H.R. 9319

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9319 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9319

To amend the Animal Welfare Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture 
to enter into cooperative agreements to support the microchipping of 
dogs and cats in the care of animal shelters or similar establishments, 
and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 15, 2026

Mr. Lieu introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Animal Welfare Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture 
to enter into cooperative agreements to support the microchipping of 
dogs and cats in the care of animal shelters or similar establishments, 
and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Keeping Pets and Families Together 
Act''.

SEC. 2. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS TO SUPPORT MICROCHIPPING OF DOGS AND 
CATS.

The Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 28 (7 U.S.C. 2158) the following:

``SEC. 28A. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS TO SUPPORT MICROCHIPPING OF DOGS AND 
CATS.

``(a) In General.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, 
the Secretary shall establish a program under which the Secretary will 
enter into cooperative agreements with State and local governments for 
purposes of supporting the capability of entities described in 
subsection (b) to provide for microchipping of dogs and cats in their 
care before allowing such dogs or cats to be recovered by their 
original owner, adopted by other individuals, or transferred to another 
animal shelter or rescue organization.
``(b) Entities Described.--An entity described in this subsection 
is--
``(1) each pound or shelter owned and operated by a State 
or a unit of local government; and
``(2) each private entity established for the purpose of 
caring for animals, such as a humane society, or other 
organization that is under contract with a State or a unit of 
local government that operates as a pound or shelter and that 
releases animals on a voluntary basis.
``(c) Unit of Local Government Defined.--In this section, the term 
`unit of local government' means a county, municipality, town, 
township, village, or other unit of general government below the State 
level.
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2030.''.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF MICROCHIPPING PROGRAM.

Not later than December 31, 2030, the Secretary of Agriculture 
shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry of the Senate a report that--
(1) assesses the effectiveness of the program established 
under section 28A of the Animal Welfare Act, as added by 
section 2;
(2) contains the Secretary's recommendation on whether to 
extend such program for an additional 5-fiscal-year period; and
(3) the amount of funding necessary to effectively extend 
such program over such period.
<all>