[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 110 (Tuesday, July 21, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1857]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   RESTORE OUR AMERICAN MUSTANGS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 17, 2009

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I want to speak to some of the false 
statements of my colleagues. It has been said repeatedly that the 
American people are suffering and job losses are at an all-time high 
and that this is the Democratic response--to debate a bill about horse 
welfare. But this bill will actually save taxpayer money. It reforms an 
inefficient program that wastes taxpayer dollars, and makes it a 
fiscally responsible program.
  My colleagues also say that this bill will cost $700 million or more. 
This is unequivocally false. This is simply fear-mongering. The truth 
is that the bill promotes on-the-range management and reduces the 
number of horses in costly short-term and long-term holding facilities, 
partly through more widespread use of fertility control. In FY 2008, 
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) spent $36.2 million on its entire 
wild horse and burro program and the cost of holding wild horses and 
burros in its facilities exceeded $27 million--more than two-thirds of 
the BLM's total budget. The current program is a train wreck, and H.R. 
1018 addresses the core problems of this program. By implementing herd 
reduction with birth control, the U.S. Geological Survey says H.R. 1018 
will save taxpayers $7.7 million a year and the Journal of Wildlife 
Management says it will save ``$6.1'' million a year.
  In addition, it has been said that the management of wild horses and 
burros only affects western states. This is simply ridiculous because 
every American, not only those in western states, pays tax dollars to a 
fiscally irresponsible program to manage these horses. H.R. 1018 will 
save all American taxpayers money by increasing the efficiency of the 
BLM program.
  I have also heard arguments that no one is talking about slaughter 
and that it should not be a part of the debate. However, it is a fact 
that the BLM was going to slaughter 30,000 completely healthy horses, 
not terminally ill ones, because there was not enough space for them. 
H.R. 1018 will prevent this from happening.
  The status quo cannot be allowed to continue. I urge my colleagues to 
vote yes on H.R. 1018 and no on the Hastings amendment.

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