Washington, DC – As first reported in Washington Examiner, U.S. Representatives Young Kim (CA-40) and Don Davis (NC-01) led 25 colleagues in a bipartisan letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin requesting details on Department of Defense (DOD) funding for unnecessary, cruel experiments on dogs and cats and efforts to implement alternatives that are more reliable, economical, and humane.
In recent years, the Department of Veterans Affairs has ended its use of dog and cats in research, and the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act that passed the House last month includes a bipartisan amendment cutting funding for DOD research on cats and dogs.
Reps. Kim and Davis were joined in sending the letter by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Chris Smith (NJ-04), Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Jen Kiggans (VA-02), Troy Nehls (TX-22), Mike Lawler (NY-17), Greg Steube (FL-17), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), David Valadao (CA-22), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Mike Waltz (FL-06), Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Sanford Bishop (GA-02), Eleanor Norton (DC), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Marc Molinaro (NY-19), Hank Johnson (GA-04), John James (MI-10), Dina Titus (NV-01), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), and Brandon Williams (NY-22).
“Animals should be treated with care, not cruelty. There’s no excuse for inhumane testing on dogs and cats on the taxpayer’s dime, especially when alternatives are available,” said Rep. Young Kim. “The U.S. government should not fund painful, unnecessary testing on innocent animals, period. I’ll keep holding this administration accountable.”
“We applaud Reps. Young Kim and Don Davis for their outstanding bipartisan leadership to stop the Pentagon’s pet abuse. White Coat Waste Project’s recent investigations uncovered how the DOD is wasting millions of our money to poison puppies and kill kittens in outdated experiments that are opposed by a supermajority of taxpayers across the political spectrum,” said Justin Goodman, Senior Vice President, White Coat Waste Project.
Read the letter HERE.
