I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9634 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the National Institutes 

of Health from conducting or supporting research that causes significant 

pain or distress to a nonhuman primate, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 

Ms. MACE (for herself and Ms. MALLIOTAKIS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the 

National Institutes of Health from conducting or supporting research that causes significant pain or distress 

to a nonhuman primate, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Painful Research and 

5 Investigations on Monkeys Abused in Taxpayer-funded 

6 Experiments Stops Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘PRIMATES Act 

7 of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON NIH RESEARCH CAUSING SIGNIFI2 CANT PAIN OR DISTRESS TO NONHUMAN PRI3 MATES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part H of title IV of the Public 

5 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 289 et seq.) is amended 

6 by inserting after section 495 (42 U.S.C. 289d) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 495A. PROHIBITION ON NIH RESEARCH CAUSING SIG9 NIFICANT PAIN OR DISTRESS TO NONHUMAN 

10 PRIMATES. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The National Institutes of 

12 Health may not— 

13 ‘‘(1) conduct or support any research that 

14 causes significant pain or distress to a nonhuman 

15 primate; or 

16 ‘‘(2) transfer any nonhuman primate owned by 

17 the National Institutes of Health to any intramural 

18 or extramural laboratory for use in research that 

19 causes significant pain or distress. 

20 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘re21 search that causes significant pain or distress’ includes 

22 any study classified in pain category D or E by the De23 partment of Agriculture.’’. 

24 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub25 section (a) applies beginning on the date that is 90 days 

26 after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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•HR 9634 IH

1 SEC. 3. NIH REPORT ON RESEARCH CAUSING PAIN OR DIS2 TRESS TO NONHUMAN PRIMATES. 

3 Part H of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 289 et seq.), as amended by section 2, is fur5 ther amended by inserting after section 495A the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 495B. NIH REPORT ON RESEARCH CAUSING PAIN OR 

8 DISTRESS TO NONHUMAN PRIMATES. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after 

10 the date of enactment of this section, and annually there11 after, the Director of the NIH shall publish on the NIH 

12 website, and submit to the Committee on Energy and 

13 Commerce of the House of Representatives and to the 

14 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 

15 the Senate, a report on the use of nonhuman primates 

16 in NIH-conducted and supported biomedical research. 

17 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each report under 

18 subsection (a) shall include, for the period covered by the 

19 report— 

20 ‘‘(1) a list of all ongoing or prospective research 

21 projects involving a nonhuman primate that are con22 ducted or supported by the NIH; 

23 ‘‘(2) for each project— 

24 ‘‘(A) the project title; 

25 ‘‘(B) the grant or contract number; 

26 ‘‘(C) the research abstract; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the research location; 

2 ‘‘(E) the cost to taxpayers during the pre3 vious fiscal year and since inception; 

4 ‘‘(F) the number of nonhuman primates 

5 used; 

6 ‘‘(G) the projected start and end dates; 

7 ‘‘(H) the Department of Agriculture pain 

8 and distress category; and 

9 ‘‘(I) the amount of funds obligated or esti10 mated to be obligated for each such project; 

11 ‘‘(3) an explanation of— 

12 ‘‘(A) efforts to phase out the use of 

13 nonhuman primates in research that is con14 ducted or supported by the NIH; and 

15 ‘‘(B) any barriers to such phase out; and 

16 ‘‘(4) the number of nonhuman primates retired 

17 from research conducted or supported by the NIH 

18 and relocated to sanctuaries. 

19 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 ‘‘(1) The term ‘NIH’ means the National Insti21 tutes of Health. 

22 ‘‘(2) The term ‘research that causes significant 

23 pain or distress’ includes any study classified in pain 

24 category D or E by the Department of Agri25 culture.’’. 


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•HR 9634 IH

1 SEC. 5. GAO STUDY ON NIH NONHUMAN PRIMATE RE2 SEARCH AND EFFORTS TO REDUCE USE OF 

3 NONHUMAN PRIMATES IN TESTING. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

6 of the United States shall submit a report to the Congress 

7 that— 

8 (1) reviews and summarizes the use of 

9 nonhuman primates in research that is conducted or 

10 supported by the NIH; 

11 (2) identifies NIH policies and initiatives aimed 

12 at reducing and replacing the specific use of 

13 nonhuman primates in research that is conducted or 

14 supported by the NIH; 

15 (3) assesses the effectiveness of any NIH poli16 cies and initiatives aimed at reducing and replacing 

17 the use of nonhuman primates in NIH-conducted 

18 and supported research; 

19 (4) compares NIH efforts to reduce and replace 

20 nonhuman primate testing to similar efforts at other 

21 Federal agencies; 

22 (5) identifies areas where the NIH can im23 prove— 

24 (A) efforts to reduce and replace the use of 

25 nonhuman primates in research that is con26 ducted or supported by the NIH; and 


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1 (B) public reporting on progress made; 

2 (6) assesses the effectiveness of any NIH poli3 cies and initiatives aimed at retiring nonhuman pri4 mates no longer needed in research conducted or 

5 supported by the NIH to sanctuaries; 

6 (7) makes recommendations for improving— 

7 (A) the effectiveness of efforts to reduce 

8 and replace the use of nonhuman primates in 

9 research conducted or supported by the NIH; 

10 and 

11 (B) public reporting on progress made; 

12 and 

13 (8) includes any other matter the Comptroller 

14 General of the United States determines important 

15 to assessing and improving NIH’s efforts to reduce 

16 and replace the use of nonhuman primates in feder17 ally funded research. 

18 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) The term ‘‘NIH’’ means the National Insti20 tutes of Health. 

21 (2) The term ‘‘research that causes significant 

22 pain or distress’’ includes any study classified in 

23 pain category D or E by the Department of Agri24 culture. 

Æ 


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