Jeremiah Smith: “I thank the Senate managers for including my amendment in the managers' package. This amendment relates to the Request…”

“I thank the Senate managers for including my amendment in the managers' package. This amendment relates to the Request for Proposals (RFP) recently issued by the National Institutes of Health for the care of 288 chimpanzees recently acquired by NIH from The Coulston Foundation. The Coulston Foundation, an animal research facility in Alamogordo, New Mexico, has a very troubling record of animal care, and has been investigated and charged by the U.S. Department of Agriculture numerous times for egregious violations of the Animal Welfare Act relating to the deaths of several chimpanzees and other primates. At least 14 chimpanzees and 4 monkeys have died at the lab in the past seven years, due to negligence and a lack of appropriate veterinary care. Last August, following the deaths of several chimpanzees at Coulston, USDA ordered the lab to halve its chimpanzee colony, leading to the transfer of 288 chimps to NIH. However, the transfer was in title only. For the time being, the chimpanzees will remain in Coulston's physical possession, in direct defiance of the spirit and intent of the USDA order. I am eager, therefore, for NIH to proceed with its RFP to secure the services of an entity that can provide high quality care for the 288 chimpanzees. The easiest way to ensure this is to insist that bidders for the contract be accredited by the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation for Laboratory Animal Care, International, or AAALAC.”