Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia Federal Recognition Act

House Bill

H.R. 4750

119th Congress

Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia Federal Recognition Act

In Committee

Introduced:Jul 23, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Eugene Simon Vindman

Representative

Democratic

VA-7

Cosponsors

58

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Agriculture and Food

Summary

This bill provides legal protections for people and organizations that donate pet food and supplies to help pets, service animals, and emotional support animals. It shields them from liability for any issues with the donated items, as long as they acted in good faith and didn't do anything grossly negligent or intentionally wrong.

Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

SponsorEugene Simon Vindman (D-VA)

Introduced7/23/2025

StatusReferred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

ChamberHouse

Data from Congress.gov

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Vote Prediction

Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia Federal Recognition Act

This bill provides legal protections for people and organizations that donate pet food and supplies to help pets, service animals, and emotional support animals. It shields them from liability for any issues with the donated items, as long as they acted in goo

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

0%

0 predictions

This bill provides legal protections for people and organizations that donate pet food and supplies to help pets, service animals, and emotional support animals. It shields them from liability for any issues with the donated items, as long as they acted in good faith and didn't do anything grossly negligent or intentionally wrong.

Bill Number: 4750
Sponsor: Eugene Simon Vindman (D-VA)
Introduced: 7/23/2025
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Policy Area: Agriculture and Food

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia Federal Recognition Act
Bill Number: 4750
Sponsor: Eugene Simon Vindman (D-VA)
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced: 7/23/2025
Summary: This bill provides legal protections for people and organizations that donate pet food and supplies to help pets, service animals, and emotional support animals. It shields them from liability for any issues with the donated items, as long as they acted in good faith and didn't do anything grossly n

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill provides legal protections for people and organizations that donate pet food and supplies to help pets, service animals, and emotional support animals. It shields them from liability for any issues with the donated items, as long as they acted in good faith and didn't do anything grossly negligent or intentionally wrong.

Last updated: 12/30/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Bring Animals Relief and Kibble Act of 2023 or the BARK Act of 2023This bill provides civil and criminal liability protections for the donation of pet food and pet supplies under the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. (The act shields persons that donate and distribute food to nonprofit organizations from liability for injuries caused by those donated products, with exceptions.) Specifically, the bill limits liability for persons or gleaners arising from the nature, age, packaging, or condition of food or pet supplies that are donated in good faith by the person or gleaner to a nonprofit organization, state, or local government for direct distribution to pets, service animals, or emotional support animals. Gleaner means a person who harvests for free distribution to the needy, or for donation to a nonprofit organization, an agricultural crop that has been donated by the owner.Further, the bill limits liability for a nonprofit organization, state, or local government arising from donated items received from a person or gleaner in good faith for direct distribution to pets, service animals, or emotional support animals. The bill also specifies that the existing exception that permits a person, gleaner, or nonprofit organization to be held liable for acts or omissions that constitute gross negligence or intentional misconduct applies to the liability protections established by this bill.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Expands liability protections under the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act to cover pet food and supplies
Protects people and organizations that donate pet items in good faith from lawsuits related to those donated items
Still allows liability for gross negligence or intentional misconduct in the donation process

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

This bill would make it easier and safer for individuals, businesses, and nonprofits to donate unused pet food and supplies to help animals in need. It could increase the amount of pet items available to shelters, rescues, and other organizations that provide for animals. Ultimately, this could benefit pets, service animals, and emotional support animals by making more resources available to care for them.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Agriculture and Food

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

4750, 119th Congress (2025). "Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia Federal Recognition Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-4750

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