WASHINGTON – Today, Reps. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) and Don Davis (D-N.C.) introduced the Accountability in Foreign Animal Research (AFAR) Act. The bipartisan legislation prevents U.S. tax dollars from being used to conduct or support research on animals in China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, or other adversarial countries.
“American taxpayer dollars should never fund dangerous, cruel experiments in animal research labs – much less in China or other adversarial countries. This common-sense legislation ensures taxpayer dollars are not wasted on reckless research,” McClain said.
"To protect our nation from another preventable pandemic, we must take steps to stop dangerous animal experiments that can lead to the spread of disease,” Davis said. “Hard-working taxpayers in eastern North Carolina and across America should not pay for risky experimentation in countries not subject to regular oversight and accountability.”
Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.
“We should have learned our lesson after COVID-19,” Ernst said. “Whether creating zombie cats in Russia, supporting risky research in Wuhan, or funding sketchy experiments on animals in foreign labs, I am cutting off the money for this madness and ensuring that taxpayers no longer foot the bill for crazy pseudoscience overseas.”
Read the full bill text here.
Background:
McClain has been a leading voice in Congress against funding risky experiments in adversarial countries.
She introduced legislation in the 117th and 118th Congresses.
McClain also demanded answers from the Biden administration on Russian animal labs conducting inhumane experiments with U.S. taxpayer dollars.
Recently, she praised the National Institutes of Health’s decision to ban 6 Chinese labs from receiving U.S. taxpayer funding.
