Bill > HR359

This bill, titled the Veterans Dog Training Therapy Act, directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a five-year pilot program to evaluate how training veterans to become service dog trainers can help address post-deployment mental health issues and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The program will involve contracts with non-governmental organizations near VA medical centers, which must be certified in service dog training and have appropriate facilities for educating veterans with mental health conditions. These entities will provide veterans with both classroom instruction and hands-on experience in training service dogs, with a focus on maximizing therapeutic benefits for the veterans and producing well-trained service dogs for veterans with disabilities. The program will also collect data to assess its effectiveness in areas such as reducing stigma, improving emotional regulation, and reintegrating veterans into the community, and the Secretary will report annually to Congress on the program's progress and recommendations for its future.