Animal Welfare Enforcement Improvement Act
Latest action · Jul 28, 2023 Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJun 6, 2023
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Animal Welfare Enforcement Improvement Act
This bill revises the licensing process of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for animal dealers and exhibitors to expand USDA's oversight and enforcement of animal welfare requirements.
Dealers and exhibitors must apply to USDA for licenses or renewal licenses each year. In order to obtain the licenses or renewals, dealers and exhibitors must meet certain standards for the humane treatment of animals and pass inspections as specified by this bill. USDA may not issue or renew such licenses if the dealers or exhibitors have violated laws relating to animals or if the issuance of the licenses would facilitate the circumvention of state or local laws that prohibit the private ownership of certain animals.
Further, USDA must suspend the licenses of dealers or exhibitors whose violations present a risk to animal welfare. USDA must revoke the licenses if the violations persist or if the licensees commit multiple violations. Dealers and exhibitors with suspended or revoked licenses may not be (1) granted another license, (2) granted another license through another person or entity, or (3) employed by another licensee to work with animals during the period of the suspension or revocation.
Cosponsors 34
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 6, 2023 to Sep 17, 2024; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-SC | Nancy Mace | Original | Jun 6, 2023 |
| D-VA | Gerald E. Connolly | Jun 20, 2023 | |
| D-IL | Jesús G. "Chuy" García | Jun 20, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Juan Vargas | Jun 20, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Linda T. Sánchez | Jun 20, 2023 | |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Jun 20, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Ro Khanna | Jun 20, 2023 | |
| D-IL | Sean Casten | Jun 20, 2023 | |
| D-MA | Stephen F. Lynch | Jun 20, 2023 | |
| D-WA | Suzan K. DelBene | Jun 20, 2023 | |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Jun 22, 2023 | |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Jun 22, 2023 | |
| D-PA | Mary Gay Scanlon | Jun 22, 2023 | |
| D-IL | Mike Quigley | Jun 22, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Ted Lieu | Jun 22, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Adam B. Schiff | Jul 11, 2023 | |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | Jul 11, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Tony Cárdenas | Jul 11, 2023 | |
| D-WA | Derek Kilmer | Jul 13, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Mark Takano | Jul 13, 2023 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Jul 17, 2023 | |
| D-CT | Jahana Hayes | Jul 26, 2023 | |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Sep 12, 2023 | |
| R-PA | Brian K. Fitzpatrick | Sep 12, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Zoe Lofgren | Sep 12, 2023 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Sep 13, 2023 | |
| D-KS | Sharice Davids | Sep 19, 2023 | |
| D-MD | David J. Trone | Sep 20, 2023 | |
| D-NJ | Andy Kim | Nov 13, 2023 | |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Nov 13, 2023 | |
| D-NJ | Josh Gottheimer | Nov 13, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Jared Huffman | Jun 25, 2024 | |
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Aug 30, 2024 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Sep 17, 2024 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Agriculture Committee | Referred Jun 6, 2023 |
| Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Subcommittee | Referred Jul 28, 2023 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 28, 2023Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry.
- Jun 6, 2023Introduced in House
- Jun 6, 2023Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 169, no. 98, June 6, 2023, page H2764.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Animal Welfare Act to increase protections for animals, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Animal Welfare Enforcement Improvement Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Animals.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jun 6, 2023Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
