H.R. 1448 · 117th Congress

PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act

Introduced on Mar 1, 2021 by Steve Stivers (R-OH-15). 317 cosponsors, 120 of them from another party. Became Public Law 117-37.

Stage
Became law
Public Law 117-37
Introduced
Mar 1, 2021
Cosponsors
317
120 from the other party
Policy area
Armed Forces and National Security
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Sent to the President
  6. Became law

Official title

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program on dog training therapy, and to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide service dogs to veterans with mental illnesses who do not have mobility impairments.

Subjects

  • Animal protection and human-animal relationships
  • Congressional oversight
  • Disability assistance
  • Government information and archives
  • Government studies and investigations
  • Health programs administration and funding
  • Mammals
  • Mental health
  • Neurological disorders
  • Service animals
  • Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
  • Veterans' medical care

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Aug 25, 2021). Public domain.

Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers for Veterans Therapy Act or the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act

This bill implements a program and a policy related to service dog therapy for veterans. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a five-year pilot program to provide canine training to eligible veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as an element of a complementary and integrative health program. Eligible veterans are those who are enrolled in the VA health care system and have been recommended for participation by a qualified mental health care provider or clinical team.

The VA must seek to enter agreements containing specified elements with accredited nongovernmental entities that have demonstrated ability to provide canine training.

Veterans who participate in the program are authorized to adopt the dog they assisted in training if their health provider determines it is in the best interest of the veteran.

The VA must establish processes to document and track the progress of participating veterans with respect to health benefits and improvements. The Government Accountability Office must brief Congress and submit a report on the program.

The bill also authorizes the VA to provide service dogs to veterans with mental illnesses, regardless of whether they have a mobility impairment.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Steve StiversR-OH-15Sponsor

Democrats · 120

Republicans · 197

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Mar 1, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Mar 1, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Mar 1, 2021 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  4. Mar 18, 2021 · HouseMotion to place bill on Consensus Calendar filed by Mr. Stivers.
  5. Apr 14, 2021 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.
  6. Apr 15, 2021 · HouseSubcommittee Hearings Held.
  7. May 4, 2021 · HouseSubcommittee on Health Discharged.
  8. May 4, 2021 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  9. May 4, 2021 · HouseOrdered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
  10. May 12, 2021Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 117-31.
  11. May 12, 2021 · HouseReported (Amended) by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 117-31.
  12. May 12, 2021 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 16.
  13. May 12, 2021 · HouseMr. Takano moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  14. May 12, 2021 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2212-2215)
  15. May 12, 2021 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1448.
  16. May 12, 2021 · HouseAt the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  17. May 12, 2021 · HousePursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 380, proceedings on H.R. 1448 are considered vacated.
  18. May 12, 2021Passed/agreed to in House: Pursuant to section 6 of H. Res. 380, and the motion offered by Mr. Hoyer, the following bills passed under suspension of the rules: H.R. 297; H.R. 433; H.R. 478; H.R. 586; H.R. 721, as amended; H.R. 768; H.R. 810; H.R. 1205; H.R. 1260, as amended; H.R. 1324; H.R. 1448, as amended; H.R. 1475, as amended; H.R. 1480, as amended; H.R. 2862, as amended; H.R. 2955; and H.R. 2981.(consideration: CR H2235-2246; text: CR H2240)
  19. May 12, 2021 · HousePursuant to section 6 of H. Res. 380, and the motion offered by Mr. Hoyer, the following bills passed under suspension of the rules: H.R. 297; H.R. 433; H.R. 478; H.R. 586; H.R. 721, as amended; H.R. 768; H.R. 810; H.R. 1205; H.R. 1260, as amended; H.R. 1324; H.R. 1448, as amended; H.R. 1475, as amended; H.R. 1480, as amended; H.R. 2862, as amended; H.R. 2955; and H.R. 2981. (consideration: CR H2235-2246; text: CR H2240)
  20. May 13, 2021 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  21. Aug 6, 2021Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S5990)
  22. Aug 6, 2021 · SenateSenate Committee on Veterans' Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S5990)
  23. Aug 6, 2021Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
  24. Aug 6, 2021 · SenatePassed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
  25. Aug 9, 2021 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  26. Aug 20, 2021Presented to President.
  27. Aug 20, 2021 · HousePresented to President.
  28. Aug 25, 2021Signed by President.
  29. Aug 25, 2021Signed by President.
  30. Aug 25, 2021Became Public Law No: 117-37.
  31. Aug 25, 2021Became Public Law No: 117-37.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 7, 2026 · loaded Oct 7, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 7, 2026 · loaded Oct 7, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.