CARGO Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The CARGO Act bars NIH from supporting live-animal research performed by persons outside the United States. The findings state that NIH provided about $2.2 billion from fiscal years 2011 through 2021 to foreign organizations for animal research, that NIH does not inspect foreign organizations, and that those organizations self-report animal-welfare information. The operative section says NIH may not award any support for an activity or program using live animals for research unless the research occurs in the United States. The term United States includes the states and related U.S. jurisdictions described in the text.
Who Benefits and How
Animal welfare advocates benefit because NIH-funded live-animal research would have to occur under U.S. oversight conditions. Domestic research institutions benefit if animal-research funding shifts away from foreign organizations and toward U.S. sites. Federal taxpayers concerned about oversight benefit from a ban on NIH-funded foreign animal research that NIH does not inspect directly. Congressional oversight committees benefit from a clear statutory line on foreign animal-research support.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Foreign research organizations lose access to NIH support for live-animal research projects. NIH grant officers must screen grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and technical assistance for foreign live-animal research. U.S. researchers collaborating with foreign animal laboratories must restructure projects or move work to U.S. locations. Biomedical research sponsors may face delays if foreign animal-study capacity is no longer available under NIH support.
Key Provisions
- Prohibits NIH grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, technical assistance, or other support for foreign live-animal research.
- Requires NIH-supported live-animal research to occur in the United States.
- Provides findings citing $2.2 billion in NIH support to foreign animal-research organizations from fiscal years 2011 through 2021.
- Restricts oversight gaps from self-reported animal welfare information by foreign organizations.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Prohibits NIH support, including grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or technical assistance, for live-animal research performed outside the United States.
Key Policy Areas
Medical Research, Animal Welfare, Federal Grants
Primary Purpose
Prohibits NIH support, including grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or technical assistance, for live-animal research performed outside the United States.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Animal welfare advocates
- Domestic research institutions
- Oversight-focused taxpayers
- Congressional oversight committees
Identified Costs
- Foreign research organizations
- NIH grant officers
- U.S. research collaborators
- Biomedical research sponsors
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Nehls (for himself, Ms. Titus, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Kim, …
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Domestic research institutions, Foreign research organizations
Positive-direction: Domestic research institutions
Negative-direction: Foreign research organizations
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology