[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 161 (Thursday, December 13, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S8037]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                GREAT APE PROTECTION AND COST SAVING ACT

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, consistent with Senate standing orders and 
my policy of publishing in the Congressional Record a statement 
whenever I place a hold on legislation, I am announcing my intention to 
object to any unanimous consent request to proceed to and pass S. 810, 
the Great Ape Protection and Cost Saving Act.
  Oregon is home to one of the eight National Institutes of Health, 
NIH-supported National Primate Research Centers, and it is already 
subject to strong local and national oversight to ensure the highest 
quality and ethical care for animals. These Centers provide outstanding 
research and powerful research tools that are vital to our 
understanding of human health and disease and hold enormous potential 
for finding treatments for life-threatening disorders.
  While ensuring the highest quality and ethical care for animals is of 
utmost importance, there is already significant oversight and 
regulation of these facilities.
  In addition to meeting the high standards required by NIH to obtain 
and retain Federal health research dollars, centers are also already 
responsible for meeting the lengthy, detailed and often-updated Federal 
requirements within the Animal Welfare Act. Facilities are subject to 
thorough, regular, and unannounced inspections by U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services and are 
subject to regulations from the Public Health Service, PHS, and Food 
and Drug Administration, FDA. Experiments must also be approved by the 
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, IACUC, at the Institution 
where the scientist works before research can begin.
  While I support protecting animals from unethical and inhumane 
treatment, the NIH is in the process of reviewing and implementing 
related recommendations from the Institute of Medicine. At this stage, 
passing legislation would circumvent this ongoing process. For this 
reason, I object to the Senate taking up and passing S. 810.

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