[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 503 Reported in House (RH)]







                                                 Union Calendar No. 357
109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 503

                      [Report No. 109-617, Part I]

      To amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, 
 transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, 
selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for 
               human consumption, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 1, 2005

  Mr. Sweeney (for himself, Mr. Spratt, Mr. Whitfield, Mrs. Bono, Mr. 
Brown of Ohio, Mr. Cox, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Engel, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Ferguson, 
  Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Towns, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. 
Moran of Virginia, and Mr. Shays) introduced the following bill; which 
          was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

                             July 13, 2006

Rereferred to the Commitee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition, to 
                      the Committee on Agriculture

                           September 6, 2006

  Additional sponsors: Mr. LaTourette, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Waxman, Mr. 
  Pitts, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Rahall, Mr. Crenshaw, Mr. Jones of North 
 Carolina, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Farr, Mr. King of New York, 
Mr. Sherman, Mr. Dicks, Mr. Levin, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. 
   Doyle, Mr. Lewis of California, Ms. Schakowsky, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. 
  Hastings of Florida, Mr. Strickland, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. McNulty, Mr. 
 Hinchey, Mr. Stark, Mr. Rush, Mr. Taylor of Mississippi, Mr. Tierney, 
Mr. Filner, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Simmons, Mr. Wu, Mr. Shaw, Mr. Wilson of 
South Carolina, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Rothman, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. 
  Kennedy of Rhode Island, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, Ms. Watson, Mr. 
Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Lee, Mr. Foley, Mr. Olver, Mr. 
Payne, Ms. Baldwin, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Schwartz of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
  Serrano, Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia, Ms. Slaughter, Ms. Berkley, Mr. 
 Ney, Mr. Kirk, Ms. Waters, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, 
  Mr. Cummings, Ms. Harris, Mr. Becerra, Mr. Platts, Mr. Castle, Ms. 
 Velazquez, Mr. Inslee, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. 
 Berman, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Linder, Mr. Evans, Mr. Michaud, Ms. Zoe 
   Lofgren of California, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Weldon of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
  McGovern, Mr. Israel, Mr. Markey, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mrs. 
  Tauscher, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mrs. McCarthy, Mr. 
Weiner, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, Mr. Scott of Virginia, 
Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Moore of Kansas, Mr. Porter, Ms. Solis, Mr. Ackerman, 
  Mr. Capuano, Mr. Wolf, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. 
  Lynch, Mr. Davis of Florida, Mr. Chabot, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Holt, Ms. 
  Carson, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Brown of 
South Carolina, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Goode, Mrs. Jo 
Ann Davis of Virginia, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Meehan, 
 Mr. Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Mr. Owens, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Ryan of 
Ohio, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Wexler, Mr. McCotter, Mr. 
Lantos, Ms. Kaptur, Ms. Kilpatrick of Michigan, Mr. Clyburn, Ms. Linda 
T. Sanchez of California, Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Dent, Ms. 
 Pryce of Ohio, Mr. Case, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Kline, Mr. Young of Florida, 
  Mr. Green of Wisconsin, Mr. Gerlach, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
  Ehlers, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr. Doggett, Mrs. Davis of 
    California, Mr. Inglis of South Carolina, Mr. Barrett of South 
  Carolina, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, Mr. 
Keller, Mr. Bachus, Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida, Ms. Norton, Mr. 
  Oxley, Mrs. Kelly, Mr. Wamp, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. 
   Schiff, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr. Miller of North Carolina, Mr. 
Hostettler, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, 
 Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Hayworth, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, 
Mr. Ford, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. English of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
Lewis of Kentucky, Mr. Regula, Mr. Meeks of New York, Ms. DeGette, Mr. 
Ramstad, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Baird, 
    Mr. Hyde, Mr. Shuster, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. 
 Chandler, Mr. Rogers of Kentucky, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Weller, 
         Mr. Campbell of California, and Mr. Burton of Indiana

                           September 6, 2006

 Reported adversely from the Committee on Agriculture with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

                           September 6, 2006

Committee on Energy and Commerce discharged; committed to the Committee 
 of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
    [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on 
                           February 1, 2005]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, 
 transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, 
selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for 
               human consumption, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON SHIPPING, TRANSPORTING, MOVING, DELIVERING, 
              RECEIVING, POSSESSING, PURCHASING, SELLING, OR DONATION 
              OF HORSES AND OTHER EQUINES FOR SLAUGHTER FOR HUMAN 
              CONSUMPTION.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 2 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 
1821) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) as 
        paragraphs (2), (3), (5), and (6), respectively;
            (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 
        the following new paragraph:
            ``(1) The term `human consumption' means ingestion by 
        people as a source of food.''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (3), as so redesignated, 
        the following new paragraph:
            ``(4) The term `slaughter' means the killing of one or more 
        horses or other equines with the intent to sell or trade the 
        flesh for human consumption.''.
    (b) Findings.--Section 3 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 
1822) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as 
        paragraphs (6) through (10), respectively;
            (2) by adding before paragraph (6), as so redesignated, the 
        following new paragraphs:
            ``(1) horses and other equines play a vital role in the 
        collective experience of the United States and deserve 
        protection and compassion;
            ``(2) horses and other equines are domestic animals that 
        are used primarily for recreation, pleasure, and sport;
            ``(3) unlike cows, pigs, and many other animals, horses and 
        other equines are not raised for the purpose of being 
        slaughtered for human consumption;
            ``(4) individuals selling horses or other equines at 
        auctions are seldom aware that the animals may be bought for 
        the purpose of being slaughtered for human consumption; and
            ``(5) the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the 
        Department of Agriculture has found that horses and other 
        equines cannot be safely and humanely transported in double 
        deck trailers;''; and
            (3) by striking paragraph (8), as so redesignated, and 
        inserting the following new paragraph:
            ``(8) the movement, showing, exhibition, or sale of sore 
        horses in intrastate commerce, and the shipping, transporting, 
        moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, 
        or donation in intrastate commerce of horses and other equines 
        to be slaughtered for human consumption, adversely affect and 
        burden interstate and foreign commerce;''.
    (c) Prohibition.--Section 5 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 
1824) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through (11) as 
        paragraphs (9) through (12), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(8) As a pilot program to evaluate the feasibility and 
        practicability of imposing such a prohibition nation-wide, the 
        shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, 
        possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of any horse or 
        other equine in the States of Kentucky or New York to be 
        slaughtered for human consumption, unless the equine--
                    ``(A) is owned or controlled by a State or local 
                government or owned by an individual who purchased the 
                equine from a State or local government;
                    ``(B) will be slaughtered at a facility operating 
                before the date of the enactment of this paragraph; or
                    ``(C) will be slaughtered for human consumption for 
                charitable or humanitarian purposes.''.
    (d) Authority to Detain.--Section 6(e) of the Horse Protection Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1825(e)) is amended--
            (1) by striking the first sentence of paragraph (1);
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs 
        (2) and (3), respectively; and
            (3) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 
        the following new paragraph:
    ``(1) The Secretary may detain for examination, testing, or the 
taking of evidence--
            ``(A) any horse at any horse show, horse exhibition, or 
        horse sale or auction which is sore or which the Secretary has 
        probable cause to believe is sore; and
            ``(B) any horse or other equine which the Secretary has 
        probable cause to believe is being shipped, transported, moved, 
        delivered, received, possessed, purchased, sold, or donated in 
        violation of section 5(8).''.
    (e) Reimbursement.--Section 11 of the Horse Protection Act (15 
U.S.C. 1830) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 11. REIMBURSEMENT OF OWNERS FOR LOSS OF VALUE OF HORSES.

    ``The Secretary shall compensate the owner of an equine who 
disposes of such equine due to the prohibition under section 5(8). The 
Secretary shall compensate such owner for the total amount of--
            ``(1) the loss in value of the equine due to such 
        prohibition; and
            ``(2) the costs incurred in the disposal of such equine.''.
    (f) Responsibility for Unwanted Horses.--The Horse Protection Act 
is further amended by inserting after section 11 (15 U.S.C. 1830), as 
amended by subsection (e), the following new section:

``SEC. 11A. RESPONSIBILITY FOR UNWANTED HORSES.

    ``The Secretary shall assume responsibility for any equine that is 
unwanted by an owner.''.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 12 of the Horse 
Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1831) is amended by striking ``$500,000'' and 
inserting ``$5,000,000''.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 357

109th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 503

                      [Report No. 109-617, Part I]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

      To amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, 
 transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, 
selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for 
               human consumption, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 6, 2006

Committee on Energy and Commerce discharged; committed to the Committee 
 of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed