Animal Welfare Accountability and Transparency Act

Mr. President, today I am introducing the Animal Welfare Accountability and Transparency Act. This bill is a necessary step to restoring public information on animal cruelty that was removed from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's, USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, APHIS, website under the Trump administration.

On February 3, 2017, APHIS removed information from its website related to oversight and enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, AWA, and Horse Protection Act, HPA, including animal inspection and licensing reports for more than 9,000 licensed facilities that use animals--facilities like commercial dog breeding operators, animal research labs, roadside zoos, and horse show participants. Since 2009, APHIS has made this information public to increase transparency and hold violators of these animal cruelty laws accountable. This information is now hidden from the public and is only available through a Freedom of Information Act Request, which can take months and sometimes even years for an agency to respond.

The Animal Welfare Accountability and Transparency Act restores transparency by requiring APHIS to once again make AWA and HPA inspection reports accessible to the public. In my view, transparency is key when it comes to giving animal lovers and consumers information about whether their pets or the products they buy are the result of heartbreaking beginnings. These inspection reports also help law enforcement officials track and understand trends in animal welfare violations.

Preventing animal cruelty starts with getting facts out to consumers. By shedding light on AWA and HPA violations, the Animal Welfare Accountability and Transparency Act holds accountable puppy mill operators and other businesses that use animals for breeding, research, and testing.

To ensure that taxpayers are not paying for entities that violate animal welfare laws, the Animal Welfare Accountability and Transparency Act also prohibits businesses that are found to be in violation of the AWA or HPA from collecting certain tax benefits.

Under current tax and accounting rules, companies can write off the value of breeding and working animals on their taxes using accelerated depreciation, as if those animals are machinery. They keep that preferential and valuable tax benefit, even if they violate animal cruelty laws. The Animal Welfare Accountability and Transparency Act puts an end to this practice and holds companies accountable for breaking the law by prohibiting businesses found to have violated AWA or HPA from claiming accelerated depreciation for tax purposes for five years.

The Animal Welfare Accountability and Transparency Act is a much needed step to restore transparency in animal cruelty and to hold companies accountable for violating the law.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today I am reintroducing a bill honoring two Oregon legends--Frank and Jeanne Moore--who have spent their lives together on the North Umpqua River as fishers, stewards of the land, and hosts to visitors from across the world at the famous Steamboat Inn.

The North Umpqua River runs through the Umpqua National Forest in Southwest Oregon. The river is a destination for rafters and kayakers, and is home to some of the best steelhead runs in the world, making it a fly-fishing haven. Frank and Jeanne Moore founded the Steamboat Inn in 1957, and spent years introducing visitors to the beauty of the Umpqua National Forest and the North Umpqua River. Frank, a decorated WWII veteran and a recent inductee into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, was the fishing guide for the Inn's visitors, and has now been fishing this river for 70 years. The Steamboat Inn's website paints a wonderful picture of how Frank and Jeanne welcomed visitors to the North Umpqua River:

``Each night, Jeanne Moore cooked evening meals for as many as sixty road construction crew members, who ate in shifts, before turning her attention to feeding her lodge guests. Frank pitched in, helped with the cooking, and also made a policy decision that would henceforth guide the Fisherman's Dinner: From then on, anglers could fish until the last light disappeared on the river. Dinner would be served one half hour after sunset!''

In the 1960's, the river and its tributaries experienced significant degradation, and Frank Moore has worked tirelessly ever since to rehabilitate the river and the steelhead populations. Frank served on the State of Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission and has received the National Wildlife Federation Conservationist of the Year award and the Wild Steelhead Coalition Conservation Award. He works with his neighbors and local organizations to monitor the river, and just about everyone he comes across on his drives along the river knows his name and knows his work. Frank and Jeanne have opened their door to visitors and have taken great care of this Oregon treasure.

The Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area will stand as a tribute to the Moore's and their dedication to protecting this special place in Oregon and preserving the hard work they've put in to ensure that Oregonians and visitors alike will have a healthy river, full of steelhead, to visit for decades to come.

It is my honor to reintroduce this bill today with my colleague from Oregon, Senator Jeff Merkley, on behalf of these extraordinary Oregonians.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, Montana is the fifth largest producer of hydropower in the Nation, with 23 hydroelectric dams contributing one- third of all electricity production in Montana. The Gibson Dam project near Augusta, Montana will provide fifty to one hundred years of stable tax revenue for the state and local counties, reduce carbon emissions, create good-paying jobs, and will provide clean, reliable electricity to Montana. This bill would reinstate and provide a six-year extension of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license, allowing Montana to continue to be a leader in clean, hydropower electricity.

I thank Senators Tester and Risch for joining me on introducing this bill and I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, hydropower is a critical hcomponent of an all of the above energy portfolio that provides a reliable and affordable source of electricity for hard-working Montana families. Clark Canyon Dam hydropower project near Dillon, MT will power over 1,000 homes annually in the region, create good-paying jobs, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and produce hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue for Montana. This bill would reinstate and provide a 3- year contract extension of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license, allowing Montana to continue to be a leader in clean, hydropower electricity.

I thank Senators Tester, Risch and Crapo for joining me on introducing this bill, and I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, as a fifth-generation Montanan and having spent 18 years in the private sector, I know how important it is to receive your fair share in any deal. However, the Office of Natural Resources Revenue Consolidated Federal oil and gas and Federal and Indian coal valuation reform rule does not protect the taxpayers' fair share of mineral royalties as finalized. The rule as finalized creates high uncertainty and, at worst, could cause many energy operators across the country to shut-in what is already very capital-intensive production, placing our Nation's energy and infrastructure security and good-paying energy jobs at risk. The rule could leave the taxpayer at a net loss in royalties. This resolution would halt implementation of the final ONRR valuation rule, a rule whose implementation is already postponed due to litigation, allowing the States and producers to work with the Department of the Interior to reform valuation in a common- sense way.

I thank Senators Hatch and Kennedy for joining me on introducing this resolution, and I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the joint resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today I am introducing the Animal Welfare Accountability and Transparency Act. This bill is a necessary step to restoring public information on animal cruelty that was removed from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's, USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, APHIS, website under the Trump administration.

On February 3, 2017, APHIS removed information from its website related to oversight and enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, AWA, and Horse Protection Act, HPA, including animal inspection and licensing reports for more than 9,000 licensed facilities that use animals--facilities like commercial dog breeding operators, animal research labs, roadside zoos, and horse show participants. Since 2009, APHIS has made this information public to increase transparency and hold violators of these animal cruelty laws accountable. This information is now hidden from the public and is only available through a Freedom of Information Act Request, which can take months and sometimes even years for an agency to respond.

The Animal Welfare Accountability and Transparency Act restores transparency by requiring APHIS to once again make AWA and HPA inspection reports accessible to the public. In my view, transparency is key when it comes to giving animal lovers and consumers information about whether their pets or the products they buy are the result of heartbreaking beginnings. These inspection reports also help law enforcement officials track and understand trends in animal welfare violations.

Preventing animal cruelty starts with getting facts out to consumers. By shedding light on AWA and HPA violations, the Animal Welfare Accountability and Transparency Act holds accountable puppy mill operators and other businesses that use animals for breeding, research, and testing.

To ensure that taxpayers are not paying for entities that violate animal welfare laws, the Animal Welfare Accountability and Transparency Act also prohibits businesses that are found to be in violation of the AWA or HPA from collecting certain tax benefits.

Under current tax and accounting rules, companies can write off the value of breeding and working animals on their taxes using accelerated depreciation, as if those animals are machinery. They keep that preferential and valuable tax benefit, even if they violate animal cruelty laws. The Animal Welfare Accountability and Transparency Act puts an end to this practice and holds companies accountable for breaking the law by prohibiting businesses found to have violated AWA or HPA from claiming accelerated depreciation for tax purposes for five years.

The Animal Welfare Accountability and Transparency Act is a much needed step to restore transparency in animal cruelty and to hold companies accountable for violating the law.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.