Letter to Hon. Joseph R. Biden, President of the United States- Rep. McClain Leads Letter to President Biden Demanding He Stop Funding Russian Research Labs

Dear Mr. President,

Our democratic ally Ukraine is facing repeated, daily attacks from invading Russian forces. Despite this mobilization, the Ukrainian people have inspired the world with their valiant bravery. As Russia continues its assault on Ukraine, the United States and other nations have come together and levied numerous sanctions meant to cripple the Kremlin. We write you today demanding you to target another sector of the Russian state: research labs funded in part by U.S. tax dollars.

The Russian Federation currently has four labs approved by the National Institute of Health (NIH) to receive funding from U.S. tax dollars. They are the Gamaleya Research for Epidemiology and Microbiology, the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy Sciences, Institute of Cytology of Russian Academy of Science-Saint Petersburg, and the Pavlov Institute of Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.1 The White Coat Waste Project recently exposed hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars going to the Pavlov Institute through grant funding. The White Coat Waste Project exposed that this institute conducted horrific and barbaric experiments on eighteen cats. This grant is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2022.2 The experiment itself was the "Rostrocaudal Distribution of the C-Fos- Immunopositive Spinal Network Defined by Muscle Activity during Locomotion."3 Specifically, it was found that eighteen healthy cats had portions of their brain removed, while electrodes were implanted in their spines. The cats were then subsequently forced to walk on a treadmill for spinal cord experiments.

The U.S. government has a troubling history of sending U.S. tax dollars to adversarial countries for cruel and wasteful animal research and testing. While this recent revelation is enough to make the stomach churn for any American, it is even more infuriating when you consider the fact these foreign grants are still active while Russia is despicably trying to overthrow, by military force, the government of our sovereign democratic ally, Ukraine.

Our foreign adversaries, especially ones run by tyrants, should not be given U.S. tax dollars to conduct heinous animal research. This should be a bipartisan, common-sense position. As such, you must take swift and decisive action to block any further U.S. tax dollars from going to Russian research labs.

Sincerely,