Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Takano for yielding.

I rise today in support of H.R. 4305, the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act. This important bipartisan legislation will create a pilot program within the Department of Veterans Affairs to give veterans access to treatment derived from working with service dogs.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the gentleman from Ohio, Representative Stivers, for his tireless leadership on this legislation. I deeply appreciate his dedication to our Nation's veterans.

Mr. Speaker, thousands of veterans, between 11 and 20 percent, experience post-traumatic stress disorder. Too many of the men and women who serve our country return home with unseen trauma that can make it hard to carry out daily activities, like going to work or going to school. We owe it to our veterans to make sure that they have the resources they need to recover.

In November, I had the opportunity to spend some time with a Vietnam veteran named Walter Parker and his service dog, Jackson. Walter shared how his partnership with Jackson has dramatically improved his life. Jackson helps Walter participate in activities that we all take for granted, like going to the movies or the grocery store. Their bond has been instrumental in Walter's continuing recovery.

His story is not unique. Researchers, doctors, and veterans, themselves, all report the same thing: Service dogs soothe the invisible wounds of war.

Under the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act, the VA will partner with nonprofit organizations working with veterans and service dogs to create work-therapy programs that help veterans learn the art and science of training dogs. After completing the program, the veterans may adopt their dogs to provide continued therapy.

Mission-based therapy has been proven to be a successful means of treating PTSD, and this legislation will enable more veterans to access the care that service dogs can provide.

Mr. Speaker, Walter and Jackson and countless other vets and their service dogs are proof that this therapy works. We owe it to our veterans to explore creative ways to help them after they have given so much to our country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important and innovative legislation and give veterans the treatment they need and deserve.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I do want to give a shout-out to former Congressman Ron DeSantis, now Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, who championed this legislation.

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