| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 2605 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants to nonprofit |
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| 6 | 6 | | organizations to assist such organizations in carrying out programs to |
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| 7 | 7 | | provide service dogs to eligible veterans, and for other purposes. |
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| 8 | 8 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 9 | 9 | | APRIL2, 2025 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Mr. L |
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| 11 | 11 | | UTTRELL(for himself, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mr. CISCOMANI, Mr. |
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| 12 | 12 | | B |
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| 13 | 13 | | UCHANAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. VANORDEN, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. DAVISof |
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| 14 | 14 | | North Carolina, Ms. T |
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| 15 | 15 | | ENNEY, Mr. HUNT, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. CROW, Mrs. |
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| 16 | 16 | | R |
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| 17 | 17 | | ADEWAGEN, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mrs. KIGGANSof Virginia, Mr. |
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| 18 | 18 | | D |
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| 19 | 19 | | ELUZIO, Ms. MACE, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. LAWLER, |
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| 20 | 20 | | Mr. R |
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| 21 | 21 | | ULLI, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. GOLDMANof Texas, Mr. PFLUGER, Ms. |
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| 22 | 22 | | K |
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| 23 | 23 | | ING-HINDS, and Mr. LALOTA) introduced the following bill; which was |
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| 24 | 24 | | referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs |
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| 25 | 25 | | A BILL |
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| 26 | 26 | | To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants |
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| 27 | 27 | | to nonprofit organizations to assist such organizations |
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| 28 | 28 | | in carrying out programs to provide service dogs to eligi- |
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| 29 | 29 | | ble veterans, and for other purposes. |
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| 30 | 30 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 31 | 31 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 32 | 32 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 33 | 33 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Service Dogs Assisting 4 |
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| 34 | 34 | | Veterans Act’’ or the ‘‘SAVES Act’’. 5 |
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| 36 | 36 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 |
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| 37 | 37 | | •HR 2605 IH |
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| 38 | 38 | | SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PRO-1 |
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| 39 | 39 | | GRAM TO AWARD GRANTS FOR THE PROVI-2 |
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| 40 | 40 | | SION OF SERVICE DOGS TO VETERANS. 3 |
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| 41 | 41 | | (a) I |
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| 42 | 42 | | NGENERAL.— 4 |
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| 43 | 43 | | (1) P |
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| 44 | 44 | | ILOT PROGRAM REQUIRED .—Not later 5 |
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| 45 | 45 | | than 24 months after the date of the enactment of 6 |
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| 46 | 46 | | this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall es-7 |
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| 47 | 47 | | tablish a pilot program under which the Secretary 8 |
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| 48 | 48 | | shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to non-9 |
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| 49 | 49 | | profit entities to provide service dogs to eligible vet-10 |
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| 50 | 50 | | erans. 11 |
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| 51 | 51 | | (2) D |
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| 52 | 52 | | URATION.—The Secretary shall carry out 12 |
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| 53 | 53 | | the pilot program during the five-year period begin-13 |
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| 54 | 54 | | ning on the date on which the first grant is awarded 14 |
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| 55 | 55 | | under this section. 15 |
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| 56 | 56 | | (b) A |
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| 57 | 57 | | PPLICATIONS.— 16 |
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| 58 | 58 | | (1) I |
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| 59 | 59 | | N GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 17 |
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| 60 | 60 | | grant under this section, a nonprofit entity shall 18 |
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| 61 | 61 | | submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 19 |
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| 62 | 62 | | in such manner, and containing such commitments 20 |
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| 63 | 63 | | and information as the Secretary may require. 21 |
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| 64 | 64 | | (2) E |
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| 65 | 65 | | LEMENTS.—An application submitted 22 |
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| 66 | 66 | | under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 23 |
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| 67 | 67 | | (A) A proposal for the provision of service 24 |
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| 68 | 68 | | dogs to eligible veterans, including how the non-25 |
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| 69 | 69 | | profit entity will communicate with the Sec-26 |
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| 71 | 71 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 |
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| 72 | 72 | | •HR 2605 IH |
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| 73 | 73 | | retary to ensure an increasing number of serv-1 |
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| 74 | 74 | | ice dogs are provided to veterans. 2 |
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| 75 | 75 | | (B) A description of the following: 3 |
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| 76 | 76 | | (i) The training that will be provided 4 |
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| 77 | 77 | | by the nonprofit entity to eligible veterans. 5 |
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| 78 | 78 | | (ii) The training of dogs that will 6 |
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| 79 | 79 | | serve as service dogs. 7 |
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| 80 | 80 | | (iii) Any additional support or services 8 |
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| 81 | 81 | | the nonprofit entity will provide for such 9 |
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| 82 | 82 | | dogs and eligible veterans. 10 |
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| 83 | 83 | | (iv) The plan for publicizing the avail-11 |
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| 84 | 84 | | ability of such dogs through a marketing 12 |
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| 85 | 85 | | campaign that targets eligible veterans. 13 |
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| 86 | 86 | | (v) The commitment of the nonprofit 14 |
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| 87 | 87 | | entity to have humane standards for ani-15 |
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| 88 | 88 | | mals. 16 |
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| 89 | 89 | | (C) Documentation that demonstrates that 17 |
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| 90 | 90 | | the nonprofit entity has experience in training 18 |
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| 91 | 91 | | dogs as service animals. 19 |
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| 92 | 92 | | (c) A |
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| 93 | 93 | | WARD OFGRANTS.— 20 |
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| 94 | 94 | | (1) I |
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| 95 | 95 | | N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award a 21 |
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| 96 | 96 | | grant to each nonprofit entity for which the Sec-22 |
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| 97 | 97 | | retary has approved an application submitted under 23 |
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| 98 | 98 | | subsection (b)(1). 24 |
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| 100 | 100 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 |
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| 101 | 101 | | •HR 2605 IH |
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| 102 | 102 | | (2) AGREEMENT REQUIRED .—Before the provi-1 |
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| 103 | 103 | | sion of any grant amounts to a nonprofit entity se-2 |
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| 104 | 104 | | lected to receive a grant under this section, the Sec-3 |
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| 105 | 105 | | retary shall enter into an agreement, containing 4 |
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| 106 | 106 | | such terms, conditions, and limitations as the Sec-5 |
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| 107 | 107 | | retary determines appropriate, with such entity. 6 |
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| 108 | 108 | | (3) M |
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| 109 | 109 | | AXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT .—A grant under 7 |
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| 110 | 110 | | this section may not exceed $2,000,000. 8 |
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| 111 | 111 | | (4) P |
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| 112 | 112 | | AYMENTS.—The Secretary shall establish 9 |
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| 113 | 113 | | intervals of payment for the administration of each 10 |
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| 114 | 114 | | grant awarded under this section. 11 |
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| 115 | 115 | | (d) U |
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| 116 | 116 | | SE OFFUNDS.— 12 |
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| 117 | 117 | | (1) I |
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| 118 | 118 | | N GENERAL.—A recipient of a grant under 13 |
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| 119 | 119 | | this section shall use the grant amounts to plan, de-14 |
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| 120 | 120 | | velop, implement, or manage (or any combination 15 |
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| 121 | 121 | | thereof) one or more programs that provide service 16 |
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| 122 | 122 | | dogs to eligible veterans. 17 |
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| 123 | 123 | | (2) A |
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| 124 | 124 | | DMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES .—The Sec-18 |
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| 125 | 125 | | retary may establish a maximum amount for each 19 |
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| 126 | 126 | | grant awarded under this section that may be used 20 |
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| 127 | 127 | | by the recipient of the grant to cover administrative 21 |
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| 128 | 128 | | expenses. 22 |
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| 129 | 129 | | (3) O |
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| 130 | 130 | | THER CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS .— 23 |
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| 131 | 131 | | The Secretary may establish other conditions or lim-24 |
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| 133 | 133 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 |
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| 134 | 134 | | •HR 2605 IH |
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| 135 | 135 | | itations on the use of grant amounts under this sec-1 |
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| 136 | 136 | | tion. 2 |
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| 137 | 137 | | (e) R |
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| 138 | 138 | | EQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTRECIPIENTS.— 3 |
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| 139 | 139 | | (1) N |
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| 140 | 140 | | OTIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION .—A re-4 |
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| 141 | 141 | | cipient of a grant under this section shall— 5 |
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| 142 | 142 | | (A) notify each veteran who receives a 6 |
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| 143 | 143 | | service dog through such grant that the service 7 |
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| 144 | 144 | | dog is being paid for, in whole or in part, by 8 |
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| 145 | 145 | | the Department of Veterans Affairs; and 9 |
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| 146 | 146 | | (B) inform each such veteran of the bene-10 |
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| 147 | 147 | | fits and services available from the Secretary 11 |
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| 148 | 148 | | for the veteran and the service dog. 12 |
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| 149 | 149 | | (2) P |
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| 150 | 150 | | ROHIBITION ON CERTAIN FEES .—A recipi-13 |
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| 151 | 151 | | ent of a grant under this section may not charge a 14 |
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| 152 | 152 | | fee to a veteran receiving a service dog through such 15 |
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| 153 | 153 | | grant. 16 |
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| 154 | 154 | | (f) V |
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| 155 | 155 | | ETERINARYINSURANCE.— 17 |
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| 156 | 156 | | (1) I |
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| 157 | 157 | | N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 18 |
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| 158 | 158 | | to each veteran who receives a service dog through 19 |
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| 159 | 159 | | a grant under this section a commercially available 20 |
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| 160 | 160 | | veterinary insurance policy for the service dog. 21 |
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| 161 | 161 | | (2) C |
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| 162 | 162 | | ONTINUATION.—If the Secretary provides 22 |
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| 163 | 163 | | a veterinary insurance policy to a veteran under 23 |
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| 164 | 164 | | paragraph (1), the Secretary shall continue to pro-24 |
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| 166 | 166 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 |
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| 167 | 167 | | •HR 2605 IH |
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| 168 | 168 | | vide the policy to the veteran without regard to the 1 |
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| 169 | 169 | | continuation or termination of the pilot program. 2 |
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| 170 | 170 | | (g) T |
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| 171 | 171 | | RAINING ANDTECHNICALASSISTANCE.—The 3 |
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| 172 | 172 | | Secretary may provide training and technical assistance 4 |
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| 173 | 173 | | to recipients of grants under this section. 5 |
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| 174 | 174 | | (h) O |
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| 175 | 175 | | VERSIGHT ANDMONITORING.— 6 |
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| 176 | 176 | | (1) I |
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| 177 | 177 | | N GENERAL.—The Secretary— 7 |
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| 178 | 178 | | (A) shall establish such oversight and mon-8 |
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| 179 | 179 | | itoring requirements as the Secretary deter-9 |
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| 180 | 180 | | mines appropriate to ensure that grant amounts 10 |
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| 181 | 181 | | awarded under this section are used appro-11 |
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| 182 | 182 | | priately; and 12 |
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| 183 | 183 | | (B) may take such actions as the Secretary 13 |
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| 184 | 184 | | determines necessary to address any issues 14 |
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| 185 | 185 | | identified through the enforcement of such re-15 |
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| 186 | 186 | | quirements. 16 |
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| 187 | 187 | | (2) R |
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| 188 | 188 | | EPORTS AND ANSWERS .—The Secretary 17 |
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| 189 | 189 | | may require each recipient of a grant under this sec-18 |
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| 190 | 190 | | tion to provide, in such form as may be prescribed 19 |
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| 191 | 191 | | by the Secretary, such reports or answers in writing 20 |
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| 192 | 192 | | to specific questions, surveys, or questionnaires as 21 |
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| 193 | 193 | | the Secretary determines necessary to carry out the 22 |
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| 194 | 194 | | pilot program. 23 |
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| 195 | 195 | | (i) D |
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| 196 | 196 | | EFINITIONS.—In this section: 24 |
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| 198 | 198 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 |
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| 199 | 199 | | •HR 2605 IH |
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| 200 | 200 | | (1) The term ‘‘eligible veteran’’ means a vet-1 |
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| 201 | 201 | | eran who has a covered condition=. 2 |
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| 202 | 202 | | (2) The term ‘‘covered condition’’ means any of 3 |
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| 203 | 203 | | the following: 4 |
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| 204 | 204 | | (A) Blindness or visual impairment. 5 |
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| 205 | 205 | | (B) Loss of use of a limb, paralysis, or 6 |
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| 206 | 206 | | other significant mobility issue, including men-7 |
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| 207 | 207 | | tal health mobility. 8 |
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| 208 | 208 | | (C) Loss of hearing. 9 |
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| 209 | 209 | | (D) Post-traumatic stress disorder. 10 |
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| 210 | 210 | | (E) Traumatic brain injury. 11 |
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| 211 | 211 | | (F) Any other disability, condition, or di-12 |
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| 212 | 212 | | agnosis for which the Secretary determines, 13 |
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| 213 | 213 | | based on medical judgment, that it is optimal 14 |
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| 214 | 214 | | for the veteran to manage the disability, condi-15 |
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| 215 | 215 | | tion, or diagnosis, and live independently 16 |
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| 216 | 216 | | through the assistance of a service dog. 17 |
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| 217 | 217 | | (3) The term ‘‘service animal’’ has the meaning 18 |
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| 218 | 218 | | given such term in section 36.104 of title 28, Code 19 |
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| 219 | 219 | | of Federal Regulations (or successor regulation). 20 |
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| 220 | 220 | | (4) The term ‘‘service dog’’ means any dog that 21 |
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| 221 | 221 | | is individually trained to do work or perform tasks 22 |
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| 222 | 222 | | that are— 23 |
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| 223 | 223 | | (A) for the benefit of a veteran with a cov-24 |
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| 224 | 224 | | ered condition; and 25 |
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| 226 | 226 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8 |
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| 227 | 227 | | •HR 2605 IH |
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| 228 | 228 | | (B) directly related to the covered condi-1 |
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| 229 | 229 | | tion of the veteran. 2 |
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| 230 | 230 | | (j) A |
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| 231 | 231 | | UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 3 |
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| 232 | 232 | | authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 4 |
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| 233 | 233 | | $10,000,000 for each of the five consecutive fiscal years 5 |
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| 234 | 234 | | following the fiscal year in which the pilot program is es-6 |
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| 235 | 235 | | tablished under subsection (a). 7 |
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| 236 | 236 | | Æ |
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