Senator Franken’s first proposed legislation as Senator is to provide dogs for disabled veterans. Franken stated that “Service dogs … can be of immense benefit to vets suffering from physical and emotional wounds,” as he wrote in the Minneapolis Star Tribune . When properly trained dogs are able to detect changes in health status such as problems breathing, panic attacks, can calm a veteran who suffers from PTSD/nightmares, and can remind veterans to take their medication. Franken predicts that the program would reduce the suicide rate among veterans. Franken’s bill would provide 100s of dogs to veterans and would cost around $25,000 to train each dog.