Tenure: 105th–119th Congresses
Years of Service: 1997–Present
First elected to the U.S. House in 1996, Rep. James McGovern is a stalwart advocate for animals and has compiled an extraordinary record on animal welfare during nearly three decades in Congress. His leadership role on animal protection is exerted with special force because he’s the top Democrat on the powerful Rules Committee, whose work is critical to animal protection bills and amendments reaching the floor. McGovern, who is a passionate advocate for people suffering from hunger, also serves on the Agriculture Committee and has helped mightily with animal protection issues there.
Based on his direct and indirect work for animals, Animal Wellness Action endorsed Rep. McGovern for re-election to Massachusetts’s 2nd Congressional District in 2026 and has done so consistently given his critical role in advancing federal policies to help animals. McGovern has played a central role, when Democrats controlled the majority in the House, helping engineer passage of the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, the Big Cat Public Safety Act, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act, and a raft of other bills promoted by Animal Wellness Action. He’s also greenlighted amendments that secured money for enforcing our nation’s animal fighting laws and provided funding to the Bureau of Land Management for fertility control for wild horses and burros.
McGovern’s senior position on the House Agriculture Committee has given him an especially important platform for the last decade to fighting maneuvers by China’s Smithfield Foods and the National Pork Producers Council to overturn Massachusetts’ Question 3, which restricts extreme confinement of farm animals. He’s been outspoken in protecting the voter-approved measure and its sister measure in California, Prop 12.
From his perch on the Agriculture Committee, he’s also had an enormous role in passing animal fighting amendments on the 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2018 farm bills. In fact, McGovern carried an amendment on the 2014 Farm bill, overcoming opposition from GOP lawmakers and passed the provision to make it a federal crime for anyone to “attend or bring a minor” to a dogfight or cockfight. His winning amendment was included in the 2014 farm bill sent to President Obama for his signature.
He also played key roles in securing other provisions: to ban any interstate or foreign commerce in fighting animals, banning possession of animals for fighting, and outlawing animal fighting in the U.S. territories. He is supporting efforts to pass the FIGHT Act on the Farm bill now under consideration.
And on the Agriculture Committee, he helped get the Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act and Pet and Women’s Safety Act over the finish line.
Rep. McGovern is also on record supporting a broad range of animal welfare initiatives. He’s been a long-time co-leader of the Puppy Protection Act to combat commercial exploitation of dogs kept in cages at mills. In the 119th Congress, he cosponsored the SAFE Act, H.R. 1661, to end the slaughter of American horses for human consumption and their export to foreign slaughter plants; the PAST Act, H.R. 1684, to crack down on the soring of Tennessee Walking Horses; and the Better CARE for Animals Act, H.R. 3112, to strengthen enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act and improve coordination between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Justice.
In addition, Rep. McGovern has also been a consistent defender of wildlife. In the 119th Congress, he voted against H.R. 845, legislation to strip federal Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves across much of the United States, continuing the position he took against similar wolf-delisting legislation in the previous Congress. He voted against H.R. 556, which would restrict the ability of federal land-management agencies to regulate toxic lead ammunition and fishing tackle on public lands and waters, where spent lead can poison eagles, loons, condors, and other wildlife. He also opposed an amendment to H.R. 3838 that would have exempted defense-related activities from Endangered Species Act requirements and weakened protections for endangered and threatened species and their critical habitat on military lands.
On greyhound racing, McGovern voted to defeat the Riley Moore amendment to the 2026 Farm Bill, which sought to weaken the Greyhound Protection Act provisions by creating a special exemption allowing commercial greyhound racing to continue indefinitely in West Virginia. He supported the 2008 ballot measure in Massachusetts to ban greyhound racing.
Also, McGovern has been a strong advocate for replacing outdated animal testing with more modern and human-relevant technologies. He supported House passage of the FDA Modernization Act 3.0, H.R. 2821, which passed the House by voice vote in July 2026 and directs the FDA to update its regulations to fully implement the landmark 2022 reforms allowing scientifically valid non-animal methods in drug development. His involvement in this issue goes back further: in the 117th Congress, McGovern cosponsored the FDA Modernization Act, H.R. 2565, which helped lay the groundwork for the reforms ultimately enacted in the FDA Modernization Act 2.0.
His wildlife record likewise reaches back many years. In 2017, McGovern voted against the Congressional Review Act resolution that overturned federal protections for wildlife on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska. The underlying rule restricted practices including killing bears and wolves at den sites, baiting bears to shoot them at close range, and aerial killing of predators. McGovern voted to preserve those federal safeguards.
Taken together, McGovern’s record places him among the handful of lawmakers who not only support animal protection but give lift to the most important provisions and get them over the finish line and signed into law. He’s a powerful speaker and a widely recognized master legislator, using his positions on the Rules Committee and the Agriculture Committee to make a difference, including in preventing cruelty and strengthening the nation’s animal protection laws.
Read our endorsement letter here.
Notable Actions
119th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, H.R. 1661, to ban U.S.-based horse slaughter and the export of horses for slaughter for human consumption.
✅ Cosponsored the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R. 1684, to strengthen enforcement against the cruel practice of soring horses. The bill would ban devices associated with soring, require independent USDA-trained inspectors, increase penalties for violations, and strengthen the Horse Protection Act to better protect Tennessee Walking Horses and other affected breeds from intentional abuse.
✅Cosponsored the Puppy Protection Act, H.R. 2253, bipartisan legislation to strengthen federal standards of care for dogs kept by commercial breeders by improving requirements for housing, veterinary care, exercise, socialization, and humane breeding practices.
✅ Cosponsor of the Better CARE for Animals Act, H.R. 3112, to strengthen enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act by expanding federal authority to investigate and prosecute animal cruelty violations and improve coordination between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice.
✅ Signed congressional letter opposing the SOB Act that would erode states’ rights, undermine family farmers, and expand foreign influence over U.S. food production
✅ Signed a congressional letter opposing the EATS/SOB Act that would erode states’ rights, undermine family farmers, and expand foreign influence over U.S. food production.
✅ Voted “Nay” on House Agriculture Committee Record Vote No. 24, opposing Rep. Tracey Mann’s second-degree amendment to Rep. Shri Thanedar’s Amendment No. 119 during markup of the 2026 Farm Bill. The Mann amendment stripped away nearly all of the bipartisan FIGHT Act’s enforcement provisions—including measures targeting the trafficking and shipment of fighting birds, expanded civil enforcement authority, and other tools to combat organized animal fighting—leaving primarily language related to gambling on animal fighting. The committee adopted the amendment by a 29–22 vote. Nay” vote is the pro-animal position because it sought to preserve the FIGHT Act’s comprehensive enforcement tools to combat organized animal fighting and related criminal activity.
✅ Supported House passage of the FDA Modernization Act 3.0, H.R. 2821, which passed by voice vote under suspension of the rules on July 20, 2026. The bipartisan legislation directs the FDA to update its regulations to fully implement the 2022 law allowing scientifically valid non-animal methods to be used instead of animal testing in drug development.
✅ Voted “Nay” on H.R. 556, the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act (House Roll Call Vote 93), to prohibit federal land management agencies from restricting the use of toxic lead ammunition and fishing tackle on public lands and waters to protect wildlife from poisoning. The bill passed the House 215–202. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal vote.
✅ Voted “Nay” on H.R. 845, the Pet and Livestock Protection Act (House Roll Call Vote 360), to remove federal Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves across much of the United States and restricted judicial review of future wolf management decisions. The bill passed the House 211–204. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position.
✅ Voted “Nay” on the Riley Moore Amendment to H.R. 7567 (House Roll Call Vote 149), to weaken the Farm Bill’s Greyhound Protection Act provisions by creating a special exemption allowing commercial greyhound racing to continue in West Virginia indefinitely. The House rejected the amendment 187-237. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position.
✅ Voted “Nay” on H.R. 7567, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act (House Roll Call Vote 154), to pass the Farm Bill, which included a provision to overturn state laws in California and Massachusetts restricting in-state sales of fresh pork sourced from farms that do not provide minimum space requirements for the housing of pregnant pigs. The bill passed the House 224–200. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position.
✅ Voted “Nay” on the Biggs Amendment to H.R. 3838 (House Roll Call Vote 259), to exempt defense-related activities from the requirements of the Endangered Species Act, eliminating protections for endangered and threatened species and their critical habitat on military lands and during defense operations. The House rejected the amendment 200–228. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position.
✅ Voted “Nay” on the Greene Amendment to H.R. 3838 (House Roll Call Vote 254), to prohibit the Department of Defense from using FY2026 funds for the research, development, procurement, or promotion of cell-cultured meat, an emerging alternative to conventional slaughter-based meat production. The House rejected the amendment 194–236, with 1 voting present. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position.
118th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, H.R. 2742, to strengthen federal enforcement against animal fighting and related criminal activity.
✅ Cosponsor of the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, H.R. 3475, to ban U.S.-based horse slaughter and the export of horses for slaughter for human consumption.
✅ Cosponsor of Greyhound Protection Act, H.R. 3894, to phase out U.S. greyhound racing, a practice long in decline and operational at just two tracks
✅ Cosponsor of Violet’s Law, H.R. 1465, to provide a second chance for dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and nonhuman primates used in federally funded research by requiring facilities to pursue adoption or sanctuary placement whenever feasible.
✅Cosponsored Goldie’s Act, H.R. 1788, bipartisan legislation to strengthen enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act by requiring more frequent inspections, faster reporting of violations, and improved protections for animals suffering abuse or neglect.
✅Cosponsored the Puppy Protection Act, H.R. 1624, bipartisan legislation to strengthen federal standards of care for dogs kept by commercial breeders by improving requirements for housing, veterinary care, exercise, socialization, and humane breeding practices.
✅ Cosponsored the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R. 3090, bipartisan legislation to strengthen enforcement against the cruel practice of soring horses. The bill would ban devices associated with soring, require independent USDA-trained inspectors, increase penalties for violations, and strengthen the Horse Protection Act to better protect Tennessee Walking Horses and other affected breeds from intentional abuse.
✅ Cosponsor of the Better CARE for Animals Act, H.R. 5041, to strengthen enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act by expanding federal authority to investigate and prosecute animal cruelty violations and improve coordination between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice.
✅ Cosponsor of the Captive Primate Safety Act, H.R. 8164, to prohibit the private ownership, breeding, sale, transport, and other commercial activities involving nonhuman primates by amending the Lacey Act, while exempting accredited zoos, sanctuaries, research facilities, and certain other qualified entities. The legislation is designed to protect both public safety and the welfare of highly intelligent primates by ending the commercial pet trade in these animals.
✅ Signed a bipartisan letter opposing the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act, H.R. 4417. The lawmakers warned that the bill would nullify state agriculture and animal-welfare laws, including California’s Prop 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3, and could broadly undermine more than 1,000 state laws while targeting modest consumer demand for more humanely raised pork.
✅ Voted “Nay” on H.R. 764 (House Roll Call Vote 169), legislation to remove federal protections for gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act across most of the United States and return management authority to the states. Wildlife advocates warned that the bill would undermine science-based wildlife management and threaten the long-term recovery of gray wolf populations. The House passed the bill 209–205. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position.
✅ Voted “Nay” on H.R. 615 (House Roll Call Vote 167), legislation to bar the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture from prohibiting or regulating the use of toxic lead ammunition and fishing tackle on federal lands and waters made available for hunting or fishing. Lead ammunition and tackle poison wildlife, including eagles, loons, condors, and other animals that ingest spent lead fragments or lost fishing gear. The House passed the bill 214–201. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position.
117th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, H.R. 3355, to ban U.S.-based horse slaughter and the export of horses for slaughter for human consumption.
✅Cosponsored the FDA Modernization Act, H.R. 2565, bipartisan legislation to end the outdated federal presumption that new drugs must rely on animal testing before human clinical trials. The measure authorized the FDA to accept scientifically valid non-animal testing methods—including organ-on-a-chip technology, cell-based assays, and computer modeling—when appropriate. Core provisions of this legislation were later enacted as part of the FDA Modernization Act 2.0, signed into law in December 2022, marking a landmark reform that advanced more human-relevant research methods while reducing unnecessary animal testing.
✅ Cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R. 5441, to strengthen enforcement of the Horse Protection Act and help end the cruel practice of “soring” Tennessee Walking Horses, Racking Horses, and Spotted Saddle Horses. Soring involves intentionally inflicting severe pain on horses’ legs and hooves through caustic chemicals, chains, pressure devices, or other abusive methods to force an exaggerated, high-stepping gait known as the “Big Lick.”
✅Cosponsored the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, H.R. 2811, to end the U.S. commercial trade in shark fins by prohibiting their sale, purchase, and transport, helping reduce the global demand that drives the cruel practice of shark finning. Core provisions of the bill were later incorporated into the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, which was signed into law in December 2022, making the United States one of the world’s largest nations to ban the domestic shark fin trade.
✅ Cosponsor of the Animal Freedom from Testing, Experiments, and Research (AFTER) Act, H.R. 5244, to provide a second chance for dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and nonhuman primates used in federally funded research by requiring facilities to pursue adoption or sanctuary placement whenever feasible.
✅Cosponsored the Puppy Protection Act, H.R. 2840, bipartisan legislation to strengthen federal standards of care for dogs kept by commercial breeders by improving requirements for housing, veterinary care, exercise, socialization, and humane breeding practices.
✅ Cosponsor of the Captive Primate Safety Act, H.R. 3135, to prohibit the private ownership, breeding, sale, transport, and other commercial activities involving nonhuman primates by amending the Lacey Act, while exempting accredited zoos, sanctuaries, research facilities, and certain other qualified entities. The legislation is designed to protect both public safety and the welfare of highly intelligent primates by ending the commercial pet trade in these animals.
✅ Voted “Aye” on the motion to suspend the rules and pass the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R. 5441 (House Roll Call Vote 478). The bill would strengthen enforcement of the Horse Protection Act and help end the cruel practice of “soring” Tennessee Walking Horses, Racking Horses, and Spotted Saddle Horses. Soring involves intentionally inflicting severe pain on horses’ legs and hooves through caustic chemicals, chains, pressure devices, or other abusive methods to force an exaggerated, high-stepping gait known as the “Big Lick.” The motion was agreed to by a vote of 304–111, exceeding the two-thirds majority required under the suspension of the rules procedure. An “Aye” vote is the pro-animal position.
✅ Voted “Aye” Big Cat Public Safety Act, H.R. 263 (House Roll Call Vote 415), to end the private possession and commercial breeding of lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, cougars, and other big cats while prohibiting public contact with these animals. The legislation targeted the exploitative cub-petting industry and roadside zoos, where big cats are repeatedly bred, handled, and discarded, while strengthening protections for both animals and public safety. An “Aye” vote is the pro-animal position.
116th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety (HISA) Act, H.R. 1754, to improve the integrity and safety of horse racing in the United States by creating uniform national standards for anti-doping, medication control, and racetrack safety
✅ Cosponsor of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, H.R. 1380, to prohibit private ownership and breeding of lions, tigers, and other big cats while restricting public contact with these dangerous wild animals. The bill was designed to curb the exploitation of big cats in roadside zoos and cub-petting operations, improve animal welfare, and enhance public safety by limiting private possession of these species.
✅ Voted “Aye” on the H.R. 1380 – Big Cat Public Safety Act (House Roll Call Vote 232), legislation to prohibit private ownership and breeding of lions, tigers, and other big cats while restricting public contact with these dangerous wild animals. The bill was designed to curb the exploitation of big cats in roadside zoos and cub-petting operations, improve animal welfare, and enhance public safety by limiting private possession of these species. The House passed the bill 272–114. An “Aye” vote is the pro-animal position.
✅ Voted “Aye” on the Stevens Amendment (House Roll Call Vote 373) to the FY2020 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, allocating $2 million to create an Animal Cruelty section within the Department of Justice. An “Aye” vote is the pro-animal position because it supports stronger federal enforcement of existing animal protection laws.
✅ Voted “Aye” on the Buchanan Amendment (House Roll Call Vote 380) to the FY2020 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, prohibiting the Department of the Interior from issuing import permits for trophies of threatened elephant and lions from Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. An “Aye” vote is the pro-animal position because it supports stronger protections for threatened wildlife by restricting the import of hunting trophies.
115th Congress
✅ Cosponsored the Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act, H.R. 1406, bipartisan legislation to prohibit the slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption and ban the sale, transport, possession, and trade of dogs, cats, and their parts for that purpose. The bill established federal criminal penalties to ensure the United States maintains a clear prohibition on the dog and cat meat trade.
✅ Cosponsored the Humane Cosmetics Act, H.R. 2790, bipartisan legislation to phase out animal testing for cosmetics and prohibit the sale of cosmetics developed or manufactured using new animal testing. The bill encouraged the use of modern, non-animal testing methods while helping align U.S. policy with the growing international movement to end cosmetic testing on animals.
✅ Cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R. 1847, to strengthen enforcement of the Horse Protection Act and help end the cruel practice of “soring” Tennessee Walking Horses, Racking Horses, and Spotted Saddle Horses. Soring involves intentionally inflicting severe pain on horses’ legs and hooves through caustic chemicals, chains, pressure devices, or other abusive methods to force an exaggerated, high-stepping gait known as the “Big Lick.”
✅ Voted “Nay” on H.J. Res. 69, a Congressional Review Act resolution (House Roll Call Vote 98) to overturn an Obama administration rule protecting wildlife on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska. The rule prohibited inhumane predator-control practices, including killing bear cubs and wolf pups in their dens, baiting bears with food to shoot them at close range, and aerial shooting of wolves and other predators. The resolution passed Congress and was signed into law, eliminating these federal wildlife protections. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position because it sought to preserve safeguards against some of the cruelest and most unsporting predator-killing practices on federal refuge lands.
✅Voted “Aye” on the Roskam–Blumenauer Amendment (House Roll Call Vote 202), to H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, to strengthen the federal animal fighting law by clarifying that its prohibitions apply throughout all U.S. territories. The amendment closed a legal loophole that had allowed organized dogfighting and cockfighting to continue in certain U.S. territories despite being illegal elsewhere in the United States. An “Aye” vote is the pro-animal position because it strengthened federal protections against organized animal fighting.