House and Senate Appropriations Bills Include Animal Research Provisions

By: Naomi Charalambakis
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
As Capitol Hill continues to discuss the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees are releasing their proposed funding bills for various federal agencies, including those overseeing biomedical research. Several bills, categorized below by committee, include language related to animal research.

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs
Consistent with the last several budget cycles, the House Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon VA) Appropriations Subcommittee bill prohibits funding for canine, feline, and nonhuman primate research unless the studies are approved by the VA Secretary in writing. However, the bill also states that the VA must eliminate research with these species by March 2026, a provision that was introduced and passed in the FY 2024 funding package earlier this year. The FY 2025 report—language that provides more detailed instructions to the agencies on how to spend appropriated funds—stated that the VA could not approve “any new animal research that would not be complete before 2026.” Such broad language raised concerns for the scientific community, as it could be interpreted to mean restrictions on all animal studies, including rodents, instead of just the species listed in the bill.

Rather than specifying an exact date by which studies with canines, felines, and nonhuman primates must end, the Senate MilCon VA draft appropriations bill simply provides a broad timeframe that depends on the date of the bill’s passage, “…eliminate the research conducted using canines, felines, or non-human primates by not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.” Additionally, the committee report did not include the vague language seen in the House’s version related to “all animal studies.” 

Labor Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS)
The House Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee report package included positive and negative language about biomedical research with animals. Specifically, the committee highlighted the critical role of nonhuman primates in basic biology and disease research, especially their value in developing new medicines and therapies. This language is consistent with FASEB’s advocacy on this topic, including a coalition letter to Congress last year urging support for nonhuman primate research. While encouraging to see Congressional support for such research, House appropriators did not allocate funding for the National Primate Research Centers.

Additionally, the House LHHS report directs the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to submit a report to Congress that explains the agency’s efforts to reduce and replace the use of dogs and cats in NIH-funded intramural and extramural research. This explanation must also include objective performance metrics used to assess progress towards this aim. 

The Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee will publish its proposed bill and report later this summer.

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (Ag-FDA)
Similar to years past, both the House and Senate Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittees included language related to enhancing enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, the law that regulates the treatment of animals in research, teaching, breeding, and transporting. However, this year, the Senate report package added a stipulation about research facility inspections. Specifically, Senate appropriators request the U.S. Department of Agriculture provide on-demand, publicly available training for Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees and Veterinary Medical Officers, two groups of individuals instrumental in overseeing animal care programs at institutions. Part of this training must involve confirming the correct number and pain category of animals used in experiments. 

Once appropriations bills pass the respective Congressional chambers, House and Senate members will negotiate conference bills and reports that reconcile differences between the two versions. Final provisions and instructions regarding the care and use of research animals will become clearer once this process is complete.