ALL- thought I would add to this post/thread about “
H.R.4764 - Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act of 2016-114th Congress (2015-2016)” (see text of H.R. 4764 copied-cited below) at web-address:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4764/text (accessed at 0333 AM EDT
) that learned about through a “
booklet” scanned and sent me from “
Freedom Service Dogs of America” (
See attached file: “Freedom Service Dogs of America- Battle Buddy Booklet-PAWS Act- 21 JULY 2018.pdf” ) that states:
“H. R. 4764
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program to provide service dogs to certain veterans with severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 16, 2016
Mr. DeSantis (for himself, Mr. Rooney of Florida, Mr. Rothfus, Ms. Stefanik, Mr. Nugent, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mrs. Ellmers of North Carolina, Mr. Meadows, Mr. Byrne, Mr. Bishop of Michigan, Mr. Flores, Ms. McSally, Mr. Jolly, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Salmon, Ms. Gabbard, and Ms. Sinema) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program to provide service dogs to certain veterans with severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
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 (PAWS) Act of 2016”.
SEC. 2. Findings.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) An estimated 14 percent of members of the Armed Forces returning from active duty service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
(2) The resulting hyperstimulation of the fight-flight-freeze response associated with post-traumatic stress disorder poses a threat to the successful societal reintegration of such members of the Armed Forces.
(3) Animals such as dogs can buffer this stress response when humans fail to provide social support.
(4) Interaction with dogs has been shown to modulate symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, such as anxiety, including fear response and hyperarousal, interpersonal difficulties, social isolation, physical pain, and sleep disturbances.
SEC. 3. Pilot program on Department of Veterans Affairs provision of service dogs to certain veterans with severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
(a) In general.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting through the Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation, shall carry out a pilot program under which the Secretary shall provide to eligible veterans with service dogs. The provision of a service dog under the pilot program shall be done in addition to other types of treatment provided for post-traumatic stress disorder and shall not replace established treatment modalities. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall furnish veterinary health insurance for each dog provided under the pilot program.
(b) Eligibility.—
(1) INITIAL ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a service dog under the pilot program a veteran shall—
(A) be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder rated at a severity level of three or four on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM–5 (CAPS–5);
(B) have been treated and have completed an established evidence-based treatment and remain significantly symptomatic, as evidenced by the Global Assessment of Functioning or a similar clinical metric;
(C) have served on active duty in the Armed Forces on or after September 11, 2001; and
(D) have not experienced satisfactory improvement in post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms after being treated with established evidence-based therapies.
(2) ONGOING ELIGIBILITY.—To remain eligible to receive canine health insurance furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs, a veteran shall see a physician who is a primary care provider or mental health care provider at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility at least quarterly.
(c) Contract authority.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pilot program under this section, the Secretary shall enter into such contracts as may be necessary for the procurement and training of service dogs with appropriate providers that are certified by Assistance Dogs International or a similar organization that—
(A) on average, provides one-on-one training for each service canine for a minimum of 30 hours over at least 90 days including a wellness verification from a licensed veterinarian;
(B) provides an in-house residential facility in which service dog recipients stay for a minimum of ten days while receiving at least 30 hours of training with their new service canine;
(C) ensures all service canines pass the American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen test prior to permanent placement with a recipient; and
(D) provides follow-up support service for the life of the service canine.
(2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not obligate or expend more than $27,000 for the procurement and training of any dog under a contract entered into under this subsection.
(d) GAO study.—Not later than 180 days after the termination of the pilot program under this section, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report on the pilot program. Such report shall include—
(1) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the pilot program with respect to—
(A) helping veterans with severe post-traumatic stress disorder live normally;
(B) relevant metrics, including reduction in metrics such as reduction in scores under the post-traumatic stress disorder checklist (PCL), improvement in psychosocial function, and therapeutic compliance;
(C) lessening the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder; and
(D) reducing the dependence of participants on prescription narcotics and psychotropic medication; and
(2) the recommendations of the Comptroller General with respect to the continuation or expansion of the program.
(e) Authorization of appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2022 $10,000,000 to carry out the pilot program under this section.
(f) Offset.—The amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated for Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Human Resources and Administration for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2022 shall be reduced by $10,000,000.
(g) Termination.—The authority to carry out a pilot program under this section shall terminate on the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this Act.”
Text of H.R. 4764 copied-cited Above from: “
H.R.4764 - Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act of 2016-114th Congress (2015-2016)” at web-address:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4764/text (accessed at 0333 AM EDT
)
Information about
“Freedom Service Dogs of America” can be found at web-address:
https://freedomservicedogs.org/ accessed on 21 JUL 2018 at appx. 0319 AM EDT
{Below “Freedom Service Dogs of America Staff Contacts” cited-copied from web-address:
https://freedomservicedogs.org/about-us/our-staff/ accessed on 21 JUL 2018 at appx. 0324 AM EDT
“
Staff -Michele Ostrander, President and CEO
[email protected] /
Laura Edwards, Director of Dog Operations
[email protected]
Erin Conley, Director of Communications
[email protected]
Lindsay Ganassa, Director of Philanthropy
[email protected]
Patricia Al-Abssi, Administrative Assistant
[email protected]
Kimberlee Bow, Client Services Coordinator
[email protected]
Lisa Davenport, Content Coordinator
[email protected]
Stephanie Guild, Animal Health Manager
[email protected]
Ryan Holman, Volunteer Manager
[email protected]
Morgan Karol, Dog Training Manager
[email protected]
Fran Menley, Dog Intake Manager
[email protected] }
ALL- it appears not much action has been taken on this bill since July 2016- see below:
Below cited-copied from Congress.gov: “H.R.4764 - Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act of 2016” at web-address:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4764/related-bills
“Related Bills: H.R.4764 — 114th Congress (2015-2016)All Information (Except Text)
A related bill may be a
companion measure, an
identical bill, a
procedurally-related measure, or one with
text similarities. Bill relationships are identified by the House, the Senate, or CRS, and refer only to same-congress measures.
Bill Latest Title Relationships to H.R.4764 Relationships Identified by Latest Action
S.3051 Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act of 2016 Related bill CRS 06/13/2016 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
S.3132 Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act of 2016 Related bill CRS 07/06/2016 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
.”
(Could not format above exactly- too many issue site!!!)
Above cited-copied from Congress.gov: “H.R.4764 - Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act of 2016” at web-address:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4764/related-bills
Below are links to The American Kennel Club standards cited in the Bill as well as Assistance Dogs International standards that “Freedom Service Dogs of America Utilizes”:
The American Kennel Club “Canine Good Citizen (CGC)” at web-address:
https://www.akc.org/products-services/training-programs/canine-good-citizen/ accessed on 21 JUL 2018 at appx. 0310 EDT
“
Assistance Dogs International-ADI Standards” at web-address:
https://www.assistancedogsinternati...ownload-the-Summary-of-ADI-Standards-here.pdf accessed on 21 JUL 2018 at appx. 0312 AM EDT (See Attached File From Above Web address:
” Download-the-Summary-of-ADI-Standards-here.pdf “ )
Assistance Dogs International (Setting standards for the assistance dog industry since 1987) – “Standards for Training and Placement of Service dogs for Veterans with Military-Related PTSD” at web-address:
https://www.assistancedogsinternati...s-for-service-dogs-for-military-related-ptsd/ accessed on 21 JUL 2018 at appx. 0316 AM EDT
One thing the Bill leaves out is Veterans of Gulf War I, as well as surviving Vietnam, Korea, and World War II veterans….
ALL- per “
Freedom Service Dog’s of America” if veterans want to see the US DVA ever “perhaps” provide this service – “Service Dogs” to veterans- then one should perhaps write their respective elected Officials as well as those on the US House Committee On Veteran Affairs at web-address:
https://veterans.house.gov/ as well as the VFW, American Legion, Disabled Veterans of America- DAV, etc…..?????
If decide to write- just a caution from
PEBForum Post “
Resource Vietnam Vet's -"The US Army in Vietnam" -"The Bud Harton Collection at the Texas Tech Virtual Vietnam Archive"-Perhaps????” at web-address:
http://pebforum.com/threads/resourc...s-tech-virtual-vietnam-archive-perhaps.44432/ that states:
Finally, Below Something veterans-ALL- should be aware of but simply seems to be a degree of “apparently” “High-Double Standards” given all in media but once again could simply be wrong:
Below copied cited from “18 U.S. Code § 871 - Threats against President and successors to the Presidency” at web-address: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/871 Cornell Law School-Legal Information Institute accessed on 20 JUL 2018 at appx. 1455 PM EDT
“(a) Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
(b) The terms “President-elect” and “Vice President-elect” as used in this section shall mean such persons as are the apparent successful candidates for the offices of President and Vice President, respectively, as ascertained from the results of the general elections held to determine the electors of President and Vice President in accordance with title 3, United States Code, sections 1 and 2. The phrase “other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President” as used in this section shall mean the person next in the order of succession to act as President in accordance with title 3, United States Code, sections 19 and 20.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 740; June 1, 1955, ch. 115, § 1, 69 Stat. 80; Pub. L. 87–829, § 1, Oct. 15, 1962, 76 Stat. 956; Pub. L. 97–297, § 2, Oct. 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 1318; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(H), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147.)”
Above copied cited from “18 U.S. Code § 871 - Threats against President and successors to the Presidency” at web-address: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/871 Cornell Law School-Legal Information Institute accessed on 20 JUL 2018 at appx. 1455 PM EDT
ALL_ PEBFourum Post: “
VA Releases State-level Veteran Suicide Data, National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide” (at web-address:
http://pebforum.com/threads/va-rele...preventing-veteran-suicide.45884/#post-208090 ) for as stated in attached scanned file from Freedom Service Dogs of America- "
Freedom Service Dogs of America- Battle Buddy Booklet-PAWS Act- 21 JULY 2018.pdf-" on “Why Service Dogs Are So Important for our Returning Service Members” (as no page numbers) they mention the “22 per day” veteran suicide rate and describe how “service dogs “ help mitigate this…..
ALL-
hope this greatly assist’s some veteran out their in need of a Service Dog and in getting “H.R.4764” amended to include all surviving combat veterans of all US Conflicts and “PASSED”……???????
{Or perhaps an online “petition” may be in order someone could start like some of the “Service Dog Organizations” themselves and post link here on PEBForum for veterans to sign??????}
Then perhaps it might be as “
The Andrews Sisters” song “
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” at YouTube video “
The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941)” courtesy of YouTube video at YouTube web-address:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm1wuKvrxAw
[IS ANYONE ELSE HAVING ISSUES THIS WEB SITE????]