IAM Veterans Services Coordinator Rich Evans and Assistant Coordinator Bryan Stymacks are assisting Brennon Groves, a recipient of Guide Dogs of America | Tender Loving Canines, in seeking congressional support for his petition to establish a dedicated Veterans Administration department for the Service Dog Veterinary Health Insurance Benefit (VHIB) application.
Currently, veterans who have service dogs for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are unable to receive veterinary insurance benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs unless they also have a mobility disability. This situation exists because federal regulations have not been updated to fully implement the PAWS Act as intended, and there is no specific office responsible for issuing this benefit.
Recently, IAM Assistant Legislative Director Ty Richardson joined Evans, Stymacks, and Groves in meeting with staff from U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) office to discuss Groves’ proposal for establishing a Department of Veterans Affairs VHIB program.
The IAM Union previously supported and lobbied for H.R. 1448, known as the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act (2021-2022), which was passed by Congress and authorized the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide service dogs to veterans with mental health conditions.
Despite the passage of this law, eligibility for VHIB remains restricted to veterans with mobility impairments. Those whose disabilities are solely related to mental health remain excluded because regulations have not been updated to reflect legislative intent.
“Under the PAWs Act, veterans with only mental health conditions have the right to this benefit,” said Evans. “But without updating the regulation for it, these veterans don’t qualify for it. All we need is for Congress to make an amendment to the regulation to correlate with the intent of the PAWs Act, which was passed.”
IAM International President Brian Bryant has sent two letters to Congressman Hoyer regarding implementation of the PAWS Act and improvements needed in VHIB.
“We’re going to keep lobbying members of Congress to explain the situation and pressure our legislators to make sure veterans with mental health disabilities can access the benefit according to the law’s intent,” said Groves.
