Legislation

Paws Up for More Just Laws

Make your voice heard! The law is an important tool in the fight to end nonhuman animal experimentation. Urge your legislators to support laws that recognize the interests of nonhuman animals and protect them from human use and exploitation.

Federal Bills

S. 2555, H.R. 5041: The Better CARE for Animals Act of 2023 – This bill would amend the Animal Welfare Act to expand and improve the enforcement capabilities of the Attorney General, enhancing collaboration between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the United States Department of Agriculture and enabling the DOJ to enforce the Animal Welfare Act more effectively.

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H.R. 9571: The Cold-blooded Animal Research and Exhibition (CARE) Act – This bill would amend the Animal Welfare Act to ensure that the existing standards set under federal law for the humane care, treatment, and exhibition of warm-blooded animals are extended to cover additional warm blooded ]sic] and cold-blooded animals.

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H.R. 4757: The Cease Animal Research Grants Oversees (CARGO) Act – This bill would amend the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the NIH from awarding any support for an activity or program that uses live animals in research unless the research occurs in the U.S.

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7/19/23: Introduced in the House, and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

7/21/23: Referred to the House Subcommittee on Health.

S. 778, H.R. 2968: The Cost Openness and Spending Transparency (COST) Act – This bill would require the disclosure of information relating to the cost of programs, projects, or activities carried out using federal funds (including the total cost to taxpayers for every project supported with federal funds).

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3/14/23: Senate – Introduced in the Senate; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

4/27/23: House – Introduced in the House, and referred to the House Committee on Oversight & Accountability.

S. 5046, H.R. 7248: The FDA Modernization Act 3.0 – This bill would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish a process for the qualification of nonclinical testing methods to reduce and replace the use of animals in nonclinical research, improve the predictivity of nonclinical testing methods, and reduce development time for a biological product or other drug, and for other purposes.

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2/6/24: Introduced in the House, and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

2/9/24: Referred to the House Subcommittee on Health.

9/12/24: Introduced in Senate; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

12/12/24:

  • Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions by Unanimous Consent.
  • Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent

12/13/24: Message on Senate action sent to the House.

H.R. 5399: The Humane Cosmetics Act of 2023 – This ban would substantially restrict the use of animal testing for cosmetics.

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9/12/23: Introduced in the House, and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

9/15/23: Referred to the House Subcommittee on Health.

H.R. 1465: Violet’s Law – This bill would amend the Animal Welfare Act to allow for the adoption or non-laboratory placement of dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, guinea pigs, hamsters, and rabbits) used in federal research.

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3/8/23: Introduced in the House, and referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.

4/4/23: Referred to the House Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry.

S. 2397: The Worldwide Animal Testing Compliance and Harmonization (WATCH) Act – This bill would amend section 495 of the Public Service Act to require inspections of foreign laboratories conducting biomedical and behavioral research to ensure compliance with applicable animal welfare requirements, requiring foreign laboratories to (1) meet the same animal welfare requirements as domestic laboratories to qualify for NIH fund and (2) submit to quarterly site inspections to ensure their continued compliance with animal welfare requirements.

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7/19/23: Introduced in the Senate; read twice, and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pension.

State Bills

H.B. 1292: Regulation of Animal Testing – This bill would require the state board of animal health to establish a registry of research facilities that use live animals for research/testing and to track the number of live animals used for research or testing at each research facility. 

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1/9/24: House – Introduced, read for the first time, and referred to the Committee on Agriculture & Rural Development.

S.B. 761: Licensing and Regulation of Testing Facilities That Use Animals – This bill would require private research facilities to use non-animal methods to assess product safety when such methods are available and equivalent or superior to animal methods.

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2/1/24: Senate – Reintroduced, and read for the first time in the Committee on Education, Energy, & Environment.

2/13/24: Senate – Hearing scheduled for 3/8 at 9:00am.

S.D. 1424, H.B. 850: Promoting Humane Cosmetics & Other Household Products by Limiting the Use of Animal Testing – This bill would reduce the use of animals in cosmetics and household product testing by requiring manufacturers to use valid alternative (i.e., non-animal) test methods for product, product formulation, chemical, or ingredient testing whenever such alternatives are available.

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2/16/23:

7/17/23: Joint – Hearing scheduled for 7/26/23 from 9:00am – 1:00pm

9/11/23: Senate – Discharged to the Committee on Environment & Natural Resources.

9/14/23: House – Concurred.

10/27/23: Joint – Hearing scheduled for 11/08/2023 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm

3/18/24: Senate – Reporting date extended to Friday, April 12, 2024, pending concurrence.

4/8/24: House – Concurred.

4/22/2024: House –

Accompanied H850; accompanied by S1424.

Reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means:

S.B. 792: Animals – Research Facilities – This bill would require that research facilities using animals submit an annual report that includes the total number of animals owned by the facility, the total number of animals used for laboratory research conducted at the research facility, and the total number of animals released by the research facility.

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3/14/24: Senate – Introduced, and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Affairs.

S.B. 97: An Act Relative to the Use of Animals in Product Testing – This bill would prohibit the use of a traditional animal test for product testing when an appropriate alternative test method exists.

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1/5/23: Senate – Introduced, and referred to Senate Committee on Commerce.

1/24/23: Senate – hearing.

2/22/23: Senate – Committee Report – rereferred to Committee.

1/3/24: Senate – Ought to pass with amendments 2024-0010s and 2024-0033s.

2/8/24: Senate – Ought to pass with amendment 2024-0371s,

2/22/24: House – Introduced (in recess of) and referred to Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

4/24/24: House – Public healing.

5/8/24: House – Subcommittee work session.

5/15/24: House – Executive session scheduled for 10:00am.

5/16/24: House – Committee Report: refer for Interim Study.

5/23/24: House – Refer for Interim Study – Motion Adopted

9/11/24: House – Work Session

10/17/24: House – Executive Session

H.B. 495: Prohibition on the Sale of Cosmetics Tested on Animals – This bill would amend sections of the state code to prohibit the sale of cosmetics tested on animals except under certain specified circumstances.

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4/16/23: House: – Introduced.

4/23/24: House – Referred to the Committee on Commerce & Labor.

H. 425: Prohibiting Cosmetic Testing on Animals – This bill would prohibit cosmetic testing on animals with limited exceptions.

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News About Legislation Protecting Animals in Labs

Update: You Helped Protect Nonhuman Primates from the NIH!

, April 18, 2024
The federal government’s 2024 budget was finalized without including $30 million more dollars to fund further research on nonhuman primates.

All Cunning, No Candor

The Rise for Animals Team, February 15, 2024
The animal research industry doesn’t just oppose reporting its mandated animal counts; it doesn’t even want to count its animals at all.

Lawmakers Are Pushing for Protections for Cephalopods

The Rise for Animals Team, October 13, 2022
Sensitive, intelligent cephalopods are increasingly used in research, but do not have any legal protections for humane care. A Congressional group wants to change that.