SAVES Act of 2025
Introduced April 10, 2025 · Last action February 24, 2026
Plain English Summary
This bill establishes a five-year pilot program requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to award grants of up to $2 million per nonprofit organization to train and provide service dogs to eligible veterans with disabilities including blindness, mobility impairment, hearing loss, PTSD, and traumatic brain injury. The VA will also provide veterinary insurance for each service dog provided, and grants may be increased if inflation or program needs warrant it with 30-day notice to Congress.
Who benefits
Eligible veterans with disabilities including blindness, visual impairment, mobility loss/paralysis, hearing loss, PTSD, traumatic brain injury, or other disabilities determined by physicians as optimally managed by service dogs; nonprofit organizations that train and provide service dogs to veterans; veterinary insurance companies providing commercial policies to the VA for service dog coverage; service dog training organizations and facilities.
Who pays / loses
U.S. taxpayers funding the $50 million total authorization; the federal budget bears the cost of veterinary insurance policies that continue indefinitely after the pilot program ends; nonprofit entities bear compliance costs and reporting requirements; potential opportunity cost of alternative VA spending.
Fiscal note: $10,000,000 per fiscal year for five consecutive fiscal years beginning the fiscal year in which the pilot program is established; total authorization of $50 million over the five-year pilot period, plus indefinite continuation of veterinary insurance costs for all service dogs provided during the pilot
Funding & Lobbying Interests
Service dog training organizations and nonprofits (including established organizations like Puppies Behind Bars, K9s For Warriors, and local regional service dog nonprofits) have a financial interest in receiving grants. Veterinary insurance companies benefit from commercial policies provided to all program participants. The VA's Veterans Health Administration budget absorbs the cost. Sponsors include bipartisan coalition of senators including Tillis (R-NC), Blumenthal (D-CT), Cornyn (R-TX), Durbin (D-IL), indicating broad support across constituencies with significant veteran populations.
Political Impact
Affected Groups
Veterans with service-dog-eligible disabilities (exact number unknown but includes estimated 3.5 million combat veterans with PTSD, significant population with traumatic brain injuries, and smaller populations with blindness, mobility impairment, and hearing loss); rural and underserved veterans who may have limited access to service dogs through private or existing VA programs; nonprofit organizations in the service dog training sector; households of veterans receiving service dogs (secondary beneficiaries of assistance with mobility, mental health, or sensory support).
Political Subtext
Proponents argue this addresses a documented gap in VA mental health and disability support, providing therapeutic and functional assistance to veterans with combat-related conditions and long-term disabilities. They cite the evidence that service dogs improve outcomes for PTSD, mobility impairment, and emotional stability. Critics (if any) might note that the pilot creates a new indefinite entitlement (veterinary insurance continuation) and establishes ongoing federal spending without sunset language for the insurance component. Non-partisan evidence generally supports service dog efficacy for PTSD and certain mobility conditions, though the strength and scale of effects vary by individual and dog quality. The VA already operates some service dog programs; this bill expands capacity through nonprofit partnerships.
Real-World Stakes
If this passes: approximately 50-250 veterans per year (depending on nonprofit capacity and grant uptake) will receive funded service dogs over the five-year pilot. Each veteran receives ongoing veterinary coverage even after the program ends, creating a permanent baseline of insurance commitments. If prior state and federal programs are analogous: Ohio's service dog programs and Texas's Veterans Commission programs have successfully partnered with nonprofits, but outcomes data on scaling are limited. The VA's existing programs for blind and mobility-impaired veterans have waiting lists of 1-2 years, suggesting unmet demand. Unlike traditional VA benefits that default off after program termination, the indefinite veterinary insurance provision creates an open-ended liability. The five-year sunset of grant-making but continuation of insurance costs means fiscal impact increases annually as the veteran population with service dogs grows but new grant funding stops.
Sponsor
Sponsor information not available.
Vote Record
No recorded votes.
Campaign Finance — Primary Sponsor
No campaign finance data available yet.
501(c)(4) disclosure: Contributions from 501(c)(4) "dark money" organizations are not required to be publicly disclosed and are not reflected in the figures above. Data sourced from FEC public disclosure filings.
Community Discussion
Share this bill
Sign in to join the discussion.
No comments yet. Be the first.