Bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) that would allow animals from local shelters to be trained as support dogs for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel on June 25 cleared the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee and advanced to the full chamber.
The bill “will give our law enforcement one more tool to improve mental health outcomes at CBP,” Rep. Gonzales said. “Today, the House Homeland Security Committee passed this legislation to support the hard-working men and women who defend our borders every day.”
The Providing Emotional Assistance with Relief and Love (PEARL) Act, H.R. 3965, which Rep. Gonzales sponsored on June 12, has 11 original cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Pete Stauber (R-MN), and Lou Correa (D-CA).
If enacted, H.R. 3965 would establish a CBP pilot program to adopt dogs from local animal shelters to be trained as support dogs, according to the text of the bill.
“The PEARL Act is named after a special, and newly retired, support canine that helped our border patrol agents get through some very tough times,” said Rep. Gonzales.
Since 2007, more than 150 border patrol agents and CBP employees have died by suicide. In January 2023, CBP launched the Support Canine Program, which aims to mitigate the spike in mental health crises among CBP personnel.
The pilot program established under H.R. 3965 would provide more dogs to the Support Canine Program, according to the congressman’s staff.