S. 3689: Senior Airman Michael Malarsie Act

112th Congress · introduced 2012-12-18 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2012-12-18 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Kerry, John F. [D-MA] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Senior Airman Michael Malarsie Act

Plain summary

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 Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Senior Airman Michael Malarsie Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Kerry, John F. [D-MA] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Fiscal year: The 12-month period a government uses for its budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends. Most states use July 1 to June 30.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112s3689.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/s>

Record fed-us-cong112-s3689 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112