Political Quotes

“I am pleased to join my colleague from Michigan, Senator Peters, in introducing the Animal Freedom from Testing, Experiments, and Research Act, known as the AFTER Act, to promote the adoption or retirement of animals used for research by Federal agencies. In fiscal year 2019, the Federal government experimented on approximately 38,000 animals for research purposes. These experiments occurred across fourteen different federal agencies. The animals used were mainly cats, dogs, monkeys, and rabbits. Tracking these animals following experimentation is challenging. In many instances, animals no longer needed for research are killed since many agencies lack formal retirement or adoption policies. Recent peer-reviewed studies indicate that research animals that are adopted, however, often thrive in their new environments. In 2013, led by Senators Harkin, Alexander, Cantwell and myself, the Senate passed the CHIMP Act, which allowed for the retirement of hundreds of primates that were formerly used in National Institute of Health (NIH) experiments. In addition, the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, FDA, and NIH recently enacted successful animal retirement policies.…”