UPDATE (6/25/19): Following WCW advocacy and leadership from Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV), Brian Mast (R-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), the full U.S. House of Representatives has passed its 2020 VA spending bill that completely defunds painful dog testing at the agency (see section 247). The Senate will consider the legislation this summer.

ORIGINAL POST (5/7/19)

The powerful House Appropriations Committee has just passed its 2020 spending bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the legislation includes a measure de-funding of all of the VA’s painful dog testing (see section 247)!

I don’t think it’s too much to ask the VA to do better than harming and killing puppies in painful experiments. I’m glad to see the Appropriations Committee vote to defund this abusive practice. Now it’s time to make this law for good!https://t.co/KKODt4DJEQ

— Rep. Brian Mast (@RepBrianMast) May 13, 2019

Earlier this year, White Coat Waste Project worked with Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) and combat-wounded veteran Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL)–the leaders of the PUPPERS Act— to rally over 5o Republican and Democrat lawmakers to request that the de-fund be included in the bill authored by Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL)–an outspoken leader on this issue and WCW Waste Warrior awardee–and Ranking Member John Carter (R-TX).

WCW ads running in conjunction with tax season in cities where the VA still abuses dogs in taxpayer-funded experiments.

This is just the most recent progress in WCW’s ongoing campaign to end the VA’s abuse of dogs and puppies in wasteful experiments with taxpayer dollars.

For the past two years, as a result of WCW’s efforts, advocacy from veterans groups and support from the First Family, Congress and President Trump have enacted legislation restricting wasteful and cruel VA dog testing.  Those historic measures have helped drastically cut the number of VA dog experiments down from 15 down to just 5 today.

Whistleblower photos of dogs abused in the Richmond VA’s “maximum pain” heart attack experiments

However, as we exposed with our current tax season ad campaign, the Cleveland VA just purchased more hound puppies to cripple in deadly spinal cord tests. And at the Richmond VA, experimenters continue to give puppies heart attacks by injecting latex into their arteries in maximum pain tests with no relief.  The VA’s puppy skull-drilling experiments in Milwaukee have been inactive for 6 months, and we’re working to secure their permanent end.

We will keep you posted as this de-fund legislation continues to advance through Congress towards the President’s desk.