Lawmakers cite planned animal testing phaseouts at FDA and other agencies as basis for reevaluating federal funding priorities across all federal health agencies
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A group of 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, led by senior members of the Energy and Commerce Committee Reps. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) and Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), sent a letter Friday to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, urging his agency to redirect federal funds currently allocated for non-human primate (NHP) research centers toward more ethical and cost-effective uses. The letter, coming on the heels of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s appearance on the Lara Trump Show this weekend announcing the Trump administration’s plan to wind down animal testing, also encouraged NIH to establish a preference for grant proposals that aim to utilize modern animal-free research methods.
The letter was co-signed by Reps. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., Buddy Carter, R-Ga., Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., Michael Cloud, R-Tex., Don Davis, D-N.C., Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., Young Kim, R-Calif., Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., Deborah Ross, D-N.C., Chris Smith, R-N.J., Darren Soto, D-Fla., Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., and Marc Veasey, D-Tex. Six of the 20 signers sit on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has primary oversight responsibility for the NIH in the House of Representatives.
Rep. Harshbarger, lead author of the letter and a pharmacist, began by noting a recent report that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is preparing to shut down its in-house primate research program, citing high costs, scientific limitations, and ethical concerns. She and her colleagues went on to commend NIH’s recent actions to reduce its reliance on animal use, including by terminating beagle testing on the NIH campus and prioritizing human-based research technologies. Finally, the lawmakers recommended these three additional reforms:
- Reassessing and reallocating federal funding for the National Primate Research Centers consistent with an animal testing phaseout announced earlier this year by the FDA.
- Giving grantmaking preference to proposals using animal-free New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) such as artificial intelligence and advanced cell models.
- Reaffirming NIH’s commitment to the “3Rs” by clarifying that NAMs are intended to replace, not merely to complement, animal use.
“Pouring hundreds of millions of finite research dollars into primate research centers no longer makes scientific, ethical, or fiscal sense,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Center for a Humane Economy and Animal Wellness Action. “There is broad recognition that use of primates in tests are not predictive of the human condition and also that these animals are cognitively and emotionally complex. Congress and President Trump’s public health agency leaders agree that there’s no time to waste affecting this transition to human-biology-based methods in place of primates.”
The lawmakers emphasized that animal-based research has failed to predict human outcomes reliably, with clinical failure rates exceeding 90 percent in many disease areas. They noted that the FDA has already announced plans to replace animal testing for monoclonal antibodies and to make animal testing the exception rather than the norm within three to five years.
“NIH’s own actions make clear what scientists, patients and taxpayers have known for years: we can achieve better, faster, and more ethical results by investing in modern, human-relevant research rather than relying on outdated animal testing. With CDC moving away from primate research and FDA embracing next-generation technologies, NIH has a clear opportunity to lead. We’re urging the agency to prioritize innovative New Approach Methodologies, reassess primate research funding, and reaffirm its commitment to reducing and replacing animal use. These steps will accelerate medical breakthroughs, strengthen public trust, and ensure federal research dollars are used responsibly and humanely,” said Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger.
“Animals should not be subjected to invasive and painful testing when more humane and reliable methods are available,” said Congresswoman Nanette Barragán. “I am proud to join my colleagues in urging the NIH to continue moving away from outdated animal testing practices and toward modern, human-relevant research methods. The NIH should strengthen its commitment to humane scientific research that will accelerate medical innovation and improve patients’ access to treatments.”
In a recent televised interview, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. acknowledged growing concerns about the scale and inertia of non-human primate research, noting that roughly “one hundred thousand monkeys” are currently held in U.S. labs, with “another twenty thousand imported every year.” Kennedy said the system is “self-sustaining and self-reinforcing,” driven in part by profit incentives that keep researchers locked into animal models “even when there are better ways and predictive models.” His comments underscore what lawmakers are now urging NIH to do: reevaluate continued investment in primate research centers and accelerate a transition toward more predictive, human-relevant science.
Advocates welcomed the letter as a signal that Congress recognizes the weight of the scientific and ethical arguments for moving beyond primate research.
“Non-human primate studies have repeatedly failed to predict human safety and efficacy, even as safer, more accurate human-based technologies are now available,” said Tamara Drake, director of research and regulatory policy for the Center for a Humane Economy. “Congress is urging NIH to align its spending with modern science — and to responsibly wind down outdated programs that don’t serve patients or public health.”
“While NIH has made significant strides towards non-animal testing lately, a different level of commitment is expected from the agency. For instance, it is indefensible that NAMs are still presented as mere ‘complements’ to animal experimentation by NIH in its new Unified Strategy plan. This narrative uproots the very goal of replacement and the principles of the 3Rs,” said Dr. Zaher Nahle, senior scientific advisor to Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “If NIH is truly committed to modernization, the agency must re-evaluate its financial support for large-scale animal-centric programs like NPRCs and the Knockout Mouse Phenotyping Program (KOMP2). It must also cease typecasting NAMs as auxiliaries to deficient animal-centric paradigms in scientific research.”
The lawmakers’ appeal comes on the heels of the U.S. Senate’s unanimous passage of the FDA Modernization Act 3.0 last week, underscoring accelerating bipartisan momentum to move federal health agencies away from outdated animal testing and toward modern, human-relevant science.
The members of Congress requested a response from the NIH within 60 days and expressed interest in working with the agency to ensure federal research investme