S. 1014: PAWS Act of 2017
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S. 1014: PAWS Act of 2017
115th Congress · introduced 2017-05-03 · 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 2017-05-03 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE] · 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.
Official title
PAWS Act of 2017
Plain summary
Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers Act of 2017 or the PAWS Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a five-year pilot program under which it awards grants to eligible nonprofit organizations to provide service dogs to veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder after completing other evidence-based treatment. An organization that receives a grant shall provide for each participating service dog and veteran: coverage by a commercially available veterinary health insurance policy, hardware clinically determined to be required by the dog to perform the tasks necessary to assist the veteran, payments for travel expenses to obtain the dog, and travel expenses required to obtain a replacement service dog. To be eligible for a grant, an organization must: (1) agree to cover all costs in excess of the grant amount to guarantee such benefits, (2) be certified by Assistance Dogs International, (3) provide one-on-one training for each service dog and recipient for 30 hours or more during a period of 90 days or more, and (4) provide an in-house residential facility or other accommodations nearby in which service dog recipients stay for a minimum of 10 days while receiving at least 30 hours of training. The VA shall develop metrics to measure the improvement in psychosocial function and therapeutic compliance and changes independence on prescription narcotics and psychotropic medication of veterans participating in the program. The Government Accountability Office must provide to Congress a briefing on the methodology established for, and a report on, the pilot program.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE] · 10 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), John Kennedy (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Christopher Murphy (D-CT)
Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE] reported raising $976,129 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.
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 (1)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
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-115s1014.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/s>
Record fed-us-cong115-s1014 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115