Congress·In Committee·S. 4172

AFTER Act of 2026

Research Animals: Retirement and Adoption

3 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

The AFTER Act of 2026 is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It has been sent to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry for review. No further actions are scheduled at this time.

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Could go either way

This bill has support from both parties, which helps its chances. However, most bills introduced in the Senate never make it to a final vote.

Key Points

The bill requires federal agencies to create rules for retiring animals used in government labs. Instead of being put down, healthy animals could be adopted by families or moved to animal sanctuaries.
Before an animal can be retired, a licensed veterinarian must check it. The vet must decide if the animal is physically and mentally healthy enough to live outside of a laboratory setting.
This policy covers many animals but does not include laboratory rats or mice. For monkeys and other primates, the bill requires that they be sent to specialized animal sanctuaries rather than private homes.
Federal agencies would be encouraged to work with nonprofit rescue groups and shelters across the country. This helps find the best possible homes for the animals, even if those homes are far away from the lab.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Mar 24, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1581-1582)

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Mar 24, 2026

Introduced in Senate

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

News

No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

AFTER Act of 2026

Bill NumberS 4172

Congress119th Congress

ChamberSenate

Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1581-1582)