Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1448) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program on dog training therapy, and to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide service dogs to veterans with mental illnesses who do not have mobility impairments, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1448
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 ``Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act'' or the ``PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act''. SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PROGRAM ON DOG TRAINING THERAPY.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall commence the conduct of a pilot program to provide canine training to eligible veterans diagnosed with post- traumatic stress disorder (in this section referred to as ``PTSD'') as an element of a complementary and integrative health program for such veterans.
(b) Duration; Medical Centers.--
(1) Duration.--The Secretary shall carry out the pilot program under subsection (a) for a five-year period beginning on the date of the commencement of the pilot program.
(2) Medical centers.--The Secretary shall ensure that such pilot program is carried out by not fewer than five medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs located in geographically diverse areas.
(c) Agreements With Entities.--In carrying out the pilot program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall seek to enter into agreements with nongovernmental entities that the Secretary determines have the demonstrated ability to provide the canine training specified in subsection (a).
(d) Required Conditions.--The Secretary shall include in any agreement under subsection (c) conditions requiring that the nongovernmental entity seeking to enter into the agreement--
(1) submits to the Secretary certification that the entity is an accredited service dog training organization;
(2) agrees to ensure that veterans participating in the pilot program under subsection (a) receive training from certified service dog training instructors for a period of time determined appropriate by the entity;
(3) agrees to ensure that veterans participating in such pilot program are prohibited from having access to a dog under such pilot program at any time during such participation without the supervision of a certified service dog training instructor;
(4) agrees to ensure that veterans participating in such pilot program receive training in skills unique to the needs of the veteran to address or alleviate PTSD symptoms of the veteran;
(5) agrees not to use shock collars or prong collars as training tools and to use positive reinforcement training; and
(6) agrees to provide any follow-up training support specified in subsection (e)(2), as applicable.
(e) Adoption of Dog.--
(1) In general.--A veteran who has participated in the pilot program under subsection (a) may adopt a dog that the veteran assisted in training during such pilot program if the veteran and the veteran's health provider (in consultation with the entity that provided the canine training with respect to the dog under such pilot program) determine that it is in the best interest of the veteran.
(2) Follow-up training support.--If a veteran adopts a dog under paragraph (1), the entity that provided the canine training with respect to the dog under the pilot program shall provide follow-up training support for the life of the dog. Such support shall include the provision of a contact plan between the veteran and the entity that enables the veteran to seek and receive assistance from the entity to ensure the dog is being properly cared for.
(f) Eligibility for Other Care and Treatment.-- Participation in the pilot program under subsection (a) may not preclude a veteran from receiving any other medical care or treatment for PTSD furnished by the Department, including therapy, for which the veteran is otherwise eligible.
(g) Collection of Data.--In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall--
(1) develop metrics and other appropriate means to measure, with respect to veterans participating in the pilot program under subsection (a)--
(A) the number of such veterans participating;
(B) the satisfaction of such veterans with the pilot program;
(C) whether participation in the pilot program resulted in any clinically relevant improvements for such veterans, as determined by the health care provider or clinical team that referred the veteran to participate in the pilot program; and
(D) such other factors as the Secretary may determine appropriate; and
(2) establish processes to document and track the progress of such veterans under the pilot program with respect to health benefits and improvements.
(h) Report by Secretary.--Not later than one year before the date on which the pilot program under subsection (a) terminates, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report containing the recommendations of the Secretary regarding--
(1) whether to extend or make permanent the pilot program; and
(2) the feasibility and advisability of expanding the pilot program to address mental health conditions other than PTSD.
(i) GAO Briefing and Study.--
(1) Briefing.--Not later than one year after the date of the commencement of the pilot program under subsection (a), the Comptroller General of the United States shall provide to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a briefing on the methodology established for the pilot program.
(2) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date on which the pilot program terminates, the Comptroller General shall submit to the committees specified in paragraph (1) a report on the pilot program. Such report shall include an evaluation of the approach and methodology used for the pilot program with respect to--
(A) assisting veterans with PTSD; and
(B) measuring relevant metrics, such as reduction in scores under the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), improvement in psychosocial function, and therapeutic compliance.
(j) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``accredited service dog training organization'' means an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that--
(A) provides service dogs to veterans with PTSD; and
(B) is accredited by an accrediting organization with demonstrated experience, national scope, and recognized leadership and expertise in the training of service dogs and education in the use of service dogs (as determined by the Secretary).
(2) The term ``eligible veteran'' means a veteran who--
(A) is enrolled in the patient enrollment system in the Department of Veterans Affairs under section 1705 of title 38, United States Code; and
(B) has been recommended for participation in the pilot program under subsection (a) by a qualified mental health care provider or clinical team based on medical judgment that the veteran may benefit from such participation with respect to the diagnosed PTSD of the veteran.
(3) The term ``service dog training instructor'' means an instructor who provides the direct training of veterans with PTSD in the art and science of service dog training and handling. SEC. 3. PROVISION OF SERVICE DOGS AND VETERINARY INSURANCE BENEFITS TO VETERANS WITH POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER WHO DO NOT HAVE CERTAIN IMPAIRMENTS.
(a) In General.--Section 1714 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:
``(e) The Secretary may provide a service dog to a veteran under subsection (c)(3) regardless of whether the veteran has a mobility impairment.
``(f)(1) The Secretary shall provide to any veteran described in paragraph (2) a commercially available veterinary insurance policy for each dog provided to such veteran under subsection (b) or (c).
``(2) A veteran described in this paragraph is a veteran who--
``(A) is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or a visual, hearing, or substantial mobility impairment;
``(B) has received a dog under subsection (b) or (c) in connection with such disorder or impairment; and
``(C) meets such other requirements as the Secretary may prescribe.''.
(b) Applicability.--Section 1714(f) of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to a veteran provided a dog by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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Mr. TAKANO. 1448, as amended.
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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I am so pleased that we have reported Congressman Steve Stivers' bill, the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act, favorably out of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and are bringing it to the floor today with the support of over 300 Members on both sides of the aisle.
I am especially pleased to have negotiated, with the help of Ranking Member Bost, a new bipartisan version of the bill in time for Congressman Stivers to see it move before he leaves Congress.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has been a leader in offering veterans with PTSD and other invisible wounds of war a wide spectrum of evidence-based treatment options and adjunctive approaches to promote their mental health and well-being. This bill ensures that veterans can participate in service dog training through pilot program partnerships between VA and accredited service dog training nonprofit organizations across the country.
Madam Speaker, the bill also removes current impediments to VA's ability to prescribe mental health service dogs for veterans with PTSD, and a newly added section ensures that VA's current veterinary insurance benefit is also extended to those veterans receiving mental health service dogs through VA.
I therefore ask my colleagues to join me in supporting the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act.
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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Slotkin), my good friend and member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and original cosponsor of the bill.
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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I am delighted that the Veterans' Affairs Committee can, once again, unite America, including Michiganders and the Buckeye State.
I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Miss Rice), my good friend and former member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and lead Democratic cosponsor.
Miss RICE of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1448, the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act. No group in America is more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress and other mental health conditions than our veterans.
Tragically, as my friend Congressman Stivers just said, this means that 22 veterans are dying every single day by suicide. This is a crisis. We cannot look the other way. We must make sure that our veterans have access to every available mental health resource out there.
The research on this issue is clear. Service dogs are proven to help people suffering from a wide array of mental health conditions, including PTSD. I have seen the evidence of this with my own eyes. Veterans have told me that they would not be here today if it weren't for their service dog. That is how much these dogs mean and that is why this bill is so critical.
By creating a pilot program on dog training therapy at the VA and providing service dogs to veterans, this bill won't just improve lives; it will save them.
I am incredibly proud to co-lead this bipartisan bill, and I thank my friend, Representative Steve Stivers, who is a great American and a true gentleman, for introducing it.
I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this bill today. Madam Speaker, I also thank the great chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Congressman Takano.
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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker,
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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker,
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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker,
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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I also thank my colleague, the ranking member, Congressman Bost from Illinois, for his bipartisanship.
I do believe that H.R. 1448 is now in a form that would be acceptable to the Senate, and I am hopeful that it will pass.
I wish our colleague from the State of Ohio (Mr. Stivers) the best of luck on this new chapter in his life.
Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 1448, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1448, as amended.
The question was taken.
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