HENRY Act
Bill: H.R.7787 | Sponsor: Rep. Phillips, Dean (D-MN)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Helping Employees Navigate Rabies Regulations from over Yonder or the HENRY Act
This bill directs certain actions to allow federal officers and employees to bring dogs into the United States from countries that are considered high-risk for rabies. Among other provisions, the bill directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to allow federal officers and employees who are stationed abroad, including members of the military, to bring up to three dogs into the United States per entry; the CDC may allow for more dogs through specialized waivers.

To allow Federal personnel stationed abroad to return to the United 
               States with dogs, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Helping Employees Navigate Rabies 
Regulations from over Yonder'' or the ``HENRY Act''.

SEC. 2. EXEMPTION FOR FEDERAL PERSONNEL ENTERING THE UNITED STATES WITH 
              DOGS.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention shall ensure that the requirements of the Centers 
relating to the importation of dogs are not overly burdensome with 
respect to--
            (1) an officer or employee of the United States Government 
        (including a member of the uniformed services) stationed or 
        assigned, including for temporary duty, outside of the United 
        States or its territories or possessions; or
            (2) any dependent of such an officer or employee.
    (b) Limitation on Temporary Suspension.--
            (1) In general.--The temporary suspension on the 
        importation of dogs announced in the notice titled ``Temporary 
        Suspension of Dogs Entering the United States From High-Risk 
        Rabies Countries'' published by the Centers for Disease Control 
        and Prevention on June 16, 2021 (86 Fed. Reg. 32041 et seq.) 
        (and any successor or substantially similar restriction of the 
        Centers), shall not apply with respect to the importation of up 
        to three dogs per entry into the United States by persons 
        described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a).
            (2) Waiver.--At the request of a person described in 
        paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a), the Director of the 
        Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may waive the 
        limitation of three dogs specified in paragraph (1) so as to 
        allow the importation by such person of up to a number of dogs 
        per entry specified in such waiver.
    (c) Applicability To Travel in Personal Capacity.--This section 
shall apply with respect to an officer, employee, or dependent 
regardless of whether the officer, employee, or dependent is traveling 
in an official or personal capacity.
    (d) Interim Regulations.--Section 71.51 of title 42, Code of 
Federal Regulations (as in effect on the day before June 16, 2021) 
(other than section 71.51(e)) is deemed to apply with respect to the 
importation of dogs by persons described in paragraph (1) or (2) of 
subsection (a), until and unless the Director of the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention establishes different requirements 
consistent with subsection (a).
    (e) Conforming Changes.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention shall revise the temporary suspension on the importation 
of dogs announced in the notice titled ``Temporary Suspension of Dogs 
Entering the United States From High-Risk Rabies Countries'' published 
by the Centers on June 16, 2021 (86 Fed. Reg. 32041 et seq.), and take 
such other steps as may be necessary, to implement this subsection.
    (f) Applicability.--Irrespective of the date by which the Director 
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes the revisions 
and takes the steps required by subsection (d), this section applies to 
the importation of dogs beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. FLY AMERICA ACT EXCEPTION.

    Section 40118 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(h) Certain Transportation of Domestic Animals.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (c), 
        an appropriation to any department, agency, or instrumentality 
        of the United States Government may be used to pay for the 
        transportation of an officer, employee, or member of the 
        uniformed services of any such department, agency, or 
        instrumentality, a dependent of the officer, employee, or 
        member, and in-cabin or accompanying checked baggage, by a 
        foreign air carrier when--
                    ``(A)(i) the transportation is from a place outside 
                the United States to a place in the United States;
                    ``(ii) the transportation is from a place in the 
                United States to a place outside the United States; or
                    ``(iii) the transportation is from a place outside 
                the United States to another place outside the United 
                States; and
                    ``(B) no air carrier holding a certificate under 
                section 41102 is willing and able to transport up to 
                three domestic animals accompanying such officer, 
                employee, member, or dependent.
            ``(2) Limitation.--An amount paid pursuant to paragraph (1) 
        for transportation by a foreign carrier may not be greater than 
        the amount that would otherwise have been paid had the 
        transportation been on an air carrier holding a certificate 
        under section 41102 had that carrier been willing and able to 
        provide such transportation. If the amount that would otherwise 
        have been paid to such an air carrier is less than the cost of 
        transportation on the applicable foreign carrier, the officer, 
        employee, or member may pay the difference of such amount.
            ``(3) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `domestic 
        animal' means a dog or a cat.''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATIONS RELATING TO VETERINARY CARE OVERSEAS.

    (a) Department of State.--The Secretary of State, in consultation 
with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is 
authorized, in order to facilitate the importation to the United 
States, in accordance with section 2 and the amendment made by section 
3, of domestic animals by officers and employees of the United States 
Government, and their dependents, under the authority of any Chief of 
Mission from a country classified by the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention as high risk for dog rabies--
            (1) to enter into contracts with individuals who are 
        licensed in the United States for the provision of personal 
        services (as described in section 104 of part 37 of title 48, 
        Code of Federal Regulations and including pursuant to section 
        904 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4084)) to 
        provide veterinary care overseas for domestic animals of such 
        officers, employees, and dependents, except that--
                    (A) such individuals may not be deemed officers or 
                employees of the United States for the purpose of any 
                law administered by the Office of Personnel Management; 
                and
                    (B) such individuals shall be expected to be 
                available to travel to any overseas post as necessary 
                to provide veterinary care and shall not be hired for 
                or detailed exclusively to any specific overseas post; 
                and
            (2) to take such steps as may be necessary to provide 
        medical services or related support with respect to the 
        domestic animals of such officers, employees, and dependents, 
        including in particular the purchase, procurement, delivery, 
        and administration of rabies vaccines licensed by the Secretary 
        of Agriculture, on a reimbursable basis to the extent feasible, 
        except that such reimbursement may not exceed the amount that 
        would be charged for equivalent veterinarian services if 
        received in the United States.
    (b) Use of Existing Mechanisms.--To the maximum extent practicable, 
the Secretary of State shall use existing mechanisms, including for the 
purchase, procurement, delivery, and administration of COVID-19 
vaccines to officers and employees of the United States Government and 
their dependents under the authority of any Chief of Mission abroad, to 
carry out the authorities provided by subsection (a), especially with 
respect to the purchase, procurement, delivery, and administration of 
rabies vaccines licensed by the Secretary of Agriculture.
    (c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``domestic animal'' 
means a dog or a cat.
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