Jeremiah Smith: “I agree, it would be good to set the record straight on this issue. The federal government now spends millions of…”

“I agree, it would be good to set the record straight on this issue. The federal government now spends millions of dollars each year for the maintenance and care of chimpanzees who are no longer used in medical research, but are being warehoused in expensive taxpayer-funded laboratory cages. The CHIMP Act will actually save taxpayers money because the sanctuary setting is so much less expensive to build and operate than laboratory facilities. The Congressional Budget Office prepared a cost estimate for S. 2725, the legislation that you and I introduced in June. H.R. 3514, the House counterpart that is now pending in the Senate, is identical to S. 2725 in terms of the cost issues. The CBO concluded that 'the cost of caring for a chimpanzee in an external sanctuary would be less expensive on a per capita basis than if the government continued to house the animals in federally owned and operated facilities. Therefore, the government would realize a savings in the care and maintenance of the chimpanzees after 2002.' CBO estimated the annual savings after initial sanctuary construction costs to be an average of $4 million per year after 2002. It costs $8-$15 per day per animal to care for chimpanzees in a sanctuary, where they live in groups in a naturalized setting. That is compared to the $20-$30 per day per animal that the federal government is now spending to maintain the chimpanzees in laboratory cages.”