ASSEMBLY CONSUMER AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No. 93

 

with committee amendments

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED:  JUNE 2, 2021

 

      The Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Resolution No. 93.

      As amended and reported by the committee, this bill urges the President and Congress to reintroduce and enact the “Humane Cosmetics Act of 2019,” which would prohibit testing cosmetics on animals, as well as the sale or transport of a cosmetic in interstate commerce, if any component of the cosmetic was developed or manufactured using animal testing. The bill was last introduced in the 116th Congress as S.2886 and H.R.5141.

     Every year, countless animals are poisoned and killed in tests that attempt to evaluate the hazards of consumer products and their ingredients.  Despite the widespread availability of effective alternatives to animal testing, many cosmetics companies still conduct testing on animals.  By banning animal testing in the United States, and prohibiting the sale of products that have been tested on animals, the enactment of this legislation would help reduce animal cosmetics testing worldwide, and bring the United States’ cosmetics policy in line with more than 30 countries that have already implemented bans on the sale of animal-tested cosmetics, including the European Union, Israel, Norway, Switzerland, and India.

     The "Humane Cosmetics Act of 2019" was endorsed by 250 companies in the cosmetics industry, and was supported by both Republican and Democratic cosponsors.  By reintroducing and enacting this legislation, the United States can show moral leadership without compromising product safety or business profitability.

 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments update the resolution to reflect that the “Humane Cosmetics Act of 2019” last was introduced in the 116th Congress. Under the amendments, the resolution urges the reintroduction of the act in the 117th Congress, which convened on January 3, 2021, and urges the President and Congress to enact it.