Local congressman slams VA for money-wasting and not giving service dogs to veterans

A local Congressman is going after the Department of Veterans Affairs for wasting money and not doing enough to save veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

6th District House member Ron DeSantis (R-St. Johns County) will hold an oversight hearing this afternoon to grill the Department of Veterans Affairs on how it currently allocates service dogs to veterans.

That hearing of the Subcommittee on National Security will start at 2 p.m. and you can see it live by clicking here.

DeSantis says this hearing - which will feature testimony from a vet who has a service dog and the Executive Director of the local K9s for Warriors organization - will show that the VA has only paired 40 service dogs with veterans despite spending "tens of millions of dollars" to study the topic as part of a three-year study authorized by the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act.

"We want to show the American people that the VA has dropped the ball as it relates to connecting veterans with severe PTSD with service dogs," DeSantis said.

In response, the Republican filed the PAWS Act - or Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers - last month. That bill would take $10 million from the VA and create a pilot program  that gives service dogs to post-9/11 veterans with the most severe levels of PTSD.

DeSantis says the program which would be created if his bill passes will get more dogs to veterans in need than the VA could and cost taxpayers far less.

He also thinks the dogs could save those vets who have suicidal thoughts and aren't helped by drugs, counseling or other forms of treatment.

"Say, for example, [that] a veteran [with PTSD] is having a nightmare," DeSantis stated. "The dog will sense that. The dog will jump on the bed [and] lick the veteran's face. If the  veteran's in a public area and starts having [a] stressful situation, the dog will sense that and calm him down."

The Republican says his bill has strong bi-partisan support and should be able to pass a floor vote easily if it can get out of committee.

Eligible veterans have to complete treatment through the VA and still show clinical signs of PTSD before they can get a dog. 

The VA would commit around $30,000 per dog for acquiring and training as part of the bill and also provide health insurance for the dog.

The specially trained dogs would be purchased from organizations like K9s for Warriors.