H.R. 8179

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8179 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8179

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
authorize the use of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 
Assistance Grant Program for police dog programs, and for other 
purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 2, 2026

Ms. Mace (for herself, Mr. Van Drew, Ms. Malliotakis, Mr. Ezell, and 
Mr. McCormick) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
authorize the use of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 
Assistance Grant Program for police dog programs, and for other 
purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Enhancement for Tactical 
Canine Help Act of 2026'' or the ``FETCH Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. USE OF BYRNE GRANTS FOR K9 UNITS.

Section 501(a)(1) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10152(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
``(J) Police dog programs, including the following:
``(i) Acquiring police dogs.
``(ii) Training directly related to law 
enforcement duties involving police dogs, 
including on-duty general obedience training, 
and conditioning for the detection of 
narcotics, contraband, and explosives.
``(iii) Medications and dietary supplements 
for the wellness or service readiness of police 
dogs.
``(iv) Veterinary care for police dogs, 
including emergency services.
``(v) Insurance for veterinary, injury, 
death, replacement costs, or liability coverage 
related to police dogs.
``(vi) Dog food, including accommodations 
for special diets directly related to the 
service readiness or overall health of police 
dogs.
``(vii) Costs for equipment and supplies, 
including protective vests, identification 
collars, and first aid kits for police dogs.
``(viii) Costs related to housing needs for 
police dogs, including the creation or 
maintenance of kennels inside of a physical 
police department facility, or home-care 
stipends for law enforcement officers who care 
for police dogs at their home.
``(ix) Other costs related to routine care 
for police dogs.
``(x) Costs associated with police dogs 
after the dogs retire from service, including 
coverage for service-related injuries and 
chronic conditions, final veterinary care, 
formal adoption by the handling officer after 
the dog concludes its service, and the 
retrieval and delivery of administrative 
documents and certificates.''.
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