CATS Act of 2020

Cat Abuse in Testing Stops Act of 2020 or the CATS Act of 2020

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 cats as part of the conduct of any study that causes significant pain or distress.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8867 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8867

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 3, 2020

   Ms. Titus (for herself, Mr. Mast, Mr. Gaetz, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. 
   Suozzi, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Shalala, Mrs. 
 Dingell, Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois, Mr. Harder of California, Ms. 
 Lee of California, Ms. Norton, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Cicilline, 
 Mr. Levin of Michigan, Mr. Lowenthal, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Eshoo, and Mr. 
Hurd of Texas) 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 cats.

    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 ``Cat Abuse in Testing Stops Act of 
2020'' or the ``CATS Act of 2020''.

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

    (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 
cats 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' includes any study classified to pain category D or E 
by the Department of Agriculture (or such successor categories 
developed pursuant to section 13 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 
2143)).''.
    (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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