Legislative Updates
Attention Members -
The link below is for a White House petition regarding horse processing. If there are 5,000 signers in 30 days, White House staff will review and respond to the petition to restore humane horse processing. Our opposition has a petition up as well and they are ahead of us by about 2,000 signatures. Please consider logging on and signing the petition and pass this on to your contacts.
As you know, the Government Accountability Office report has recommended Congress reconsider funding USDA inspectors at horse processing plants. Let’s help end the suffering of our nation’s unwanted horses and work to restore humane processing at a federally regulated processing facility.
AQHA Political Action Committee
American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act Introduced in House
This past Monday, Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) introduced the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (HR 2966). The bill would prohibit the slaughter of horses for human consumption. A Senate version of this bill, SB 1176 was introduced in June by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA). The House and Senate bills are identical.
This bill would amend the Horse Protection Act, which was enacted in 1970 to prohibit the showing, transport or sale of horses that have been subjected to any painful process to accentuate their gait (the result of an industry issue unrelated to equine processing). The bill would prohibit the shipping, transporting or sale of horses for slaughter for human consumption. Such activities would be a violation of the HPA and would subject any person who knowingly violates the act to penalties of up to $3,000 and/or one year in jail for the first offense and up to $5,000 and/or two years in jail for a second offense. An offender may also be subject to civil penalties of $2,000 for each violation. The bill authorizes $5 million for enforcement and has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and has 56 co-sponsors.
Despite facts, documented cases and a nonpartisan Government Accountability Office study that underscored what AQHA and many other agriculture-based organizations had warned about, some in Congress, like Congressman Burton still do not get it, and he needs to hear from you. Congressman Burton and others who sign on to this bill are yielding to animal rights activists/Humane Society of the United States, who line their pockets with campaign donations but do nothing to actually help horses or the equine industry.
In June, we shared the GAO report with you. Now, the congressman along with 56 co-sponsors wants to increase the issues that are plaguing the equine industry, and make a processing ban – domestic or international – permanent. This simply doesn’t make sense, and because of your leadership role with AQHA, I encourage you to call your fellow AQHA members, horse industry peers (even those who own other breeds of horses), people you do business with who are affected by this ban (tack stores, truck and trailer dealers, veterinarians, western stores, gas stations, etc.) and have them call Congress to get this bill stopped.
Last time this issue came up for a floor vote, we all lost. Very few people who actually own horses and are involved in the industry called. Let’s not make the same mistake. Call Congressman Burton if you live in Indiana or look over the list of co-sponsors and call them or have others you know in those districts call and write letters.
You can find contact information for your representatives and senators by logging into the AQHA Member Services area. Click on Public Policy under Member Action to find the Legislative Action Center.
You all know that horses have suffered long enough. It’s time to stop that and have Washington do something positive for the industry we all love and enjoy.
In Oregon:
To stay on top of what's happening with legislation, you can subscribe to govdelivery, which allows you to choose various committees, legislators and other alerts that you would like to receive. If you subscribe and ask to receive alerts from the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, you'll be able to check their agendas and watch for senate bills to come up that effect the horse community.
Make use of the legislative website at www.leg.state.or.us. If you look under the Bills tab, you'll find copies of the bills and, as they are amended, copies of the amended bills. You'll find staff measure summaries - an important tool for both legislators and the public to quickly grasp the meaning and effect of a bill - along with financial impact statements. Most importantly, you can find the measure history at http://www.leg.state.or.us/11reg/pubs/senmh.html. All the Senate bills are listed in one long document, so you'll have to scroll down to see the senate bills or use Ctrl-F to find the bill number. The measure history contains a list of all the actions that have taken place on a given bill and the date of that action. You can find out about any votes that have taken place and learn the location of the bill - which is critical if it progresses at all.
