WASHINGTON, D.C. (WCBD)- South Carolina House Representative Nancy Mace introduced legislation on Thursday to end federal animal testing on dogs.

The Preventing Animal Abuse and Waste (PAAW) Act of 2021 prohibits the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from conducting or supporting research that could lead to “death, irreversible damage, significant pain, or distress” to dogs. NIAID’s current director is Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The bill also requires that Congress be given reports detailing all ongoing NIAID dog experiments, efforts to phase out dog testing, and how much money is being spent on said experiments.

As an animal lover, I was recently disturbed to learn about the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ barbaric taxpayer-funded experiments on beagle puppies. In fact, I wrote Dr. Fauci a month ago asking specific questions related to this gruesome testing. And do you think I received a single response? Far from it,” Rep. Mace said.  “Americans across the political spectrum have been horrified to learn their tax dollars are being used to subsidize animal cruelty. The PAAW Act will ensure taxpayer money is not used to support outdated and cruel experiments on dogs.”

The bill has garnered support from animal-welfare organizations including White Coat Waste Project, Animal Wellness Action, Animal Wellness Foundation, and Advancing Law for Animals.

“We commend Congresswoman Mace for introducing the bipartisan PAAW Act and her outstanding leadership to cut government waste and end NIAID’s taxpayer-funded canine cruelty. Justin Goodman, Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy at White Coat Waste Project said. For years, NIAID has been wasting tax dollars to de-bark dogs, poison puppies, and infest beagles with flies, worms, and ticks.

Original co-sponsors of the PAAW Act include Rep. Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Rep. Posey (R-FL), Rep. Salazar (R-FL), Rep. Gimenez (R-FL), Rep. Carter (R-TX), Rep. Titus (D-NV), Rep. Tlaib (D-MI), and Rep. Moore (R-AL).