118 HR 4809 IH: Service Dogs Assisting Veterans Act
U.S. House of Representatives
2023-07-20
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I
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4809
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 20, 2023
Mr. Santos introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a grant program for the provision of service dogs to eligible veterans, and for other purposes.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Service Dogs Assisting Veterans Act” or the “SAVES Act”.
2.

Grant program for provision of service dogs to veterans
(a)

In general
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting through the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs, shall establish a program under which the Secretary may award grants, on a competitive basis, to nonprofit organizations determined eligible by the Secretary under subsection (b) to assist such organizations in carrying out programs to provide service dogs to eligible veterans.
(b)

Applications
(1)

Submission
To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a nonprofit organization shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
(2)

Elements
An application submitted under paragraph (1) shall include the following:
(A)
A proposal for the evaluation required under subsection (d)(2).
(B)
A description of, with respect to the program to be planned, designed, established, or operated using grant amounts, the following:
(i)
The training to be provided to eligible veterans by the organization in connection with the program.
(ii)
The training of dogs that will serve as service dogs under the program.
(iii)
The aftercare services to be provided to such dogs and eligible veterans by the organization under the program.
(iv)
The plan for publicizing the availability of such dogs under the program through a marketing campaign that targets eligible veterans.
(v)
The commitment of the organization to have humane standards for animals.
(C)
A statement certifying that the organization is accredited by the organization known as “Assistance Dogs International”, or successor organization, or another accreditation organization that the Secretary determines is similarly widely recognized and has accreditation standards that meet or exceed the standards of Assistance Dogs International.
(c)

Use of funds
A recipient of a grant under this section may only use the grant amounts so received to plan, design, establish, or operate one or more programs that provide service dogs to eligible veterans.
(d)

Conditions
As a condition of awarding a grant to a nonprofit organization under this section, the Secretary shall require that each such organization agree to—
(1)
provide equal access to service dogs to eligible veterans who are women; and
(2)
conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities carried out by the organization using grant amounts.
(e)

Maximum amount
The total amount of grants awarded to each nonprofit organization under this section may not exceed $2,000,000.
(f)

Definitions
In this section:
(1)
The term “covered disability” means any of the following:
(A)
Blindness or visual impairment.
(B)
Loss of use of a limb, paralysis, or other significant mobility issue.
(C)
Loss of hearing.
(D)
Traumatic brain injury.
(E)
Post-traumatic stress disorder.
(F)
Military sexual trauma.
(G)
Any other disability that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs considers appropriate.
(2)
The term “covered service”, with respect to a dog—
(A)
means the conduct of work or performance of tasks by the dog—
(i)
for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical or sensory disability or a psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability; and
(ii)
directly related to the disability of the individual; and
(B)
does not include—
(i)
the crime-deterrent effects of the presence of the dog; or
(ii)
the provision by the dog of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship.
(3)
The term eligible veteran means a veteran who—
(A)
is enrolled in the system of annual patient enrollment of the Department of Veterans Affairs established and operated under section 1705(a) of title 38, United States Code; and
(B)
has at least one covered disability.
(4)
The term service dog means any dog that is individually trained to provide covered service.
(g)

Authorization of appropriations
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.