PAST Act of 2022

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for allowing me time to speak on this bill today.

Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record a letter from the Tennessee Farm Bureau and Kentucky Farm Bureau Federations opposing H.R. 5441.

November 14, 2022.

Honorable Members of Congress,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Members of Congress: Please accept this letter as a

statement of opposition to H.R. 5441, the Prevent All Soring

Tactics (PAST) Act by the Kentucky Farm Bureau and Tennessee

Farm Bureau.

The PAST Act is misleading in its strategies and purpose

and sets a dangerous precedent for animal agriculture. Please

take the time to review it closely and understand this

initiative and the agenda of the Humane Society of the United

States (HSUS). While the PAST Act expressly targets Walking

Horses, this push by the HSUS brings to question which

segment of animal-based agriculture will be targeted next.

Supporters of the PAST Act argue the bill will ``eliminate

soring'' within the Walking Horse Industry. However, soring

is essentially nonexistent today. The bill professes to end

soring by banning hoof pads and action devices which are used

in Walking Horse performance shows, and implies such items

cause soring. Hoof pads and action devices do not cause

soring. Hoof pads are used to provide protection from ground

force, to accentuate movement, and balance motion. These pads

are used in many breeds other than the Walking Horse

including the American Paint Horse, American Quarter Horse,

American Saddlebred, and Morgan breeds. An action device is a

band/chain weighing six (6) ounces or less. We are not aware

of a study that indicates action devices or pads produce pain

or cause tissue damage.

The Tennessee Walking Horse is the most inspected horse in

the world. The industry and its shows maintain a compliance

rate with the Horse Protection Act that averages 99 percent.

This rate is significant considering the inspection process

today is almost 100 percent subjective.

The PAST Act eliminates the organizations established by

Congress in the original Horse Protection Act called Horse

Industry Organizations (HIOs). These independent

organizations provide inspectors for shows and are trained

and certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Without HIOs, the PAST Act requires an increase in the USDA's

workforce as well as additional employees for the U.S.

Department of Justice. The Congressional Budget Office

numbers reflect this cost.

We urge you to not accept the mistreatment claims from

years past as true today. Visit a Walking Horse farm and see

the horses. Visit with a horse owner, trainer, farrier and

their veterinarians. Contact your state Farm Bureau, the

Tennessee Farm Bureau or the Kentucky Farm Bureau if you want

assistance arranging a visit or tour.

We urge you to oppose H.R. 5441.

Thank you for your consideration of this information.

Sincerely,

Eric Mayberry,

President, Tennessee Farm Bureau.

Mark Haney,

President, Kentucky Farm Bureau.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in opposition to H.R. 5441, the PAST Act. As an eighth-generation farmer and Tennessean, the grand tradition of Tennessee Walking Horses is among my earliest and fondest memories. We take great pride in the fact that the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration draws neighbors and tourists alike each year to Shelbyville, Tennessee, for our world-class showcase.

However, over the years, this grand tradition has, on occasion, been marred by a few bad actors looking to gain a competitive edge at the unfair expense of the hundreds of other Walking Horse exhibitors who do things right, and at the grossly unacceptable expense of the horses themselves that suffer from the cruel and unconscionable technique known in the industry as soring.

Those who sore our Tennessee Walking Horses compromise the integrity of the competition, put a stain on what has long been a wonderful family-oriented tradition, and by far most importantly subject our prized Tennessee Walking Horses to harm and suffering. I can assure you that we in Tennessee stand strongly against this vile technique.

My strong disgust to soring is actually why I rise today in opposition to the PAST Act. This bill is not the best solution to end this cruel practice. While I appreciate the sincere motives of those supporting this bill, I call on my colleagues to consider another better solution.

I am a proud original cosponsor of H.R. 6341, the Protecting Horses from Soring Act of 2021, authored by my friend and colleague from Tennessee, Congressman Scott DesJarlais. This bill works to end soring in another way that is fair to those acting properly and humanely and provides timely consequences for those who are not.

Inspections must be objective, but the PAST Act does not correct the subjective process currently used. My colleague's bill, H.R. 6341, creates a framework for consistent, scientific, and objective inspections. The bill also prevents conflicts of interest and suspends horses from shows if they are found to be sore.

Industry wide, the current compliance rate is between 96 and 99 percent, which is an increase from the 92 to 95 percent compliance rate that the industry had when we debated this bill last Congress. This is a 4 percent increase in less than 3 years. These compliance rates are based on USDA standards.

Overall, the Walking Horse industry has a USDA compliance rate higher than even the food industry achieves. With that record, the rate of catching bad actors at this point is, of course, extremely low. Those low rates mean we must be vigilant if we are going to find and stop the remaining bad actors. Vigilance will require a new system.

The PAST Act does not create a scientific, objective process for inspections, and until we have that, the remaining bad actors will continue to go under the radar, while those acting with integrity could be treated unfairly. The PAST Act is the wrong approach and will actually be counterproductive.

It is because of these concerns that I will oppose the PAST Act today and call upon my colleagues to also oppose it and instead stand with me in truly stopping soring by supporting H.R. 6341, the Protecting Horses from Soring Act of 2021.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman, the ranking member, and the entire committee for their work in passing this bill out of committee. I know it was somewhat contentious. It shouldn't have been, but it was.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 5441, the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act, acronym, the PAST Act, which I proudly introduced with several prime cosponsors who worked on it, including Brian Fitzpatrick, Jan Schakowsky, and Vern Buchanan. Mr. Buchanan, like Mr. Bilirakis, is a Member of the class of 2006, of which I am, as well.

The PAST Act will shut down the cruel practice of horse soring, which has been described here on the floor. It is a horrendous practice that horse trainers have used in the Tennessee Walking, Spotted Saddle, and Racking Horse shows.

The horses have a beautiful gait to start with. They have a natural gait, a smooth, natural gait. It is revered in Tennessee. It used to be Tennessee Walkers paraded at the University of Tennessee football games to great applause and great thrill of the fans.

However, some people, to make it even more imposing, took away their natural gait, which is enough of a miracle and enjoyment to watch, and put in these soring practices to get a high gait, extremely high gait, known as the Big Lick. The Big Lick is wrong. To achieve the Big Lick, horse trainers irritate or blister a horse's forelegs through the application of caustic chemicals such as mustard oil, cut the horse's hooves painfully short, or use mechanical devices to inflict pain, all of which is reprehensible. Anyone who cares about horses realizes they have lives and senses, and as well, they suffer pain just like every other animal does.

Far too often, those involved in showing the Tennessee Walking Horses have turned a blind eye to this abusive act of the trainers. They do little to try to police it, and the penalties are so minor it does nothing to prevent this barbaric act.

I have led this legislation for years. My chief of staff, Marilyn Dillihay, has been strongly supportive of this. As we all know, we work for our constituents and then for our chief of staff.

The PAST Act would codify key elements of the Horse Protection Act rule that the USDA finalized in January of 2017 by eliminating the failed system of industry self-policing and prohibited the use of devices that are integral to the soring practice and Big Lick. It would also strengthen penalties and increase consequences for individuals caught soring a horse.

I thank Chairman Pallone and Chairwoman Schakowsky for their support and work on this bill. I also particularly thank Priscilla Presley, Elvis' widow. Priscilla and Elvis had Tennessee Walkers at Graceland. They loved their Tennessee Walking Horses, which had a natural gait, and Priscilla has lobbied on this for many years and come to many activities, encouraging the passage of this act.

Priscilla Presley is a pretty amazing human being, and this is one of the areas where she has surpassed just being the spouse of the rock and roll legend, Elvis Presley, and being a star in her own right in many ways.

I thank the 263 bipartisan Members who cosponsored the bill and the hundreds of stakeholder groups and individuals who have lent their support, including the Humane Society, the American Horse Council, U.S. Equestrian Federation, American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners, the State veterinary organizations of all 50 States, National Sheriffs' Association, and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.

The plague of soring has marred the Tennessee Walking Horse and related breeds for more than six decades. I am proud to lead the fight to end it. We are going to end it.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5441) to amend the Horse Protection Act to designate additional unlawful acts under the Act, strengthen penalties for violations of the Act, improve Department of Agriculture enforcement of the Act, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5441.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 5441, the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2021.

This important bill will protect horses from cruel and inhumane practices. It is necessary because today there are gaps in our animal welfare laws that have left these innocent animals vulnerable to abuse.

Despite a national ban, the abusive and barbaric practice of soring continues. Soring is a process of applying an irritating or blistering agent to the limb of a horse to accentuate the horse's gait, which may cause a horse to move with exaggerated high steps. In the 1950s and 1960s, some exhibitors used soring to improve the performance of show horses. To end this abuse, Congress passed the Horse Protection Act in 1970 to prohibit soring at horse shows, horse sales, and other horse exhibitions.

Unfortunately, despite this prohibition, soring continues today. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector General found that the USDA's program for inspecting horses for soring does not adequately prevent abuse. According to the Inspector General, the program faces significant limitations. There are inadequate inspections and enforcement as the USDA relies on industry inspectors with inherent conflicts of interest. The Inspector General also found that there is insufficient information sharing and distribution, which has made it more difficult to punish violators and enforce suspensions.

The PAST Act will help end this intolerable abuse of horses by strengthening the protections and penalties for soring. This legislation requires the USDA to prescribe regulations for the licensing, training, assignment, and oversight of people responsible for detecting and diagnosing a sore horse. It also increases penalties to imprisonment up to 3 years and fines up to $5,000 per violation. The legislation mandates that the USDA publish on a website information on violations to improve the enforcement of suspensions.

I thank Representative Cohen for his leadership on this legislation, which passed out of the Committee on Energy and Commerce with strong bipartisan support in September.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill to help us bring an end to this cruel treatment of horses, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen), the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), the chair of the Animal Protection Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, again, I urge support on a bipartisan basis for this important bill to protect horses, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy in allowing me to speak on this. I appreciate the leadership of Mr. Cohen. This is the culmination, hopefully, of years of struggle to try and end this barbaric practice.

There are those who are apologists for the industry. It shouldn't take this long, and repeated efforts, with hundreds of cosponsors, Congress after Congress after Congress. It has been my privilege to work with Mr. Whitfield from Kentucky, Ted Yoho, Kurt Schrader, our colleague from Oregon, and lately the leadership of Mr. Cohen, raising the banner and moving forward.

We should have zero tolerance for this barbaric practice. Forcing horses to be tortured, looking at the devices that they use to train them to have that distinctive gait. Concrete shoes.

We have had hearing after hearing here on Capitol Hill, and whenever we have an opportunity for people to be exposed to the abuses of this industry and see these barbaric practices, people marvel that we haven't been able to stop it.

Part of the problem is the self-regulation of the industry and that there isn't a sense of urgency to stop torturing these animals.

Mr. Speaker, I have been pleased to work repeatedly with colleagues on a bipartisan basis to stop it. I don't know what the compliance rate is, whether it is 96, 97, 90. The fact is, we are talking about hundreds of horses being tortured and for no good reason.

I strongly support the legislation from my colleague and the vast coalition that has been put in place to end this barbaric practice.

Some of the champions that have been involved in the past, like the Humane Society, have been there repeatedly, working to get the support, get the cosponsors, get it passed; but despite overwhelming support, despite a terrible record in protecting horses, it has taken far too long.

I am hopeful that this Congress will finally put an end to the barbaric practice, stop temporizing, stop apologizing for those who abuse horses and end this horrific practice once and for all.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5441, the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2021, or the PAST Act.

Soring is the practice of using chemicals, sadly inflicting pain on the front feet of a horse when they touch the ground, with the intent to cause the horse to quickly raise its feet high off the ground.

This legislation will require the Secretary of Agriculture to issue rules for licensing, training, assigning, and overseeing persons to be qualified to detect and diagnose a sore horse and will prohibit the use of certain devices on horse breeds that have a history of being sored. This legislation will also increase capabilities for the USDA to enforce soring violations under the Horse Protection Act.

Americans throughout the country hold horses in high regard, myself included, including constituents, of course, in my district, who care deeply for the humane treatment of these beautiful animals.

I thank Representative Cohen and the 263 cosponsors of this legislation for their work to protect horses, and I urge my colleagues to support this.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose), the great State of Tennessee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick).

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I wish this bill would pass in a bipartisan fashion, so that we can get it to the Senate. I yield back the balance of my time.