The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5895, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act; 2018 that included an amendment to increase funding for the Veterans Affairs’ Adaptive Sports Grant Program for equine-assisted therapy. The amendment, introduced by U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) increases funding by $5 million for the fiscal year 2019.
The funding will enable an expansion of services that use equine-assisted therapy in conjunction with mental health care treatment and services to veterans.
“We applaud Congressman Barr for his continued commitment to securing resources that will help our heroic American veterans and equines,” said Marty Irby, senior adviser at the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund. “We are grateful to see this convergence of good news and good programs to benefit both veterans and horses.”
The Humane Society of the United States is the most effective animal protection organization, as rated by our peers. For more than 60 years, we have celebrated the protection of all animals and confronted all forms of cruelty. We and our affiliates are the nation’s largest provider of hands-on services for animals, caring for more than 100,000 animals each year, and we prevent cruelty to millions more through our advocacy campaigns. Read about our more than 60 years of transformational change for animals and people. HumaneSociety.org
The Humane Society Legislative Fund is a social welfare organization incorporated under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code and formed in 2004 as a separate lobbying affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States. The HSLF works to pass animal protection laws at the state and federal level, to educate the public about animal protection issues, and to support humane candidates for office. Visit us on all our channels: on the web at hslf.org, on our blog at animalsandpolitics.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/humanelegislation and on Twitter at twitter.com/HSLegFund.
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