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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.
Summary
This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to expand the allowable uses of Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to include police dog programs. States and local law enforcement agencies receiving Byrne JAG grants would be able to use funds for acquiring, training, and maintaining police dogs, including veterinary care, medications, food, housing, and equipment. The bill also allows grant funds to cover costs related to retired police dogs, including care for service-related injuries, adoption by handlers, and administrative documentation. The expanded use of Byrne JAG funds would support the operation and maintenance of K9 units in law enforcement agencies.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Mace, Nancy [R-SC-1] (R-SC)
4 cosponsors
Actions (2)
- Apr 2, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
- Apr 2, 2026 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
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.”. <all>
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