United States 116th Congress Status: In Committee 1 D cosponsors

S 708 — KITTEN Act of 2019

Last action — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 116th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Kittens In Traumatic Testing Ends Now Act of 2019 or the KITTEN Act of 2019 This bill prohibits the Department of Agriculture from using cats in experiments that may cause pain or stress, unless the pain or stress is a result of a physical exam or training program.

Bill Text

Sections of law this bill changes

1 section in 1 law

From the bill's own amending language, matched to the official United States Code (current through Public Law 119-121).

Transportation, sale, and handling of certain animals · 7 U.S.C. ch. 54 1 section
  • § 2144 Humane standards for animals by United States Government facilities Amends

    7 U.S.C. § 2144

    The law today

    Any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States having laboratory animal facilities shall comply with the standards and other requirements promulgated by the Secretary for a research facility under sections 1 2143(a), (f), (g), and (h) of this title. Any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States exhibiting animals shall comply with the standards promulgated by the Secretary under sections 1 2143(a), (f), (g), and (h) of this title.

    13 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

How this bill changes current law

3 changes Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill adds specific limitations on experimentation on cats within the existing framework of the Animal Welfare Act.

  • 7 U.S.C. 2144

    Any department → (a) In General.--Any department

    The bill adds a subsection labeling the general responsibilities of departments regarding laboratory animal facilities.

  • 7 U.S.C. 2144

    Any department → (b) Exhibiting Animals.--Any department

    The bill specifies a subsection for departments exhibiting animals, clarifying their compliance obligations.

  • 7 U.S.C. 2144

    (c) Department of Agriculture Experimentation on Cats.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall not purchase, breed, transport, house, feed, maintain, dispose of, or conduct an experiment on a cat as part of any study or research that would subject that cat to a procedure that may cause pain or stress, including pain or stress that may be mitigated by anesthetics, analgesics, or tranquilizer drugs, unless the pain or stress is a result of a physical exam or training program.

    The bill prohibits specific experimentation practices involving cats, imposing restrictions that did not previously exist.

Action History

  1. Introduced in Senate

  2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 546 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (546)

546 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 546 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

Animals Animal protection and human-animal relationships Government studies and investigations Medical research Research ethics
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 708 do?
Kittens In Traumatic Testing Ends Now Act of 2019 or the KITTEN Act of 2019 This bill prohibits the Department of Agriculture from using cats in experiments that may cause pain or stress, unless the pain or stress is a result of a physical exam or training program.
Who sponsors S 708?
S 708 is sponsored by Merkley, Jeff (Democratic).
What is the current status of S 708?
This bill died with 116th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track S 708?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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