House Judiciary Committee to VOTE on H.R. 6598

Announced earlier TODAY, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a full mark-up on H.R. 6598, the “Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act”, on WEDNESDAY, September 10th. H.R. 6598 is authored by Congressman John Conyers (D, MI-14) and was introduced on July 24, 2008. Congressman Conyers is the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and on July 31, 2008 this bill had its first, and only, subcommittee hearing.

Talking points on this bill are included below.

WE NEED YOU to call Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (MI-14) and Ranking Minority Member Lamar Smith (TX-21) TODAY and express your opposition to this bill.

** Congressman Smith is a friend to us on this bill and does oppose it, however calls placed to his office will offer our support of his opposition to this legislation.

Congressman John Conyers – 202 225 5126

Congressman Lamar Smith – 202 225 4236

Please let me know what feedback you hear from these offices. We will be pairing these calls with emails and phone calls from our CAPWIZ users who live in House Judiciary Committee districts.

THANK YOU for your help on this and as the hearing happens and we have more information, we will be sure to get it out to you. If you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to contact me, Elizabeth Bostdorff, at 202 879 9128 or ebostdorff@beef.org.

H.R. 6598 – Talking Points

* H.R. 6598 – has not be fully vetted -- this bill has only had a subcommittee hearing, it has not had a full committee hearing – therefore the unintended consequences and should not be voted on by the full committee.

* H.R. 6598 is NOT a measure that will protect our horses, and cattle producers should be able to make our own decisions about the animals in our care. Our management decisions, in regards to our private property should not be considered criminal acts that can result in three years of federal prison time.

* H.R. 6598 puts prosecutorial authority, as well as care of the confiscated horses, under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Attorney General, thus making U.S. tax payers responsible for paying for the care of these horses as a direct result of government action. Also, the U.S. Attorney General lacks the knowledge and expertise to be able to properly care for these horses.

* Since the final closure of the last remaining horse plant in Dekalb, IL -- last fall -- we have seen horse auctions dry up and horses be abandoned, neglected and left to starve. (If you have a personal story PLEASE share with your member).

* Many proponents of this ban argue that horse adoption and rescue facilities would be able to handle the unwanted horses, but these facilities have not been able to demonstrate that they can handle all of the unwanted horses we are now seeing nor are they regulated by the Federal Government.

* Regardless of whether some people feel that the processing of horses is unacceptable, the decisions about equine welfare and this issue must be based on scientific facts and solid animal husbandry, not merely on emotion.

* Legislation based solely on emotion is a slippery slope not only for animal agriculture, but for all issues that Congress addresses.