H.R. 4305: PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act

116th Congress · introduced 2019-09-12 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2019-09-12 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Stivers, Steve [R-OH-15] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Received in the Senate and 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

PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act

Plain summary

Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act or the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to implement a pilot program to assess the effectiveness of addressing post-deployment mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder through a method where veterans train service dogs for veterans with disabilities.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House), 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

PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Stivers, Steve [R-OH-15] · 324 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 4305, Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act (2020-01-22)

Cosponsors on this site

John H. Rutherford (R-FL), Neal P. Dunn (R-FL), Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. (D-CA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chip Roy (R-TX), David P. Joyce (R-OH), Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ), Jack Bergman (R-MI), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Troy Balderson (R-OH), Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Michael R. Turner (R-OH), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Richard Hudson (R-NC), Don Bacon (R-NE), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), James A. Himes (D-CT), Josh Harder (D-CA), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Seth Moulton (D-MA), André Carson (D-IN), Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Elise M. Stefanik (R-NY), W. Gregory Steube (R-FL), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Jim Banks (R-IN), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA) and 264 more.

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 (Passed House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr4305.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>

Record fed-us-cong116-hr4305 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116