,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hjeb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,august #ad1         
#bjbj,mr4 ,neguse 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,gaetz1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 and ,mr4 ,carter of
 ,georgia7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill 
,to establish an ,animal ,cruelty       
,crimes ,section within the ,department 
of ,justice's ,environment and ,natural 
,resources ,division1 and for other     
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,animal ,cruelty    
,enforcement ,act of #bjbj4  #b4        
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,there is a significant connection
 between animal cruelty and violence    
against humans1 domestic violence1 child
 abuse1 sexual abuse1 homicide1 gang    
activity1 drug trafficking1 and other   
crimes4  7#b7 ,animal fighting activity 
may increase the spread of diseases     
transmitted between animals and people4 
7#c7 ,a number of ,federal laws have    

been enacted to address cruelty to      
animals4  7#d7 ,recognizing the         
connection between animal cruelty and   
serious crimes the ,federal ,bureau of  
,investigation tracks animal cruelty    
crimes4  7#e7 ,there is bipartisan and  
widespread public support for addressing
 animal cruelty4  7#f7 ,there is a      
government interest in ensuring laws are
 robustly enforced for the betterment   
and protection of society4  7#g7 ,the   
lack of a dedicated animal crimes       
enforcement unit within the ,department 
of ,justice has resulted in unacceptable
 delays in prosecutions1 and an overall 
lack of prosecution1 of animal crimes4  
7#h7 ,dedicated staff and resources at  
the ,department of ,justice will        
facilitate successful enforcement of    
animal cruelty laws1 which often have   
unique investigative elements1 by       
providing specialized knowledge and     
focus1 and streamlining the handling of 
these offenses4  #c4 ,animal ,cruelty   
,crimes ,section of the ,department of  

,justice  7a7 ,establishment ,there is  
established an ,animal ,cruelty ,crimes 
,section within the ,department of      
,justice's ,environment and ,natural    
,resources ,division to enforce ,federal
 laws prohibiting animal cruelty under  
the jurisdiction of the ,department of  
,justice4  7b7 ,purpose ,the purpose of 
the ,animal ,cruelty ,crimes ,section is
 to enforce ,federal laws prohibiting   
animal cruelty under the jurisdiction of
 the ,department of ,justice and to     
vigorously pursue investigations and    
prosecutions under such laws4  7c7      
,coordination ,the ,animal ,cruelty     
,crimes ,section shall coordinate with  
the ,department of ,agriculture1 the    
,office of ,inspector ,general of the   
,department of ,agriculture1 the        
,federal ,bureau of ,investigation1 the 
,united ,states ,marshals ,service1     
,u4,s4 ,customs and ,border ,protection1
 and other agencies1 as appropriate4    
7d7 ,report ,on the date that is one    
year after the date of enactment of this

 ,act1 and annually thereafter1 the     
,animal ,cruelty ,crimes ,section shall 
submit to ,congress a report on1 for the
 previous year-- 7#a7 the number of     
charges that were filed for violations  
of laws described in subsection 7b71    
disaggregated by the law alleged to have
 been violated1 the ,state in which the 
violation was alleged to have occurred1 
and the number of convictions2 and  7#b7
 the number of investigations of        
violations of laws described in         
subsection 7b7 for which charges were   
not filed4