CBP adopts shelter dogs for a three-year test program.
S. 4079 — PEARL Act · Filed by Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 12, 2026 · Reported out
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What it does
The bill tells U.S. Customs and Border Protection to start a pilot program. CBP will adopt dogs from local animal shelters. The dogs will be trained to help with border work. The program must start within 60 days. CBP must use money it already has.
Who it affects
Shelter dogs get adopted and trained instead of being put down. CBP gets dogs to help with its work. Taxpayers do not pay extra money.
One thing to notice
The bill does not say how CBP must measure if the program works. CBP decides whether to keep the program going after three years.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
5 cosponsors: 3 Republicans, 2 Democrats.
- Mar 12, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Mar 12, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs”
- Aug 6, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- pilot program — A small test of a new idea to see if it works before doing it everywhere.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection — The federal agency that guards the borders and checks people and goods coming into the country.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (756 characters) on Aug 12, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,778 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-11-02.
“CBP adopts shelter dogs for a three-year test program.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s4079/simple Report an error
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