SAVES Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The SAVES Act requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish, within 24 months, a competitive pilot grant program for nonprofit entities that provide service dogs to eligible veterans. The pilot runs for five years beginning when the first grant is awarded. Nonprofit applicants must describe how they will provide service dogs, train eligible veterans, train the dogs, provide support services for the dogs and veterans, and ensure grant funds increase the number of eligible veterans receiving service dogs. The reported text includes support such as veterinary insurance or veterinary care arrangements. VA must administer applications, grants, oversight, and reporting. The bill also extends certain title 38 limits on pension payments from November 30, 2031, to February 28, 2033.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans with PTSD benefit from access to service dogs trained for psychiatric support. Veterans with traumatic brain injury benefit from service dogs and related training. Veterans with blindness, veterans with mobility impairments, and veterans with hearing loss benefit from service dogs that can assist with daily functioning. Nonprofit service dog training organizations benefit from competitive VA grants. Veterinary insurance providers and veterinary care providers benefit if nonprofits use grant-supported coverage or care for service dogs.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Veterans Affairs must design, launch, award, monitor, and audit the pilot program. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must set application requirements and ensure grant funds increase the number of eligible veterans receiving service dogs. Nonprofit service dog organizations must prepare applications, train dogs, train veterans, provide support services, report outcomes, and comply with grant conditions. Federal taxpayers bear the cost of VA grant funding and any extended pension-payment effects.
Key Provisions
- Requires VA to establish a competitive service-dog grant pilot program within 24 months.
- Provides grants to nonprofit entities that train and provide service dogs to eligible veterans.
- Requires applications to describe veteran training, dog training, support services, and plans to increase service-dog placements.
- Supports veterinary insurance, veterinary care, or similar services for service dogs in the reported text.
- Requires VA oversight of the five-year pilot program.
- Extends certain title 38 pension payment limits from November 30, 2031, to February 28, 2033.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates a five-year Department of Veterans Affairs pilot grant program for nonprofit entities to provide service dogs to eligible veterans, including application requirements, veteran and dog training, veterinary insurance or care support, post-placement services, reporting, and auditing, and extends certain title 38 pension payment limits from November 30, 2031, to February 28, 2033.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans, Disability Services, Grants, Federal Benefits
Primary Purpose
Creates a five-year Department of Veterans Affairs pilot grant program for nonprofit entities to provide service dogs to eligible veterans, including application requirements, veteran and dog training, veterinary insurance or care support, post-placement services, reporting, and auditing, and extends certain title 38 pension payment limits from November 30, 2031, to February 28, 2033.
Policy Domains
House resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Veterans with PTSD
- Veterans with traumatic brain injury
- Veterans with blindness
- Veterans with mobility impairments
- Veterans with hearing loss
- Nonprofit service dog training organizations
- Veterinary insurance providers
- Veterinary care providers
Identified Costs
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- Nonprofit service dog organizations
- Federal taxpayers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedAdditional sponsors: Mr. Vindman, Mr. Barrett, Mr. Conaway, Ms. Malliotakis, …
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 264.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. …
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Subcommittee on Health Discharged
Subcommittee Hearings Held
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans receiving pension benefits, Veterans with PTSD
Positive-direction: Veterans with PTSD, Veterans with blindness, Veterans with hearing loss, Veterans with mobility impairments, Veterans with traumatic brain injury
Negative-direction: Department of Veterans Affairs
Nonprofit service dog training organizations
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "va"
- → Department of Veterans Affairs
- "secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology