The Senate’s newly released version of the 2026 Farm Bill includes White Coat Waste-backed language that prohibits the U.S. Department of Agriculture from funding animal research laboratories in China, Russia, and other adversarial nations.
The provision, led by Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, appears as Section 7130 on page 495 of the bill and marks a major step toward protecting American taxpayers from subsidizing cruel and wasteful experiments in foreign laboratories.
Section 7130, titled “Limitation on certain research in countries of concern,” bars the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, from conducting or funding any research, education, or extension activities involving vertebrate animals in “the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, or any other foreign country of concern.”
The restriction applies to work done in those countries or in collaboration with them.
A narrow waiver will be available on a case-by-case basis only when necessary for national security, animal or crop health, or public health, safety, or welfare, but any waiver requires at least 30 days’ advance notification to congressional committees with detailed justification, including the location, collaborators, species of animals involved, costs, and duration.
This follows years of White Coat Waste investigations that uncovered shocking examples of USDA money flowing to dangerous animal experiments abroad.
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