• This summer, following WCW investigations and campaigns, Congress unanimously passed bipartisan legislation defunding the Defense Department’s wasteful dog and cat testing
• Now, WCW has united a diverse bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, advocacy groups, experts, and taxpayers to get this measure to the President’s desk
• In a new bipartisan letter to the Armed Services Committee, 26 Congress members write, “This measure would eliminate wasteful spending on unnecessary and outdated research, make DOD more efficient and effective, and protect pets from abuse”
• WCW investigations exposed how the DOD is wasting millions on cruel and entirely unnecessary experiments on beagles and kittens
• WCW is on a mission to get the government out of the dog and cat testing business

Earlier this year, White Coat Waste Project (WCW) exposed how the Department of Defense (DOD) wasted $949,108 to force beagles to ingest massive doses of experimental drugs in unnecessary tests and is squandering over $10 million to sever cats’ spinal cords and electro-shock them in needless erectile dysfunction and constipation experiments.   

Based on our investigations, in June, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a WCW-backed bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act—the annual must-pass bill that sets DOD budgets and policy—that cut funding for the DOD’s wasteful experimentation on pets.  

It’s the first time ever that Congress has voted to defund all of the Pentagon’s pet abuse, and we’re working overtime to ensure it becomes the law of the land.

Now, following an outpouring of support from tens of thousands of WCW supporters nationwide, U.S. Representatives Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Nancy Mace (R-SC) are leading a bipartisan effort to ensure that this life-saving and cost-saving measure is included in the final version of the NDAA that makes it to the President’s desk for a signature.  

In a new letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, Reps. Moskowitz, Mace, and 24 other members of Congress write, “This measure would eliminate wasteful spending on unnecessary and outdated research, make DOD more efficient and effective, and protect pets from abuse.”

The letter’s two-dozen-plus co-signers include influential members of the House Armed Services Committee and several military veterans serving in Congress. 

The bipartisan letter was signed by Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Dina Titus (D-NV), Don Davis (D-NC), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Buddy Carter (R-GA), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Young Kim (R-CA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), David Valadao (R-CA), Pat Ryan (D-NY), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Greg Steube (R-FL), Nanette Barragán (D-CA), Troy Nehls (R-TX), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), and Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

To support these Congressional efforts, WCW has also united a diverse coalition of veterans’ organizations, animal welfare advocates, and fellow government watchdogs to urge Congress to include the DOD dog and cat testing defund in the NDAA.

Joining WCW on the letter are our allies at Taxpayers Protection Alliance, American Humane Association, Wounded Paw Project, American GI Forum, Advancing Law for Animals, Free The People, and even world champion wrestler-turned-Mayor Glenn Jacobs of Knox County, Tennessee. 

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Dr. Gerald Parker, a veterinarian and Associate Dean and Professor at Texas A&M University, criticized the DOD’s abuse of pets:

Many military veterans, including the brave whistleblower who exposed the Department of Veterans Affairs’ wasteful heart attack tests on puppies, are also calling out the DOD.

Help us save pets and tax dollars! Email your Congress members now and tell them to defund the DOD’s dog and cat testing in the 2025 Defense bill!