[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1725 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1725
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
May 13, 2025
Mr. Grassley (for himself, Ms. Smith, Mr. Marshall, Mrs. Hyde-Smith,
Mr. Risch, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Moran, and Mr. Warnock) 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 (7 U.S.C. 8301 et
seq.) 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) 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.
``(2) Import transporter.--The term `import transporter'
means any person or entity that--
``(A) receives an imported dog 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 such dog in
commerce.
``(3) Importer.--The term `importer' means any person who
transports or causes the transportation of a dog into the
United States from a foreign country.
``(4) 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 (2), no
person shall import a dog into the United States unless prior
to transport to the United States, the Secretary receives
electronic documentation necessary, as determined by the
Secretary, to demonstrate that 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;
``(C) is officially identified by a permanent
method approved by the Secretary; and
``(D) in the case that the dog is intended for
transfer--
``(i) is at least 6 months old; and
``(ii) is accompanied by an import permit
issued by the Secretary under this Act.
``(2) 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--
``(A) as a personal pet of United States origin
returning to the United States;
``(B) as a United States military working dog or
contracted working dog supporting a military mission or
tasking;
``(C) for research purposes;
``(D) for veterinary treatment which is 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
``(E) in the case of a dog that is less than 6
months old, for lawful importation into the State of
Hawaii from the British Isles, Australia, Guam, or New
Zealand 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.--Not later than 18 months
after the date of enactment of the Healthy Dog Importation Act, the
Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland
Security, and the Secretary of Transportation, shall promulgate such
regulations as the Secretary determines necessary to implement and
enforce this section, including regulations--
``(1) to facilitate electronic submission and interagency
sharing of all documentation required prior to the importation
of a dog into the United States under subsection (b)(1);
``(2) to establish any necessary post-arrival verification
processes for imported dogs;
``(3) to ensure the denial of entry into the United States
of any dog attempted to be imported into the United States in
violation of subsection (b)(1);
``(4) to provide that each importer, import 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, upon
receipt, record and maintain the information in a centralized
database and, upon request by a State veterinarian, share the
information with such State veterinarian within 3 days;
``(5) to require the Secretary to annually report
aggregated data submitted under paragraph (4), including
information on country of origin and purpose of import; and
``(6) to determine and establish such fees for the
verification of documentation and issuance of permits required
under subsection (b)(1) as may be necessary to fund the
implementation and enforcement of this section.
``(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in subsection (c)(6) shall be
construed as limiting 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 or import transporter that
fails to comply with this section shall--
``(A) be subject to penalties under section 10414;
and
``(B) provide, as the Secretary may determine, at
the expense of the importer or import transporter,
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) Transition Period.--
(1) In general.--During the transition period, 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) relating to the importation of live dogs
shall continue to apply to the extent that such regulations do
not conflict with section 10404A of the Animal Health
Protection Act (as inserted by subsection (a)).
(2) Transition period defined.--In this subsection, the
term ``transition period'' means the period beginning on the
date of enactment of this Act and ending on the date on which
final regulations are promulgated under such section 10404A.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 18 of the Animal Welfare Act (7
U.S.C. 2148) is repealed.
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