Posts tagged "al franken"

Al Franken Passes Dogs-for-Vets Bill

by Paul Ciampanelli (Subscribe to Paul Ciampanelli's posts): Aug 5th 2009 3:00PM Filed Under: Dogs, Pets News

Photo: Win McNamee, Getty Images

Al Franken, newly sworn in to the Senate last month after getting elected in November, has already successfully passed his first piece of legislation, apparently wishing to make up for lost time. The Democrat's bill introduces a pilot program to help provide dogs to vets.

No, not that kind of vet.

The bill, called the Franken-Isakson Service Dogs for Veterans Act, will help provide service animals to wounded US war veterans. The program seeks to accomplish a number of goals, such as pairing at least 200 service dogs with wounded vets, half of which will be soldiers who suffer from mental-health disabilities, not just physical disabilities. It also will be part of a scientific study to further discover the therapeutic benefits of these service animals.

Franken penned an op-ed in the StarTribune describing the inspiration behind his bill. In January, at President Obama's inauguration, Franken met Capt. Luis Montalvan, a veteran who had been an intelligence officer in Iraq. Capt. Montalvan had survived an attempt on his life, but was suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. "Luis explained that he couldn't have made it to the inauguration if it weren't for his dog," Franken wrote.

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