More than 60 Republicans and Democrats in Congress are supporting a bill—the Federal Accountability in Chemical Testing (FACT) Act (HR 816)—that would improve disclosure by federal agencies about hundreds of expensive, slow, and outdated animal tests. Which is good news. Because if taxpayers and Congress knew how the government was spending their money, they’d be horrified.
According to government data analyzed by the taxpayer watchdog White Coat Waste Project, the National Toxicology Program (NTP)—a joint program of the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Food and Drug Administration—is engaged in hundreds of planned and ongoing animal tests for pesticides, industrial chemicals, foods, natural supplements and even cosmetics. But that’s only the start of the gruesome news. -- More...
