VA expands free service dogs for disabled veterans through nonprofit grants

What it does

This bill requires the VA to establish a five-year pilot program awarding competitive grants (up to $2 million per year per nonprofit, adjustable for inflation) to nonprofit organizations that train and provide service dogs to eligible veterans with disabilities including blindness, mobility loss, hearing loss, PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and other conditions. The VA will also provide veterinary insurance for each service dog and cover training costs; nonprofits cannot charge veterans fees.

Why we flagged it

The bill establishes a direct federal benefit—service dogs and veterinary care—to eligible veterans through competitive grants to nonprofit providers. It is a straightforward entitlement expansion, not a tax measure, deregulation, or rider.

What the text implies

• The definition of 'eligible veteran' includes a catch-all category ('any other disability, condition, or diagnosis') determined by VA physician judgment, which could expand the program's scope and cost beyond initial estimates.
• Veterinary insurance is provided 'without regard to the continuation or termination of the pilot program,' creating an open-ended VA liability even if the pilot ends.
• The bill does not specify how many nonprofits will receive grants or how many veterans will be served, leaving total program cost uncertain despite the $10M/year authorization.
• Nonprofits must 'communicate with Sec. to ensure an increasing number of service dogs are provided,' but no enforcement mechanism or penalty for underperformance is stated.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Veterans with qualifying disabilities gain access to trained service dogs at no cost, with ongoing veterinary care covered by the VA. The program is transparent, competitive, and includes oversight mechanisms. No restrictions on veterans' existing rights or remedies are imposed.

Who stands to gain

• nonprofit service dog training organizations
• veterinary insurance providers

Named in the bill

Department of Veterans Affairs, Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, nonprofit entities, eligible veterans

Where it stands

29 cosponsors: 22 Democrats, 6 Republicans, 1 Independents.

• Apr 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Apr 10, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs”
• May 21, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held”
• Jul 30, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $123,692 in lobbying spend. A filing names 11 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Thom Tillis, the sponsor, reported $973,475 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Association of the United States Army, (inc.) — $123,692 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 17, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.