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Amending Public Health Service ACT To Modify Program For Sanctuary System For Surplus

Date: Dec. 6, 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Health and Health Care


AMENDING PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT TO MODIFY PROGRAM FOR SANCTUARY SYSTEM FOR SURPLUS CHIMPANZEES -- (House of Representatives - December 06, 2006)

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5798, a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to modify the program for the sanctuary system for surplus chimpanzees by terminating the authority for the removal of chimpanzees from the system for research purposes.

On December 20, 2000, the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection Act was signed into law by President Clinton. That law required the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a nonprofit sanctuary system of lifetime care for chimpanzees that have been used by the Federal Government for research. Chimpanzees within this sanctuary system were declared surplus, and any research, save for non-invasive behavioral research, was restricted.

The bill before us today takes even greater steps to ensure that extremely stringent criteria are met with regard to research on surplus chimpanzees. Currently there are approximately 1,500 captive chimpanzees in laboratories in the U.S., many of whom are no longer being used in biomedical research, and this legislation takes important steps forward in an effort to protect their health, well-being and livelihood.

H.R. 5798 is supported by Dr. Jane Goodall, whose work in the field of wildlife research, education and conservation with respect to chimpanzees is unmatched. I would like to thank Dr. Goodall for her significant contribution, and would also like to thank Representative McCrery for his hard work on this bill.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5798.

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