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House Committee Passes Legislation For Service Dogs for Veterans

Whether or not service dogs should be allowed into Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities has been an ongoing debate for some time. Legislation that would mandate all VA facilities allow service dogs on to their property and into their buildings, however, is on track to become law.

The House Veterans' Affairs Committee's Health Panel recently passed The Veterans Equal Treatment for Service Dogs Act (HR 1154). According to Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), who sponsored the bill, HR 1154 was designed to address an existing "gap in access." The bill still has multiple hurdles to overcome before it is law, however.

Should the bill pass into law, it will create one standard to which all VA facilities are held. Whether to allow service animals access or not should not be determined on a facility-by-facility basis, according to Rep. Carter.

For those veterans who rely on service dogs in order to perform day-to-day functions, a ban on service dogs operates as a ban on them as well. This means many veterans are essentially denied access to their earned health care.

According to a directive issued earlier this year, the VA places both service dogs and guide dogs under a single definition. That definition is a trained animal helping disabled people who perform tasks who, without the animal, could not perform the tasks themselves. That same directive stated that although the VA permits such animals on VA property, each facility director was given the discretion to deny entrance at any time.

If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today - 1-888-234-5758.