SAVES Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1441 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1441

    To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants to
nonprofit entities to assist such entities in carrying out programs to
   provide service dogs to eligible veterans, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 10, 2025

 Mr. Tillis (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Durbin, Mr.
Cramer, Ms. Slotkin, Mr. King, Ms. Rosen, and Mrs. Shaheen) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
                          on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

    To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants to
nonprofit entities to assist such entities in carrying out programs to
   provide service dogs to eligible veterans, 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 ``Service Dogs Assisting Veterans Act
of 2025'' or the ``SAVES Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PROGRAM TO AWARD GRANTS
              FOR THE PROVISION OF SERVICE DOGS TO VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Pilot program required.--Not later than 24 months after
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
        Veterans Affairs shall establish a pilot program under which
        the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to
        nonprofit entities to provide service dogs to eligible
        veterans.
            (2) Duration.--The Secretary shall carry out the pilot
        program during the five-year period beginning on the date on
        which the first grant is awarded under this section.
    (b) Applications.--
            (1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
        this section, a nonprofit entity shall submit an application to
        the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such
        commitments and information as the Secretary may require.
            (2) Elements.--An application submitted under paragraph (1)
        shall include the following:
                    (A) A proposal for the provision of service dogs to
                eligible veterans, including how the nonprofit entity
                will communicate with the Secretary to ensure an
                increasing number of service dogs are provided to such
                veterans.
                    (B) A description of the following:
                            (i) The training that will be provided by
                        the nonprofit entity to eligible veterans.
                            (ii) The training of dogs that will serve
                        as service dogs.
                            (iii) Any additional support or services
                        the nonprofit entity will provide for such dogs
                        and eligible veterans.
                            (iv) The plan for publicizing the
                        availability of such dogs through a marketing
                        campaign that targets eligible veterans.
                            (v) The commitment of the nonprofit entity
                        to have humane standards for animals.
                            (vi) The demonstrated experience of the
                        nonprofit entity in training service dogs in
                        compliance with the requirements of the
                        Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42
                        U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).
    (c) Award of Grants.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall award a grant to each
        nonprofit entity for which the Secretary has approved an
        application submitted under subsection (b)(1).
            (2) Agreement required.--Before the provision of any grant
        amounts to a nonprofit entity selected to receive a grant under
        this section, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement,
        containing such terms, conditions, and limitations as the
        Secretary determines appropriate, with such entity.
            (3) Maximum grant amount.--A grant awarded to a nonprofit
        entity under this section may not exceed $2,000,000.
            (4) Payments.--The Secretary shall establish intervals of
        payment for the administration of each grant awarded under this
        section.
    (d) Use of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--
                    (A) Requirement.--A recipient of a grant under this
                section shall use the grant amounts to plan, develop,
                implement, or manage (or any combination thereof) one
                or more covered programs.
                    (B) Covered program defined.--In this paragraph,
                the term ``covered program'' means a program under
                which--
                            (i) service dogs are provided to
                        participants in the program; and
                            (ii) only eligible veterans are allowed to
                        participate in the program.
            (2) Administrative expenses.--The Secretary may establish a
        maximum amount for each grant awarded under this section that
        may be used by the recipient of the grant to cover
        administrative expenses.
            (3) Other conditions and limitations.--The Secretary may
        establish other conditions or limitations on the use of grant
        amounts under this section.
    (e) Requirements for Grant Recipients.--
            (1) Notifications and information.--A recipient of a grant
        under this section shall--
                    (A) notify each veteran who receives a service dog
                through such grant that the service dog is being paid
                for, in whole or in part, by the Department of Veterans
                Affairs; and
                    (B) inform each such veteran of the benefits and
                services available from the Secretary for the veteran
                and the service dog.
            (2) Prohibition on certain fees.--A recipient of a grant
        under this section may not charge a fee to a veteran receiving
        a service dog through such grant.
    (f) Veterinary Insurance.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide to each
        veteran who receives a service dog through a grant under this
        section a commercially available veterinary insurance policy
        for the service dog.
            (2) Continuation.--If the Secretary provides a veterinary
        insurance policy to a veteran under paragraph (1), the
        Secretary shall continue to provide the policy to the veteran
        without regard to the continuation or termination of the pilot
        program.
    (g) Training and Technical Assistance.--The Secretary may provide
training and technical assistance to recipients of grants under this
section.
    (h) Oversight and Monitoring.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary--
                    (A) shall establish such oversight and monitoring
                requirements as the Secretary determines appropriate to
                ensure that grant amounts awarded under this section
                are used appropriately; and
                    (B) may take such actions as the Secretary
                determines necessary to address any issues identified
                through the enforcement of such requirements.
            (2) Reports and answers.--The Secretary may require each
        recipient of a grant under this section to provide, in such
        form as may be prescribed by the Secretary, such reports or
        answers in writing to specific questions, surveys, or
        questionnaires as the Secretary determines necessary to carry
        out the pilot program.
    (i) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Eligible veteran.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``eligible veteran''
                means a veteran (as defined in section 101 of title 38,
                United States Code) who, as determined by a physician,
                has one or more disabilities, conditions, or diagnoses
                described in subparagraph (B).
                    (B) Disability, condition, diagnosis described.--A
                disability, condition, or diagnosis described in this
                subparagraph is any of the following:
                            (i) Blindness or visual impairment.
                            (ii) Loss of use of a limb, paralysis, or
                        other significant mobility issue, including
                        mental health mobility.
                            (iii) Loss of hearing.
                            (iv) Post-traumatic stress disorder.
                            (v) Traumatic brain injury.
                            (vi) Any other disability, condition, or
                        diagnosis for which the Secretary determines,
                        based on medical judgment, that it is optimal
                        for the veteran to manage the disability,
                        condition, or diagnosis and live independently
                        through the assistance of a service dog.
            (2) Pilot program.--The term ``pilot program'' means the
        pilot program required by subsection (a)(1).
            (3) Service dog.--The term ``service dog'' means any dog
        that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks that
        are--
                    (A) for the benefit of a veteran with a disability,
                condition, or diagnosis described in paragraph (1)(B);
                and
                    (B) directly related to the disability, condition,
                or diagnosis of the veteran.
    (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of the five
consecutive fiscal years following the fiscal year in which the pilot
program is established under subsection (a).
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