HR9319Referred to Committee

Keeping Pets and Families Together Act

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-06-15
Introduced
0
Cosponsors
HR
Type

Sponsor

Ted Lieu
Ted Lieu
Democrat · CA · Representative
Votes with party: 97.9% (565 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/L000582

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (0)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.

2026-06-15

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

Plain-English Summary

The federal government would work with animal shelters and similar facilities to help pay for microchipping dogs and cats, making it easier to reunite lost pets with their owners. This would involve the Department of Agriculture entering into agreements with shelters to support the costs of implanting these tracking devices. The change would primarily affect animal shelters, rescue organizations, and pet owners who use these facilities.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[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>