Congress·Reported·S. 4079

PEARL Act

Border Patrol: Shelter Dog Adoption Program

Mar 12·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Part of: PEARL Act

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

A companion or newer version of this bill is the one advancing instead.

Key Points

The PEARL Act would create a new three-year test program within U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The agency would visit local animal shelters to find dogs that can be trained as support animals for their staff.
This plan aims to help border officers who work in very stressful jobs by providing them with emotional support dogs. At the same time, it helps local animal shelters by finding homes and jobs for dogs that need them.
The program would need to start within 60 days of the bill being signed into law. It is a bipartisan effort led by Gallego and Cornyn to address mental health and workplace morale for those working at the border.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

3 milestones3 actions

Aug 6, 2026Senate

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.

The committee approved this bill and is sending it to the full chamber for a vote. This is a significant step — most bills never get this far.

Mar 12, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced in Senate

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes or news coverage recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

PEARL Act

Bill NumberS 4079

Congress119th Congress

ChamberSenate

Latest ActionCommittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(5)

D: 2R: 3

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.