PEARL Act

119th Congress Introduced by Lou Correa and 7 co-sponsors

The PEARL Act would create a three-year CBP pilot to train shelter dogs as support canines for CBP operations.

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

Summary of H.R. 9327 (119th Congress) — PEARL Act

Purpose and intent

The bill, titled the Providing Emotional Assistance with Relief and Love Act or the PEARL Act, seeks to establish a pilot program within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to adopt dogs from local animal shelters and train them as support dogs for CBP’s Support Cabin e Program.

The aim appears to be pairing shelter dogs with CBP operations to provide emotional support and assistance within CBP’s existing support canine framework.

Key provisions

Pilot program establishment: Within 60 days of enactment, the Secretary of Homeland Security, through the CBP Commissioner, would establish a CBP pilot program to adopt shelter dogs and train them as support dogs for CBP’s Support Canine Program.

Program duration: The pilot program would run for three years from the date of establishment and then terminate.

Authority and oversight: The bill assigns responsibility to CBP, under the broader Department of Homeland Security framework, to implement and oversee the pilot.

Who and what is affected

Agency involvement: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would implement and manage the pilot.

Beneficiaries/participants: Local animal shelters would be involved as sources of dogs, and CBP personnel would be beneficiaries of the trained support dogs.

Scope of impact: The measure is limited in duration (three years) and is contingent on successful integration of shelter-adopted dogs into CBP’s Support Canine Program.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Enactment timeline: If enacted, CBP must establish the program within 60 days of enactment.

Sunset/expiration: The pilot would terminate three years after its establishment, unless renewed or replaced by subsequent legislation.

Legislative status: As introduced, the bill has been referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security and has several bipartisan co-sponsors.

Potential considerations (neutral framing)

The bill promotes the use of dogs from local shelters, potentially supporting animal welfare and providing a human-animal assistance component for CBP operations.

Details on funding, training standards, performance metrics, welfare of the dogs, and how success would be evaluated are not specified in the text provided and would likely be addressed in Committee or subsequent amendments.

This summary covers the bill’s core aims, structure, and the practical effects on CBP, shelter dogs, and participants, with emphasis on the pilot’s scope and timeline.