
mission is to honor and recognize the broad scope of service
animals, including working animals, through the creation of a
memorial to educate the public of the contributions by service
animals and the human-animal bond between service animals and
their handlers, whether a person with a disability, a law
enforcement officer, military personnel, or other handler;
(2) formalized service animal work began in 1929 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--
(A) during the Revolutionary War, horses served in
combat carrying soldiers, as well as 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 their legs 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 servicemen by clearing
areas of improvised explosion devices; and
(ii) in one example, Lucca, a German
Shepherd-Belgian Malinois service dog, was
employed by the United States Marine Corps for
6 years and trained to detect explosives,
deploying twice to Iraq and once to
Afghanistan, supporting over 400 missions
without a single human fatality, and ultimately
sustaining an injury and amputation in 2012 due
to an improvised explosive device while on
patrol in Afghanistan;
(6) the bonds formed between military personnel and law
enforcement and their working dogs are so strong that they have
risked their lives willingly to save the other;
(7) the tasks that service dogs perform for persons with
disabilities are essential activities of daily living, such as
guiding people with visual impairments, signaling sounds for
those who are deaf, retrieving items for people with mobility
issues, alerting about impending cardiac episodes or seizures,
turning on lights, providing stability for their owner while
standing, and pressing elevator and accessibility buttons;
(8) in addition to service animals' help with functional
tasks and missions, the human-animal bond provides handlers the
ability to live independently, work confidently, and socialize
freely;
(9) shelter dogs can be trained as service animals;
(10) service animals, such as horses and dogs--
(A) support a variety of health and therapy
services, including for people with autism,
schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and bipolar
disorder; and
(B) specifically, can support 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 United States communities and the
Nation safer when they assist with the rescue of lost children,
seniors, and other at-risk individuals, including in the event
of natural or manmade disasters, for example--
(A) service animals have supported search and
rescue missions after terrorist attacks, including
September 11 and the Oklahoma City bombing; and
(B) service animals have supported 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 a half mile through thick woods after
she 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
them uniquely capable of helping humans, including by assisting
with the identification of illegal drugs, detecting an
impending seizure, hearing a person buried beneath rubble, or
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 their handlers 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, upon 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, upon 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 such title.
Union Calendar No. 364
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6353
[Report No. 117-468]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 19, 2022
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the
Union and ordered to be printed