PUPPERS Act of 2017

Preventing Unkind and Painful Procedures and Experiments on Respected Species Act of 2017 or the PUPPERS Act of 2017

This bill prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs, in carrying out research within the Veterans Health Administration, from purchasing, breeding, transporting, housing, feeding, maintaining, disposing of, or experimenting on dogs as part of the conduct of any study that causes significant pain or distress.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3197 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3197

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs from conducting medical research causing significant 
                       pain or distress to dogs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 12, 2017

Mr. Brat (for himself, Ms. Titus, Mr. Mast, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, 
 Mr. Donovan, and Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs from conducting medical research causing significant 
                       pain or distress to dogs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Unkind and Painful 
Procedures and Experiments on Respected Species Act of 2017'' or the 
``PUPPERS Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL RESEARCH 
              CAUSING SIGNIFICANT PAIN OR DISTRESS TO DOGS.

    (a) In General.--Section 7303 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e)(1) In carrying out research, the Secretary may not purchase, 
breed, transport, house, feed, maintain, dispose of, or experiment on 
dogs as part of the conduct of any study that causes significant pain 
or distress.
    ``(2) In this subsection, the term `study that causes significant 
pain or distress'--
            ``(A) includes any study classified to pain category D or E 
        by the Department of Agriculture; and
            ``(B) does not include any physical exam, training program, 
        or study relating to service or working dogs.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
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