PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 6, 2025
Cease Animal Research Grants Overseas Act of 2025 or the CARGO Act of 2025
This bill prohibits the National Institutes of Health from awarding support for any research that uses live animals unless the research occurs in the United States (including U.S. territories and possessions).
People & committees
Rep. Nehls, Troy E. [R-TX-22] · R–TX
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Oct 6, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-06 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed bill would prevent the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from supporting research using live animals unless the research takes place in the United States. It would cover grants, contracts, cooperative agreements and technical assistance. The restriction turns on where the research occurs; research in the District of Columbia and U.S. territories or possessions would remain geographically eligible.
the National Institutes of Health may not award any support (including any grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or technical assistance) for any activity or program that uses live animals for research unless the research occurs in the United States.
the term United States includes, in addition to the several States, the District of Columbia and any territory or possession of the United States.
The bill's findings assert that NIH provided approximately $2.2 billion to foreign organizations for animal research during fiscal years 2011–2021. They also assert that reliance on self-reporting without NIH inspections creates risks of misrepresentation and has resulted in animal mistreatment. These are the bill's stated reasons for the proposal, not independently established conclusions in the supplied evidence.
Congress finds the following: (1) From fiscal year 2011 through fiscal year 2021, the National Institutes of Health provided approximately $2.2 billion to foreign organizations for research projects involving animals.
(2) The National Institutes of Health does not conduct inspections of foreign organizations, and these organizations self-report information pertaining to animal welfare, creating a risk that information will be misrepresented. (3) This lack of oversight has resulted in the mistreatment of animals used in research projects performed outside the United States and funded by the American public.
Section 3 would amend the Public Health Service Act to prohibit NIH from awarding any support for activities or programs using live animals for research outside the permitted locations. Its list of covered support is inclusive, rather than limited to cash grants, and the prohibition would apply despite other provisions of that Act.
Section 495 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 289d) is amended
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the National Institutes of Health may not award any support (including any grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or technical assistance) for any activity or program that uses live animals for research unless the research occurs in the United States.
For this restriction, the United States would include the states, the District of Columbia, and every U.S. territory or possession. Research in those locations would satisfy the geographic condition; the provision does not promise an award of support.
may not award any support (including any grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or technical assistance) for any activity or program that uses live animals for research unless the research occurs in the United States.
For purposes of paragraph (1), the term United States includes, in addition to the several States, the District of Columbia and any territory or possession of the United States.
The bill would move the existing subsections of section 495 from letters (a)–(e) to (b)–(f), insert the new restriction before them, and revise internal references. The existing statutory provisions are not reproduced, so their underlying requirements cannot be explained from this bundle.
(1) in subsections (a)(3) and (c)(1)(A), by striking subsection (b) each place it appears and inserting subsection (c)
(5) by redesignating subsections (a) through (e) (as amended by this section) as subsections (b) through (f), respectively; and (6) by inserting before subsection (b) (as so redesignated) the following:
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated October 6, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on February 6, 2025. It supplies no later action and does not establish whether the bill subsequently advanced or became law.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-06T18:35:53Z. 2025-02-06: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. 2025-02-06: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-06. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not extend to other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish the absence of earmarks in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption or preferential treatment was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 6, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI