HEART Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2085 To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to civil forfeitures relating to certain seized animals. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 19, 2021 Ms. CHU (for herself and Mr. KATKO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to civil forfeitures relating to certain seized animals. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Help Extract Animals 4 from Red Tape Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘HEART Act of 5 2021’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds the following: 8 (1) Animal fighting is one of the most heinous 9 forms of animal cruelty. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2085.IH H2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2085 IH (2) Federal law prohibits sponsoring, exhibiting, 1 or attending an animal fight, causing an individual 2 under the age of 16 to attend an animal fight, using 3 the postal service for promoting an animal fighting 4 venture, as well as the interstate commerce in ani- 5 mal fighting paraphilia and animals for the partici- 6 pation in animal fights. 7 (3) Animal fighting is often associated with 8 other forms of criminal activity including illegal 9 gambling, drug trafficking, and domestic violence. 10 (4) In order to rescue animals from further cru- 11 elty, provide needed veterinary care, and protect 12 communities, Federal agencies often seize animals 13 suspected of being used in animal fighting ventures. 14 (5) Federal agencies tasked with enforcing the 15 Federal animal fighting statutes often lack the infra- 16 structure and expertise to hold animals after seizure 17 and instead partner with animal welfare organiza- 18 tions and local animal shelters to hold animals until 19 the final judgement of the seizure cases. 20 (6) The significant length of time animals are 21 held before courts determine their disposition can re- 22 sult in serious physical and behavioral deterioration 23 due to chronic stress, even when shelters provide 24 high quality care. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2085.IH H2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2085 IH (7) Federal animal fighting cases often involve 1 dozens, if not hundreds of seized animals. 2 (8) Between 2016 and 2019, the United States 3 Department of Justice seized over 1,000 dogs in ani- 4 mal fighting cases. 5 (9) Holding times for animals seized in Federal 6 animal fighting cases can stretch on for over a year. 7 After 64 dogs were seized from twelve locations in 8 a Federal animal fighting case in 2016, some ani- 9 mals were held for up to 436 days. 10 (10) Seizing 367 dogs in a Federal animal 11 fighting case in 2013 required sheltering dogs for up 12 to 390 days. Fifty-three percent of the dogs in that 13 case declined behaviorally, with 30 percent of them 14 deteriorating to such a degree that they had to be 15 humanely euthanized. 16 (11) Reducing the time that seized animals 17 must be held before courts determine their legal dis- 18 position is the best way to minimize the trauma ani- 19 mals have experienced at the hands of their abusers. 20 (12) The unique nature of animals compared to 21 other seized assets requires higher costs to the gov- 22 ernment and to partnering animal welfare organiza- 23 tions. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2085.IH H2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2085 IH (13) Animal welfare organizations have shel- 1 tered animals for several Federal investigations at 2 costs ranging from $900,000 to more than $3 mil- 3 lion. 4 (14) Uncertainty regarding who is ultimately 5 responsible for the cost of care for the seized ani- 6 mals discourages future animal fighting investiga- 7 tions, which means fewer animals saved. 8 (15) Expediting the disposition process for ani- 9 mals seized in Federal animal fighting cases will 10 provide better outcomes for animals, reduce financial 11 burdens on animal welfare organizations partnering 12 with Federal agencies, and will provide more space 13 in shelters for other animals in need. 14 SEC. 3. REDUCED NOTICE PERIOD. 15 (a) NOTICE TIMING FOR CASES OF ANIMAL SEI- 16 ZURE.—Section 983(a)(1)(A) of title 18, United States 17 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 18 clause: 19 ‘‘(vi) With respect to an animal seized 20 under section 26 of the Animal Welfare 21 Act or under section 1955 of this title, 22 clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and (v), shall be ap- 23 plied by substituting ‘30-days’ for ‘60- 24 days’.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2085.IH H2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2085 IH (b) NOTICE PROCEDURES FOR CASES OF ANIMAL 1 SEIZURE.—Section 983(a)(1) of title 18, United States 2 Code, as amended by this Act, is amended— 3 (1) in subparagraph (B) by inserting ‘‘and with 4 respect to an animal seized under section 26 of the 5 Animal Welfare Act or section 1955 of this title, 6 that the delay is warranted in light of the criteria 7 in subparagraph (G)’’ after ‘‘if the official deter- 8 mines that the conditions in subparagraph (D) are 9 present,’’; 10 (2) in subparagraph (C) by inserting ‘‘and with 11 respect to an animal seized under section 26 of the 12 Animal Welfare Act or section 1955 of this title, 13 that the delay is warranted in light of the criteria 14 in subparagraph (G)’’ after ‘‘that the conditions in 15 subparagraph (D) are present,’’; and 16 (3) by adding after subparagraph (F), the fol- 17 lowing: 18 ‘‘(G) With respect to an animal seized 19 under section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act or 20 section 1955 of this title, the period for sending 21 notice under this paragraph may be extended 22 only after consideration of the following: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2085.IH H2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2085 IH ‘‘(i) The cost to the government of 1 caring and providing shelter for the ani- 2 mal. 3 ‘‘(ii) The psychological and physical 4 health of the animal and the effect the 5 delay will have on its rehabilitation. 6 ‘‘(iii) Any increased risk that the 7 delay could necessitate the euthanasia of 8 the animal. 9 ‘‘(iv) Any psychological harm incurred 10 by the animals’ owner due to the delay in 11 disposition.’’. 12 SEC. 4. SEIZURES OF ANIMALS. 13 (a) PAYMENT FOR CERTAIN COSTS.—Section 14 524(c)(1) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by 15 adding after subparagraph (I), the following: 16 ‘‘(J) payment for the transportation, shel- 17 ter, care, veterinary services, and where appro- 18 priate, humane euthanasia of an animal seized 19 under section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act or 20 under section 1955 of title 18.’’. 21 (b) REIMBURSEMENT AND PROPORTIONALITY.—Sec- 22 tion 983(h) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 23 by adding at the end, the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2085.IH H2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2085 IH ‘‘(4) In any civil forfeiture proceeding in which 1 the Government prevails, the court shall require the 2 claimant, to reimburse the United States for any ac- 3 tual and reasonable costs to the government for the 4 transportation, shelter, care, veterinary services, or 5 where appropriate, humane euthanasia of an animal 6 that was the subject of the proceeding. The reim- 7 bursement shall be credited to the agency or fund 8 that was used to pay the costs being reimbursed. 9 ‘‘(5) In any civil forfeiture proceeding in which 10 an animal is subject of the proceeding, the court 11 may reduce the size of a reimbursement based on 12 any of the following factors: 13 ‘‘(A) The seriousness of the offense. 14 ‘‘(B) The culpability of the claimant. 15 ‘‘(C) The claimant’s prior record. 16 ‘‘(D) The claimant’s financial condition 17 and need to support a family. 18 ‘‘(E) The purpose of the forfeiture statute 19 in question. 20 ‘‘(6) Nothing in this section should be inter- 21 preted to reimburse the United States for any costs 22 other than for costs related to animals seized under 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2085.IH H2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2085 IH section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act or under sec- 1 tion 1955 of title 18.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2085.IH H2085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS