[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 502 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 502
To amend the Animal Health Protection Act with respect to the
importation of live dogs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 16, 2023
Mr. Grassley (for himself, Ms. Smith, Mr. Risch, Mr. Warnock, Mr.
Marshall, and Mrs. Gillibrand) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Animal Health Protection Act with respect to the
importation of live dogs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Healthy Dog Importation Act''.
SEC. 2. IMPORTATION OF LIVE DOGS.
(a) In General.--The Animal Health Protection Act is amended by
inserting after section 10404 (7 U.S.C. 8303) the following:
``SEC. 10404A. IMPORTATION OF LIVE DOGS.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Importer.--The term `importer' means any person who
transports or causes the transportation of a dog into the
United States from a foreign country.
``(2) Transfer.--The term `transfer' means a change of
ownership or control of an imported dog to another person,
including by sale, adoption, exchange, or donation.
``(b) Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), no
person shall import a dog into the United States unless, as
determined by the Secretary, the dog--
``(A) is in good health;
``(B) has received all necessary vaccinations and
internal and external parasite treatment and
demonstrated negative test results, as required by the
Secretary and evidenced by a certificate that--
``(i) is issued by a licensed veterinarian
accredited by a competent veterinary authority
recognized by the Secretary; and
``(ii) is endorsed by that authority in a
manner representing that the veterinarian
issuing the certificate was authorized to do
so; and
``(C) is officially identified by a permanent
method approved by the Secretary.
``(2) Transfer.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), no
person shall import or cause the transportation of a dog into
the United States from a foreign country for the purpose of
transfer unless, as determined by the Secretary, the dog--
``(A) meets the criteria described in paragraph
(1);
``(B) is at least 6 months old; and
``(C) is accompanied by an import permit issued by
the Secretary under this Act.
``(3) Exceptions.--The Secretary, by regulation, shall
provide an exception to any requirement under this Act in any
case in which a dog is imported for purposes of transfer for--
``(A) research purposes;
``(B) veterinary treatment, paid for by the
importer, subject to the condition that the dog--
``(i) is taken directly to a veterinary
facility for treatment with appropriate
quarantine until the dog meets the criteria
described in paragraph (1); and
``(ii) is then exported to its country of
origin; or
``(C) in the case of a dog that is less than 6
months old, lawful importation into the State of Hawaii
in compliance with the regulations of the State of
Hawaii and the other requirements of this section, if
the dog is not transported out of the State of Hawaii
for transfer at less than 6 months of age.
``(c) Implementation and Regulations.--The Secretary, the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Commerce, and the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall--
``(1) promulgate such regulations as the Secretaries
determine to be necessary to implement and enforce this
section;
``(2)(A) facilitate electronic submission of all required
documentation prior to the arrival of a dog into the United
States; and
``(B) make the information in the documentation submitted
under subparagraph (A) available to the Secretary, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of
Commerce, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, as
applicable, for verification that all applicable importation
requirements are met; and
``(3) determine and establish such fees for the issuance of
permits with respect to dog importation as are necessary to
fund the implementation and enforcement of this section.
``(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in subsection (c)(3) limits
the availability of funding made available under section 10417 to carry
out this section.
``(e) Enforcement.--
``(1) Authority.--The Secretary shall have the authority
granted under section 10414 to enforce this section.
``(2) Penalties.--An importer that fails to comply with
this section shall--
``(A) be subject to penalties under section 10414;
and
``(B) if the importer is a dealer, provide, as the
Secretary may determine, at the expense of the
importer, for--
``(i) the care (including appropriate
veterinary care), forfeiture, quarantine, and
removal from the United States of each
applicable dog; and
``(ii) the return of each applicable dog to
its place of export, with due care for the
welfare of each applicable dog.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 18 of the Animal Welfare Act (7
U.S.C. 2148) is repealed.
SEC. 3. TRANSPORTATION.
(a) Definition of Transporter.--Section 2 of the Animal Welfare Act
(7 U.S.C. 2132) is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``paragraph (1)''
and inserting ``subparagraph (A)''; and
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indenting
appropriately;
(2) in each of subsections (a) through (o), by inserting a
subsection heading, the text of which is comprised of the term
defined in the subsection;
(3) by redesignating subsections (a) through (o) as
paragraphs (12), (15), (3), (17), (14), (6), (1), (7), (11),
(2), (8), (9), (13), (4), (10), respectively, and indenting
appropriately;
(4) by inserting after paragraph (4) (as so designated) the
following:
``(5) Compensation.--The term `compensation' means any act,
consideration, or thing of value received by a person directly,
including cash or noncash benefits, cost-avoidance, obtaining
positive or avoiding negative publicity, an exchange of
services, or maintaining a license issued under any local,
State, or Federal government authority.'';
(5) by inserting after paragraph (15) (as so designated)
the following:
``(16) Sell; resell.--The term `sell' or `resell' means to
transfer ownership or control of an animal, including by sale,
adoption, exchange, or donation.''; and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
``(18) Transporter.--The term `transporter' means any
person, department, agency, or instrumentality of the United
States or of any State or local government, other than a
carrier or intermediate handler, who--
``(A) receives an animal from any importer, dealer,
research facility, exhibitor, operator of an auction
sale, or department, agency, or instrumentality of the
United States or of any State or local government; and
``(B) receives compensation for moving that animal
in commerce.''.
(b) Humane Standards.--Section 13 of the Animal Welfare Act (7
U.S.C. 2143) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(4)--
(A) in the first sentence, by striking ``air
carriers,'' and inserting ``transporters, air
carriers,''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following: ``The
Secretary shall provide, by regulation, that each
transporter, intermediate handler, or carrier receiving
a certificate of veterinary inspection required under
this section shall submit a copy of the certificate to
the Secretary, who shall record the information in a
centralized, publicly available database and share the
information with the appropriate State
veterinarians.'';
(2) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as subsections
(h) and (i), respectively;
(3) in the second subsection (f) (relating to certificates
of inspection required for delivery of an animal), by striking
``(f) No dogs or cats'' and inserting the following:
``(g) No dogs or cats''; and
(4) in subsection (g) (as so redesignated)--
(A) in the first sentence--
(i) by inserting ``importer,'' before
``dealer,''; and
(ii) by inserting ``, transporter,'' after
``intermediate handler''; and
(B) in the second sentence--
(i) by inserting ``, the transporters,''
after ``the intermediate handlers''; and
(ii) by striking ``section 10 of this Act''
and inserting ``subsection (a)(4)''.
SEC. 4. REGULATIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall promulgate
final regulations to implement the amendments made by this Act,
including with respect to--
(1) the verification on arrival in the United States of
each dog being imported for transfer into the United States
from a foreign country that the dog meets all applicable
importation requirements; and
(2) the denial of entry into the United States of any dog
that fails to meet those requirements.
(b) Transition Period.--Until the date on which final regulations
are issued under subsection (a), the importation of live dogs shall be
regulated in accordance with the regulations promulgated under section
18 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2148) (as in effect on the day
before the date of enactment of this Act), but only to the extent that
those regulations are not in conflict with section 10404A of the Animal
Health Protection Act.
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