[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8571 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8571

To require the Attorney General to establish a grant program to assist 
  with the medical expenses of qualified working dogs, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2024

  Mr. James (for himself and Ms. Wild) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition 
   to the Committees on Armed Services, and Veterans' Affairs, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Attorney General to establish a grant program to assist 
  with the medical expenses of qualified working dogs, 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 ``Protecting America's Working Dogs 
Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Department of Defense utilizes approximately 1,600 
        military working dogs to protect our nation and keep United 
        States military personnel out of harm's way.
            (2) Military working dogs have played an integral role in 
        the success of numerous operations and missions, including the 
        raids which resulted in the deaths of Osama bin Laden, the 
        founder of al-Qaeda, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of 
        ISIS.
            (3) Working dogs play a critical role in assisting our 
        Armed Forces and Federal and local law enforcement in 
        protecting Americans and defending freedom at home and abroad.
            (4) Within the Federal Government, working dogs assist the 
        U.S. Capitol Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 
        and Explosives, the Transportation Security Administration, the 
        Department of Defense, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and 
        the Federal Bureau of Investigation, amongst other Federal 
        departments and agencies.
            (5) Almost all working dogs work in tandem with our Armed 
        Forces and law enforcement officers until they are no longer 
        medically able, at which point they are medically separated.
            (6) The future of retired working dogs with respect to 
        ownership and provision of medical services is often unclear 
        after the working dog is retired.
            (7) The medical treatment required by many former working 
        dogs is significant enough that it creates a hardship for the 
        individuals, often former partners, who take in these canine 
        heroes and become responsible for their medical costs.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM TO FUND COVERED MEDICAL EXPENSES FOR QUALIFIED 
              WORKING DOGS.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 fiscal year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and each fiscal year thereafter for 4 fiscal 
years, the Attorney General shall carry out a program under which the 
Attorney General may award grants, each in amounts not to exceed 
$575,000, to eligible nonprofit organizations to assist with the 
covered medical expenses of qualified working dogs.
    (b) Eligibility.--A nonprofit organization is eligible to receive a 
grant under this section if the organization--
            (1) primarily exists to care for qualified working dogs;
            (2) provides medically related financial assistance to 
        owners of qualified working dogs;
            (3) allocates not less than 70 percent of its spending 
        towards program expenses directly related to assisting with the 
        covered medical expenses of qualified working dogs; and
            (4) separately states the veterinary expenses of such 
        organization on the Internal Revenue Service Form 990 filed by 
        such organization with the Internal Revenue Service.
    (c) Application.--To receive a grant under this section, a 
nonprofit organization shall submit to the Attorney General an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Attorney General may require, including information 
that demonstrates that the nonprofit organization meets the eligibility 
requirements under subsection (b).
    (d) Use of Funds.--A recipient of a grant under this section shall 
use such grant to pay for covered medical expenses of qualified working 
dogs.
    (e) Grant Amount Reduction.--A grant amount awarded to an eligible 
nonprofit organization for a fiscal year pursuant to this section shall 
be reduced by an amount equal to the total amount of unexpended grant 
funds awarded under this section in previous fiscal years.
    (f) Report.--The Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report 
that details--
            (1) the number of qualified working dogs assisted pursuant 
        to a grant awarded under this section; and
            (2) the average medical expenses for each qualified working 
        dog assisted pursuant to a grant awarded under this section.
    (g) Definitions.--In this Act--
            (1) the term ``covered medical expenses'' means any 
        expenses related to medical treatment and care of qualified 
        working dogs, including veterinarian office visits, medical 
        procedures, diagnostic tests, and medications or medically 
        necessary supplements;
            (2) the term ``qualified working dog'' means--
                    (A) a retired dog that worked for the Federal 
                Government, including the Armed Forces, to carry out 
                military, security, or law enforcement activity; and
                    (B) a service dog that works for an individual who 
                is a veteran or a retired Federal law enforcement 
                officer; and
            (3) the term ``veteran'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
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