House lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation Thursday that would eliminate U.S. funding of experiments on animals abroad.

The bill, titled the Cease Animal Research Grants Overseas Act or the CARGO Act, would halt the National Institutes of Health from funding foreign laboratories that conduct experiments on animals using American taxpayer dollars.

Its lead sponsors, Republican Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas and Democratic Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada, also introduced the CARGO Act in 2023 but the bill stalled in committee.

Between 2011 and 2021, NIH awarded over $2.2 billion in taxpayer-funded grants to foreign laboratories in regions including Canada, South America, Europe and Asia.

Supporters of the CARGO Act said that NIH has no effective mechanisms to ensure compliance with basic animal welfare standards in these foreign labs and does not verify claims made in grant applications or progress reports.

The legislation, they say, would redirect funds toward more effective, humane and human-relevant research methods.

“Americans’ hard-earned taxpayer money should not be used to fund cruel experiments on animals overseas that do not contribute to advancing public health in our country,” Mr. Nehls said. “The fact that the NIH doled out over $2 billion in taxpayer money to foreign laboratories is unacceptable. I’m proud to reintroduce this legislation to ensure that hard-earned tax dollars are not wasted or used to torture animals.”

Rep. Titus said that too many overseas NIH programs either “fail to hold up under intensive scrutiny or are exempt from that oversight altogether, resulting in the abuse of animals through experiments funded by taxpayer dollars.”

She added, “The CARGO Act is a critical step in ending animal suffering and redirecting resources to more reliable and humane research methods here in the United States.”

The legislation, which is endorsed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is co-sponsored by Republican Reps. Young Kim of California, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Democratic Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina and Democratic D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.

“Billions of dollars are being funneled into cruel and ineffective experiments in foreign laboratories, with little to no accountability or oversight,” said Kathy Guillermo, the senior vice president of PETA. “Meanwhile, American taxpayers are footing the bill for this neglect.”

• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.