Ok when does the Senate vote?? This has gone on way to long!!

Marge
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Holland" <hollandtech@...>
To: "John Holland" <hollandtech@...>
Sent: Friday, August 03, 2007 2:28 PM
Subject: [netposse_slaughter_issues] HSUS Press Release and new co-sponsors


>
> Hi Folks,
>
> This is a week for good news! I usually leave it to others to report the
> new cosponsors, but among them this time is my representative the very
> honorable Rick Boucher (D-VA 9)! I know each of the names below
> represents
> a lot of effort by some of you and I want to tell you how valuable that
> effort is!
>
> John Holland
>
> Rep Boucher, Rick [VA-9] - 8/2/2007
> Rep Fortuno, Luis G. [PR] - 8/2/2007
> Rep Weller, Jerry [IL-11] - 8/2/2007
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------------------------
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
> U.S. House Votes to Take Horses Off the Menu
>
> WASHINGTON (August 3, 2007) - Late last night, the U.S. House of
> Representatives once again agreed to stop slaughtering American horses for
> human consumption, by adding a provision to the Agriculture spending bill
> for 2008 that prohibits the use of funds to allow horse slaughter to
> continue.
> The funding restriction for horse slaughter was first enacted two years
> ago,
> but the USDA has stubbornly refused to implement the law, opting instead
> to
> charge horse slaughterhouses a per horse fee for inspection services.
> Although the federal district court in Washington, D.C. ruled last spring
> that USDA's scheme to circumvent Congress is unlawful, the ruling is on
> hold
> pending an appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, thus enabling
> horse
> slaughter to continue. This year's amendment, sponsored by Reps. John M.
> Spratt, Jr. (D-S.C.), Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), and Ben
> Chandler (D-Ky.), was accepted with the strong support of Agriculture
> Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.).
>
> "With anti-slaughter laws in Illinois and Texas, and now with this
> anti-slaughter language in a major spending bill in Congress, the writing
> is
> on the wall for the Belgian-owned slaughter plants in the United States,"
> said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United
> States. "The American people and their elected representatives want an end
> to horse slaughter -- not later, but right now."
>
> Pacelle added, "I want to express special appreciation to Subcommittee
> Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro and Reps. John Spratt, Ed Whitfield, Nick Rahall
> and
> Ben Chandler in pushing for protections for horses and saying enough is
> enough."
>
> Amendments by lawmakers favoring horse slaughter -- including Subcommittee
> Ranking Member Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) and anti-animal ideologue Rep. Steve
> King (R-Iowa) -- were not allowed by the Rules Committee.
>
> Pacelle continued, "Horses have served this nation honorably in battle,
> transport, agriculture and as loyal companions. Today the House of
> Representatives said it is ungrateful and inhumane for this nation to
> treat
> them like a cheap commodity, kill them, and turn them into a high-priced
> meal in Belgium or Japan."
>
> Facts:
> According to the USDA, 100,800 American horses were slaughtered in three
> foreign-owned slaughterhouses in 2006. Another 37,000 were sent to Mexico
> or
> Canada for slaughter and 4000 were imported from other countries into the
> U.S. for slaughter.
> The United States Department of Agriculture documents that more than 92%
> of
> horses slaughtered were in good condition. These healthy, productive
> horses
> could have been adopted through one of the 400 plus rescue operations in
> existence today.
> A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Rep. Janice Schakowsky
> (D-Ill.),
> is working to ban horse slaughter nationwide. The legislation would
> prohibit
> the export of horses for slaughter.
>
> Timeline:
> April 26, 2007 - U.S. House of Representatives passes H.R. 249 to restore
> a
> decades-old ban on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses first
> enacted under the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.
> House
> vote: 277-137
> September 7, 2006 - U.S. House of Representatives passes H.R. 503, the
> American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. The 109th Congress adjourns
> before
> the Senate can consider the bill. House vote: 263-146
> October 25, 2005 - House-Senate conference committee completes its work on
> FY 2006 Agriculture Appropriations Bill, retaining the funding limitation
> on
> USDA inspections of horsemeat.
> September 20, 2005 - U.S. Senate approves the Ensign-Byrd Amendment to the
> FY 2006 Agriculture Appropriations Bill to prohibit the use of tax dollars
> to pay for inspections of horsemeat. Senate vote: 69-28
> June 8, 2005 - U.S. House of Representatives approves the
> Sweeney-Spratt-Rahall-Whitfield Amendment to the FY 2006 Agriculture
> Appropriations Bill to prohibit the use of tax dollars to pay for
> inspections of horsemeat. House vote: 269-158
> May 19, 2005 - U.S. House of Representatives approves the Rahall-Whitfield
> Amendment to the FY 2006 Interior Appropriations Bill to restore federal
> protections from commercial sale and slaughter to wild horses and burros.
> The provision is stripped in conference from the final bill. House vote:
> 249-159
> Media contact
> Heather Sullivan, 301-548-7778 or (cell) 240-477-2251;
> hsullivan@...
>
> -30-
>
> The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal
> protection organization -- backed by 10 million Americans, or one of every
> 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the
> protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on
> programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty -- On the web at
> humanesociety.org .
>
>
> The Humane Society of the United States
> 2100 L Street, N.W.
> Washington, D.C. 20037
> humanesociety.org
> Celebrating Animals, Confronting Cruelty
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>