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INTRODUCTION OF THE HUMANE RESEARCH AND TESTING ACT OF 2021
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HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS
of florida
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Mr. HASTINGS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Humane Research and Testing Act of 2021. The exact number of animals used in federally funded medical research is unknown, but estimates range widely from 17 to 100 million animals utilized each year. Despite this widespread use, animal testing often fails to produce valid results predictive of human trials. In particular, more than 30 percent of candidate drugs fail human clinical trials because they are found to be toxic, despite promising pre-clinical studies on animals. On top of this, 65 percent of medications that advance to human trials fail due to lack of efficacy even after completing clinical trials on animals.
Fortunately, there have been important advancements in medical research methods over the past several years. Animal testing is therefore no longer necessary in the many circumstances where non-
animal alternatives are available. Some of these human-relevant methods include synthetic skin, synthetic organs, and various methods of chemical toxicity testing that can decrease the number of animals used. Recognizing the need to promote alternatives, Congress passed the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, which in part directed the National Institutes of Health to outline a plan for reducing the number of animals used in research. Unfortunately, little progress has been made since the passage of this law, and animals continue to be used extensively despite new and improved methods and mounting evidence that animal testing can often be ineffective. The delayed adoption of these viable alternatives means that every year several million animals are needlessly held in captivity and oftentimes senselessly harmed by experiments in the process.
To rectify this situation, I am introducing the Humane Research and Testing Act of 2021 alongside my esteemed colleague and good friend Congressman Vern Buchanan. This legislation establishes the National Center for Alternatives to Animals in Research and Testing within the NIH. First, the National Center will provide assistance, funding, and training to educate scientists in alternatives to the use of animals in research. The National Center will also facilitate collaborations that provide scientists lacking resources with access to human-relevant methods. Second, the National Center will be tasked with tallying the number of animals used in federally funded research. Scientists receiving federal funding and government agencies that use animals in research will be required to submit regular reports to the National Center that state the number of animals used in their research projects, disaggregated by species, and they will also be required to outline a plan for reducing the number of animals they use.
Madam Speaker, I urge the House to swiftly pass this legislation. The establishment of a new center dedicated to encouraging human-relevant alternatives to animal testing is needed, so that the NIH can meet its goal of reducing the number of animals unnecessarily harmed in research every year.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 45
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