The Biden administration is winning GOP praise Monday for ending funding to Russian labs and testing facilities, especially one that tortured kittens.
The White Coat Waste Project heralded the policy shift that followed its efforts to stop the tests and draw attention to funding of the Russian effort by the National Institutes of Health.
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“In March 2022, we exposed that U.S. taxpayers were forced to pay over $770,000 for wasteful, unnecessary, and cruel experiments on cats by white coats at the Kremlin-run Pavlov Institute of Physiology. In the experiment that was funded by NIH as recently as last year, dozens of healthy cats had their brains damaged, electrodes implanted into their spines, and were forced to walk on treadmills before being killed,” said the project.
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“We’ve just confirmed that following White Coat Waste Project’s relentless investigations, grassroots campaigns, and lobbying, the Biden administration has defunded ALL animal labs in Russia!” it added in a statement shared with Secrets.
The funding cut, part of a 2022 Biden executive order following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was confirmed by the Washington Times.
“This is a great first step, but we need to claw back much more money,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) said. “If the administration doesn’t stop funding foreign labs owned and operated by our adversaries like Russia and China, I plan to introduce legislation to do just that,” she added.
Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), chairwoman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, took a similar angle in hoping that the defunding would extend to any Russian, or Chinese, lab getting U.S. tax dollars.
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“Having led congressional efforts over the past year to stop the flow of taxpayer dollars to Russia’s inhumane and unaccountable animal testing labs, I’m proud that the Biden administration finally listened to reason and halted this wasteful and dangerous spending,” she said.
Anthony Bellotti, founder and president of government watchdog White Coat Waste Project, said the two Republicans were key to ending the funding. But he said the tests at the labs would horrify anyone.
“Over 75% of Republicans and Democrats agree: Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay millions to Putin’s white coats to torture animals in wasteful experiments — and now, following our campaign, they won’t have to,” he said.
