Senior Airman Michael Malarsie Act - Directs the Secretaries of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) to jointly establish the Senior Airman Michael Malarsie Program for the awarding of grants to certain nonprofit organizations to assist them in establishing and operating programs to provide assistance dogs to certain members of the Armed Forces and veterans who have certain visual, hearing, or mobility disabilities. Requires such Secretaries to determine whether such assistance for members or veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury would be appropriate, taking into account the findings of a specified study conducted under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.
Defines the term "assistance dog" to mean a dog specifically trained to perform physical tasks to mitigate the effects of such a disability, except that such term does not include a dog specifically trained for comfort or personal defense.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3689 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3689
To establish a grant program to encourage the use of assistance dogs by
certain members of the Armed Forces and veterans, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 18 (legislative day, December 17), 2012
Mr. Kerry introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a grant program to encourage the use of assistance dogs by
certain members of the Armed Forces and 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 ``Senior Airman Michael Malarsie
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) As of the day before the date of the enactment of this
Act, thousands of members of the Armed Forces and veterans have
visual, hearing, or substantial mobility impairments and
receive benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(2) In fiscal year 2011, 269 veterans received benefits
from the Department of Veterans Affairs for guide dogs (visual
impairments), hearing dogs, and mobility dogs.
(3) As of the day before the date of the enactment of this
Act, the number of veterans who need the assistance of guide
dogs is expected to increase as more members of the Armed
Forces who serve in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi
Freedom, and Operation New Dawn are diagnosed with disabilities
and veterans who already have assistance dogs need replacement
dogs.
(4) As of the day before the date of the enactment of this
Act, members of the Armed Forces and veterans diagnosed with
visual, hearing, or mobility impairments are subject to long
waiting periods to receive assistance dogs. Nonprofit
organizations train and provide service dogs free of charge to
such members and veterans, but rely solely on fundraising and
volunteer staff to meet growing demand.
(5) According to the annual survey conducted by Assistance
Dogs International for 2011, there was a backlog of 188
veterans waiting for dog placement of guide and service dogs.
In that same survey, agency members of Assistance Dogs
International were able to place dogs with only 72 veterans.
(6) As of the day before the date of the enactment of this
Act, each guide dog costs approximately $45,000 and takes about
two years to raise and train.
(7) In fiscal year 2011, the Department of Veterans Affairs
spent $243,992 on veterinary care and necessary hardware for
266 service dogs, including those trained to aid visually,
hearing, or mobility impairments. The average cost per veteran
was $917.
(8) As of the day before the date of the enactment of this
Act, service dogs work on average 10 years, and young veterans
can require multiple replacements during the span of their
lifetime.
SEC. 3. SENIOR AIRMAN MICHAEL MALARSIE PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations provided for such purpose, the Secretary of
Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly
establish a program to award competitive grants to eligible
entities to assist eligible entities in planning, designing,
establishing, and operating programs to provide assistance dogs
to covered members and veterans.
(2) Designation.--The program established under paragraph
(1) shall be known as the ``Senior Airman Michael Malarsie
Program'' (in this section referred to as the ``Program'').
(b) Eligible Entities.--For purposes of the Program, an eligible
entity is any entity that--
(1) is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section
501(a) of such Code; and
(2) is a member of the International Guide Dog Federation
or Assistance Dogs International.
(c) Covered Members and Veterans.--For purposes of the Program--
(1) a covered member of the Armed Forces is any member of
the Armed Forces who is--
(A) receiving medical treatment, recuperation, or
therapy under chapter 55 of title 10, United States
Code;
(B) in medical hold or medical holdover status; or
(C) covered under section 1202 or 1205 of title 10,
United States Code; and
(2) a covered veteran is any veteran who is enrolled in the
system of annual patient enrollment established under section
1705(a) of title 38, United States Code.
(d) Application.--
(1) In general.--An eligible entity seeking a grant under
the Program shall submit an application to the Secretary of
Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs therefor at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may
require.
(2) Elements.--Each application submitted under paragraph
(1) shall include the following:
(A) A proposal for the evaluation required by
subsection (f).
(B) A description of the following:
(i) The training that will be provided by
the eligible entity to covered members and
veterans.
(ii) The training of dogs that will serve
as assistance dogs.
(iii) The aftercare services that the
eligible entity will provide for such dogs and
covered members and veterans.
(iv) The plan for publicizing the
availability of such dogs through a targeted
marketing campaign to covered members and
veterans.
(v) The recognized expertise of the
eligible entity in breeding and training such
dogs, including how many of such dogs were
provided to covered members and veterans during
the most recent three-year period.
(vi) The commitment of the eligible entity
to humane standards for animals.
(vii) The experience of the eligible entity
with working with military medical treatment
facilities or medical facilities of the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
(e) Use of Funds.--
(1) In general.--The recipient of a grant under the Program
shall use the grant to carry out programs that provide
assistance dogs to covered members and veterans who have a
disability described in paragraph (2).
(2) Disability.--A disability described in this paragraph
is any of the following:
(A) Blindness or visual impairment.
(B) Loss of use of a limb, paralysis, or other
significant mobility issues.
(C) Loss of hearing.
(D) Any other disability with respect to which the
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs determine that provision of an assistance dog
under the Program would be appropriate for the
treatment or rehabilitation of a covered member or
veteran with such disability.
(3) Post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain
injury.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary of Defense and the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall determine whether
the provision of an assistance dog under the Program to
a covered member or veteran with post-traumatic stress
disorder or traumatic brain injury would be appropriate
for the treatment or rehabilitation of such covered
member or veteran.
(B) Consideration of study on use of service dogs
for treatment or rehabilitation of veterans with mental
injuries or disabilities.--In making a determination
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Defense and
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall consider the
findings of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs regarding
the study conducted under section 1077(d) of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal year 2010
(Public Law 111-84).
(f) Evaluation.--The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall require each recipient of a grant under the
Program to use a portion of the funds made available through the grant
to conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities carried
out through the grant by such recipient.
(g) Assistance Dog Defined.--In this section, the term ``assistance
dog'' means a dog specifically trained to perform physical tasks to
mitigate the effects of a disability described in subsection (e)(2),
except that the term does not include a dog specifically trained for
comfort or personal defense.
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2012 through 2016.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8139)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
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