PEARL Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The PEARL Act requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to establish a pilot program inside CBP no later than 60 days after enactment. Under the pilot, CBP must adopt dogs from local animal shelters and train them as support dogs for the agency's existing Support Canine Program. The pilot runs for three years from the date it is established and then terminates. The text creates a time-limited acquisition and training pathway; it does not state how many dogs must be adopted, specify a budget, change border-enforcement authority, or make the pilot permanent.
Who Benefits and How
CBP officers and employees who use the Support Canine Program benefit from an expanded source of trained support dogs intended to provide emotional support in a high-stress workplace. Local animal shelter organizations benefit when CBP adopts eligible dogs, creating placements and potentially reducing the shelters' ongoing care and capacity costs.
Who Bears the Burden and How
U.S. Customs and Border Protection pilot administrators must establish the program within 60 days, select shelter dogs, arrange training, integrate them into the Support Canine Program, and manage the three-year timeline. Department of Homeland Security oversight staff and participating shelter employees may incur screening, transfer, health, handling, and recordkeeping work, while the bill supplies no stated appropriation for those activities.
Key Provisions
- Requires the Homeland Security Secretary, through the CBP Commissioner, to establish the pilot within 60 days of enactment.
- Directs CBP to adopt dogs from local animal shelters and train them for the Support Canine Program.
- Establishes a three-year sunset measured from the date the pilot is created.
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
Create a three-year U.S. Customs and Border Protection pilot that adopts dogs from local shelters and trains them for CBP's Support Canine Program.
Key Policy Areas
Government Operations, Homeland Security
Primary Purpose
Create a three-year U.S. Customs and Border Protection pilot that adopts dogs from local shelters and trains them for CBP's Support Canine Program.
Policy Domains
PEARL Act
Identified Gains
- CBP officers and employees using support-canine services
- Local animal shelter organizations and staff
Identified Costs
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection pilot administrators
- Department of Homeland Security oversight staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedCommittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security …
Introduced in Senate
Mr. Gallego (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Kelly, and Mr. …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Department of Homeland Security oversight staff, U.S. Customs and Border Protection pilot administrators
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Homeland Security
- "the_commissioner"
- → Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- "implementing_agency"
- → U.S. Customs and Border Protection
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