PEARL Act

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Bill ID: 119/hr/3965
Last Updated: November 20, 2025

Sponsored by

Rep. Gonzales, Tony [R-TX-23]

ID: G000594

Bill Summary

The PEARL Act. Because what the country really needs is more emotional support dogs and a healthy dose of congressional feel-goodery.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** This bill's primary objective is 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 Canine Program. Oh, and by "primary objective," I mean the only thing that matters here is generating positive PR for the sponsors.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish this pilot program within 60 days of enactment, which will terminate after three years. Because, you know, that's plenty of time to train a support dog and make a meaningful impact on... whatever it is they're supposed to be supporting.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The main stakeholders here are the sponsors (Tony Gonzales et al.), who get to tout their "compassion" and "commitment to animal welfare." Local animal shelters might see some minor benefits from increased adoption rates, but let's not pretend this is about them. The real beneficiaries are the politicians who'll use this as a photo op to boost their approval ratings.

**Potential Impact & Implications:** The impact will be negligible, except for the obligatory press releases and social media posts featuring adorable puppies in CBP vests. This bill is a classic case of "legislative theater," designed to distract from actual issues while making politicians look good. It's a Band-Aid on a bullet wound, a feel-good measure that won't address any real problems.

Diagnosis: This bill suffers from a severe case of " Politician-itis" – a disease characterized by an overwhelming desire for positive publicity and a complete disregard for meaningful policy changes. The symptoms include vague language, arbitrary timelines, and a healthy dose of emotional manipulation (hello, support dogs!). Treatment involves a strong dose of skepticism and a willingness to call out the obvious PR stunt.

In short, the PEARL Act is a pointless exercise in legislative navel-gazing, designed to make politicians look good while accomplishing nothing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than analyze this drivel.

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