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H.R. 8378

U.S. House•In House Committee

Summary

H.R. 8378, the Pets Belong with Families Act, was introduced in the House on Apr 20, 2026 by Rep. Michael Lawler (R) with 8 co-sponsors. It was referred to Financial Services, and last saw action on Apr 20, 2026: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Record

Text

H.R. 8378 has 8 co-sponsors.

hb8378/introduced-in-house.txt
119 HR 8378 IH: Pets Belong with Families Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-04-20
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I
 119th CONGRESS  2d Session
 H. R. 8378
 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 April 20, 2026
  Mr. Lawler  (for himself,  Mr. Crow ,  Ms. Titus ,  Mr. Fitzpatrick ,  Ms. Tlaib ,  Ms. Malliotakis , and  Ms. Underwood ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Financial Services
 A BILL
To modify the reasonable requirements that may be imposed on pet owners living in public housing, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Pets Belong with Families Act  .
2.
Prohibition on breed restrictions
Section 31 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437z–3 ) is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
(b)
Reasonable requirements
(1)
In general
The reasonable requirements referred to in subsection (a) may include—
(A)
requiring payment of a pet deposit by a tenant owning or having pets, except that—
(i)
the pet deposit—
(I)
shall not exceed 10 percent of the tenant’s monthly base rent; and
(II)
shall be amortized over not less than 3 months as part of a tenant’s rental payments; and
(ii)
any amount of a pet deposit that is unused at the termination of the tenancy shall be reimbursed to the tenant within 30 days of vacating a dwelling unit;
(B)
limitations on the number of animals in a dwelling unit or building, based on unit size or other relevant conditions;
(C)
prohibitions on certain species of animals prohibited by State or local law; and
(D)
prohibitions on any individual animal that is declared a threat to public health and safety by a court of competent jurisdiction or whose ownership is otherwise prohibited by State or local law.
(2)
Prohibition on withholding
A public housing agency may not withhold a pet deposit described in paragraph (1) for damage unrelated to the pet, including due to ordinary wear and tear.
(3)
Limitation
The reasonable requirements described in subsection (a) shall not include any prohibition based on the breed, size, or weight of an animal.
 .

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

  1. Introduced2026-04-20
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Conference
  5. To President
  6. Became Law

To modify the reasonable requirements that may be imposed on pet owners living in public housing, and for other purposes.

Sponsors

Rep. Michael Lawler (R) sponsors H.R. 8378, and 8 members have co-sponsored it, 6 of them from the day it was introduced.

Committees

H.R. 8378 went before 1 committee: Financial Services.

Financial Services
Financial Services
Referred To · Apr 20, 2026 · 559 Bills

Actions

H.R. 8378 has taken 2 actions since Apr 20, 2026.

ChamberAction
Apr 20, 2026
House
Introduced in House
Apr 20, 2026
House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.Financial Services Committee

Votes

H.R. 8378 has not gone to a roll call.

1 bill is related to H.R. 8378, as Identical bill.

Titles

H.R. 8378 goes by 3 titles, 1 of them short titles.

  • Pets Belong with Families Act — Display Title
  • To modify the reasonable requirements that may be imposed on pet owners living in public housing, and for other purposes. — Official Title as Introduced
  • Pets Belong with Families Act — Short Title(s) as Introduced

Lobbying

2 clients hired 2 firms and 9 registered lobbyists who named H.R. 8378 in 3 quarterly filings, 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Animals.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

ClientBusinessStateFirmsFilingsReported
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS—New York12—
PET INDUSTRY JOINT ADVISORY COUNCIL—Virginia11—

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

RegistrantClientsFilingsReported
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS12—
PET INDUSTRY JOINT ADVISORY COUNCIL11—

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill.

LobbyistFirmsClientsFilings
BENJAMIN OWENS112
BRYNAE RIGGINS112
DANIEL LEONARDINI112
MARGARET GARRETT112
MEREDITH HOU112
ALISA CLEMENTS111
ALYSSA MILLER111
ASHLEY BRINKMAN111
LAUREN CALMET111

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

ClientRegistrantPeriodReportedDocument
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALSAMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS2026 second_quarter$200K2nd Quarter - Amendme…
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALSAMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS2026 second_quarter$178K2nd Quarter - Report
PET INDUSTRY JOINT ADVISORY COUNCILPET INDUSTRY JOINT ADVISORY COUNCIL2026 second_quarter—2nd Quarter - Report

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.R. 8378 under Housing and Community Development, one of its 31 policy areas.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.R. 8378’s is Housing and Community Development.

hr8378/policy-areas.txt
Housing and Community DevelopmentAgriculture and FoodAnimalsArmed Forces and National SecurityArts, Culture, ReligionCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCommerceCongressCrime and Law EnforcementEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEmergency ManagementEnergyEnvironmental ProtectionFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorForeign Trade and International FinanceGovernment Operations and PoliticsHealthImmigrationInternational AffairsLabor and EmploymentLawNative AmericansPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareSports and RecreationTaxationTransportation and Public WorksWater Resources Development

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.R. 8378, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 69 (Monday, April 20, 2026)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. LAWLER:H.R. 8378.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the U.S. Constitution[Page H2996]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com