,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hjja  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,august #aa1         
#bjbj,mr4 ,crdenas introduced the       
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce 
,a ,,bill  ,to require research         
facilities that use companion dogs1     
cats1 or rabbits for research purposes  
and receive funding from the ,national  
,institutes of ,health to offer such    
animals for adoption after completion of
 such research1 and for other purposes4 
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act shall be    
cited as the ,companion ,animal ,release
 from ,experiments ,act of #bjbj or the 
,,care ,act of #bjbj4  #b4 ,findings    
,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the
 use of animals in research has been an 
issue of public concern since the       
mid-#bjth century1 because animals used 
in research will1 in most cases1        
experience fear1 pain1 confinement1 and 
premature death4  7#b7 ,section #die of 
the ,health ,research ,extension ,act is

 the statutory basis for the public     
health service policy of the ,federal   
,government with respect to humane care 
and use of laboratory animals4  7#c7    
,currently1 the public health service   
policy of the ,surgeon ,general does not
 cover the post research treatment of   
such animals4  7#d7 ,animals used in    
research include animals commonly kept  
as companion animals by the public4     
7#e7 ,more than #fd1jjj dogs1 #ah1jjj   
cats1 and #ade1jjj rabbits are used in  
experiments in the ,united ,states each 
year and much of the research is        
conducted at facilities that receive    
public funding through the ,national    
,institutes of ,health4  7#f7 ,due to an
 absence of ,federal requirements1 #aa  
,states have enacted laws governing the 
post research placement for dogs and    
cats used in publicly funded research   
institutions4  7#g7 ,a national         
requirement is needed to ensure that    
research institutions that receive tax  
payer funding establish adoption        

policies for companion animals that are 
no longer used for research1 including  
finding such animals a home and adopting
 transparent policies concerning the    
success of such requirement4  #c4       
,offering dogs1 cats1 or rabbits used in
 research facilities for adoption  7a7  
,adoption guidelines for research       
facilities ,section #die7;b77#c7 of the 
,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #bhi;d7b77#c77 is amended--   
7#a7 by striking the and at the end of  
subparagraph 7,b72  7#b7 by striking the
 period at the end of subparagraph 7,c72
 and  7#c7 by inserting after           
subparagraph 7,c7 the following3  7,d7  
develop and implement policies for the  
adoption of dogs1 cats1 or rabbits no   
longer needed for biomedical and        
behavioral research1 including-- 7i7    
developing and making publicly available
 on the website of such research entity 
a policy for offering for adoption a    
dog1 cat1 or rabbit no longer needed for
 biomedical and behavioral research2    

7ii7 assessing the health of such dog1  
cat1 or rabbit to determine whether such
 animal is suitable for adoption2 and   
7iii7 making reasonable efforts to offer
 for adoption any dog1 cat1 or rabbit   
deemed suitable for adoption1 either    
through-- 7,i7 private placement2       
7,,ii7 an animal shelter2 or  7,,iii7 an
 animal adoption organization2 and  7,e7
 maintain records on dogs1 cats1 or     
rabbits used by the research entity and 
make such records publicly available on 
the website of such research entity1    
including records on-- 7i7 the number of
 dogs1 cats1 or rabbits used for        
research2  7ii7 the number of dogs1     
cats1 or rabbits placed for adoption    
through private placement1 animal       
shelter1 or through an animal adoption  
organization2 and  7iii7 the number of  
dogs1 cats1 or rabbits destroyed4  4    
7b7 ,immunity and animal adoption       
organization defined ,section #die of   
the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db  
,u4,s4,c4 #bhi;d7 is amended by adding  

at the end the following3  7f7 ,immunity
 ,a research facility that places a dog1
 cat1 or rabbit for adoption consistent 
with the policies under subsection      
7b77#c77;,d7 is immune from any civil   
liability in any ,federal or ,state     
judicial or administrative proceeding   
arising out of any act or omission with 
respect to such dog1 cat1 or rabbit     
following the adoption of such dog1 cat1
 or rabbit1 except for willful or wanton
 misconduct4  7g7 ,definitions ,for     
purposes of this section1 the following 
terms apply3 7#a7 ,animal adoption      
organization ,the term animal adoption  
organization means an organization      
that-- 7,a7 rescues animals in need and 
finds permanent1 adoptive homes for such
 animals2  7,b7 is described in section 
#eja7;c77#c7 of the ,internal ,revenue  
,code of #aihf2 and  7,c7 is exempt from
 tax under section #eja7;a7 of such     
,code4  7#b7 ,animal shelter ,the term  
animal shelter means a facility that--  
7,a7 accepts or seizes animals to care  

for such animals2 and  7,b7 places such 
animals in a permanent adoptive home4   
7#c7 ,private placement ,the term       
private placement means an arrangement  
between the research entity and an      
individual seeking to provide a         
permanent adoptive home for the animal  
pursuant to the adoption policy of such 
entity4  4  7c7 ,effective date ,the    
amendments made by this ,act shall take 
effect #a year after the date of the    
enactment of this ,act4