118 HR 5885 IH: Honoring Police Officer and K9 Service Act of 2023 U.S. House of Representatives 2023-10-25 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.

I118th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 5885IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESOctober 3, 2023Mr. Feenstra introduced the following billOctober 25, 2023Referred to the Committee on the JudiciaryA BILLTo establish a grant program to facilitate the veterinary care of former law enforcement canines, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Honoring Police Officer and K9 Service Act of 2023.

2.

Grant program to facilitate veterinary care for former law enforcement canines

(a)

Establishment

Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a grant program to facilitate the care of former law enforcement canines (in this section referred to as the program).(b)

Grant authority and eligible recipients

In carrying out the program, the Attorney General may award a grant on a competitive basis to any entity that qualifies as a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and that the Attorney General determines has—(1)a demonstrated history of successfully assisting the owners of former law enforcement canines with costs associated with veterinary care, medication and antibiotics, or other medical expenses for the canine; and(2)the capacity to record and provide a detailed accounting of the purposes for which grant amounts are expended. (c)

Eligible projects

A recipient of a grant under the program may only use grant funds to cover the costs associated with veterinary care, medication and antibiotics, or other medical expenses determined necessary by a veterinarian for the former law enforcement canine.(d)

Applications

To be eligible for a grant under the Program, an entity shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such form, and containing such information as the Attorney General determines appropriate.(e)

Reports

(1)

Reports to Attorney General

As a condition of receiving a grant under the program, a prospective recipient shall agree to submit to the Attorney General, on an annual basis for the duration of the project to be carried out using grant funds a report containing, with respect to the year covered by the report—(A)a detailed accounting of how grant funds were used; and(B)a proposal for how activities carried out under the project may be improved in the future.(2)

Submission to Congress

Upon receiving a report under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall submit a copy of the report to Congress.(f)

Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2024.(g)

Former law enforcement canine defined

In this section, the term former law enforcement canine means a canine that has been used by a Federal, State, or local agency in the performance of law enforcement duties and that has been determined by such agency to be no longer needed for official purposes.