Bill > HR4698

This bill, known as the Preventing Animal Abuse and Waste (PAAW) Act, amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from conducting or supporting research that causes significant pain or distress to dogs and cats. Specifically, the bill defines "research that causes significant pain or distress" as any study assigned a pain category D or E, as defined by the Department of Agriculture's Pain and Distress Categories under the Animal Welfare Act. This means that research protocols that would subject dogs or cats to severe pain or distress would be prohibited from receiving NIH funding or being conducted by NIH researchers. The prohibition would take effect 90 days after the bill's enactment, giving research institutions time to adjust their protocols and animal research practices. The goal of the bill appears to be protecting animals from unnecessary suffering in scientific research by establishing clear boundaries on the type of experimental procedures that can be performed on dogs and cats.

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https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4698/all-info