[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 167 (Tuesday, October 22, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8355-H8357]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PREVENTING ANIMAL CRUELTY AND TORTURE ACT
Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 724) to revise section 48 of title 18, United States Code,
and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 724
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Animal Cruelty
and Torture Act'' or the ``PACT Act''.
SEC. 2. REVISION OF SECTION 48.
(a) In General.--Section 48 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 48. Animal crushing
``(a) Offenses.--
``(1) Crushing.--It shall be unlawful for any person to
purposely engage in animal crushing in or affecting
interstate or foreign commerce or within the special maritime
and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
``(2) Creation of animal crush videos.--It shall be
unlawful for any person to knowingly create an animal crush
video, if--
``(A) the person intends or has reason to know that the
animal crush video will be distributed in, or using a means
or facility of, interstate or foreign commerce; or
``(B) the animal crush video is distributed in, or using a
means or facility of, interstate or foreign commerce.
``(3) Distribution of animal crush videos.--It shall be
unlawful for any person to knowingly sell, market, advertise,
exchange, or distribute an animal crush video in, or using a
means or facility of, interstate or foreign commerce.
``(b) Extraterritorial Application.--This section applies
to the knowing sale, marketing, advertising, exchange,
distribution, or creation of an animal crush video outside of
the United States, if--
``(1) the person engaging in such conduct intends or has
reason to know that the animal crush video will be
transported into the United States or its territories or
possessions; or
``(2) the animal crush video is transported into the United
States or its territories or possessions.
``(c) Penalties.--Whoever violates this section shall be
fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 7 years,
or both.
``(d) Exceptions.--
``(1) In general.--This section does not apply with regard
to any conduct, or a visual depiction of that conduct, that
is--
``(A) a customary and normal veterinary, agricultural
husbandry, or other animal management practice;
``(B) the slaughter of animals for food;
``(C) hunting, trapping, fishing, a sporting activity not
otherwise prohibited by Federal law, predator control, or
pest control;
``(D) medical or scientific research;
``(E) necessary to protect the life or property of a
person; or
``(F) performed as part of euthanizing an animal.
``(2) Good-faith distribution.--This section does not apply
to the good-faith distribution of an animal crush video to--
``(A) a law enforcement agency; or
``(B) a third party for the sole purpose of analysis to
determine if referral to a law enforcement agency is
appropriate.
``(3) Unintentional conduct.--This section does not apply
to unintentional conduct that injures or kills an animal.
``(4) Consistency with rfra.--This section shall be
enforced in a manner that is consistent with section 3 of the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb-
1).
``(e) No Preemption.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to preempt the law of any State or local
subdivision thereof to protect animals.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `animal crushing' means actual conduct in
which one or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles,
or amphibians is purposely crushed, burned, drowned,
suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily
injury (as defined in section 1365 and including conduct
that, if committed against a person and in the special
maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States,
would violate section 2241 or 2242);
``(2) the term `animal crush video' means any photograph,
motion-picture film, video or digital recording, or
electronic image that--
``(A) depicts animal crushing; and
``(B) is obscene; and
``(3) the term `euthanizing an animal' means the humane
destruction of an animal accomplished by a method that--
``(A) produces rapid unconsciousness and subsequent death
without evidence of pain or distress; or
``(B) uses anesthesia produced by an agent that causes
painless loss of consciousness and subsequent death.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of
sections for chapter 3 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by striking the item relating to section 48 and
inserting the following:
``48. Animal crushing.''.
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, and the amendments made
by this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory
Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference
to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the
Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget
Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted
prior to the vote on passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Deutch) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Reschenthaler) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
General Leave
Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 724, the Preventing
Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, or the PACT Act.
I give special thanks to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Buchanan),
my colleague. He is a longstanding friend of animals in Congress, and I
am thrilled that he agreed to introduce this bill with me to create a
Federal law punishing those who abuse animals.
I also would like to acknowledge Congressman Holding and the hard
work by groups like the Humane Society and Humane Rescue Alliance, who
have helped collect 290 bipartisan cosponsors for this bill. There are
so many groups and people from across the country who have supported
this
[[Page H8356]]
bill--people like Lisa Vanderpump, who added her passion and commitment
to animals to our effort, and groups who rescue animals, literally, in
every corner of our country every single day.
I would also acknowledge and thank one person in particular, Mr.
Speaker--a high school student, one who is so committed to helping
animals, caring for animals, that when she learned about the PACT Act,
she started an online petition hoping to collect a few thousand
signatures. That petition urging Congress to pass this bill gathered
over 729,000 signers. And I am thrilled that that young activist,
Sydney Helfand, is with us in the gallery today.
Now, of all the divisive issues here in Washington, the PACT Act is
one on which we can all agree, we must make animal abuse a Federal
crime. This bill has received so much bipartisan support, because
Americans care about animal welfare. We form deep relationships with
our companion animals and are rightfully outraged by cases of animal
abuse. Animal rights activities stand up for living things that do not
have a voice. That is what the PACT Act does.
Americans expect their law enforcement agencies to crack down on this
horrific violence against animals, and law enforcement officers agree,
which is why the PACT Act has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of
Police, the National Sheriffs' Association, the Association of
Prosecuting Attorneys, and local law enforcement agencies across the
country. They have asked for this Federal law to bolster their efforts
to target animal abusers, because they understand the direct link
between animal abuse and violent crimes. This link is why the FBI now
collects data on acts of cruelty against animals for their criminal
database, right alongside felony crimes like assault and homicide.
When I first came to Congress, one of the first bills I voted on was
the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act, a bill that passed nearly
unanimously and that it made it a crime to create or distribute animal
crush videos, which depict horrific acts against animals.
This bill today takes the next logical step and criminalizes those
acts underlying that crime as well.
The Senate passed the PACT Act by unanimous consent in the last two
Congresses, and I am proud the House is finally doing its part to pass
this important legislation. Today, anyone who inflicts serious bodily
injury on animals will be committing an act for which they should be
condemned. When the PACT Act passes, they will also be violating
Federal law.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the PACT Act, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would remind Members to avoid
referencing occupants of the gallery.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 724, the bipartisan Preventing
Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, or the PACT Act, introduced by
Representative Ted Deutch and Vern Buchanan.
In 2017, Pennsylvania passed Libre's Law, which increased penalties
for animal abuse. I was honored to help push that legislation over the
finish line in the Pennsylvania State Senate. I am proud to once again
help pass legislation that will better protect our Nation's animals.
In 2010, Congress passed the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act to
address the trade in obscene videos of live animals being crushed,
burned, or subjected to other forms of heinous cruelty. While this was
an important first step, the law only bans the trade in video
depictions of cruelty, not the underlying act of cruelty itself.
The PACT Act addresses this gap by prohibiting the underlying acts of
animal cruelty that occur on Federal property or affect interstate
commerce, regardless of whether a video is produced.
As a former district judge, I served on the frontlines of our
judicial system. I witnessed firsthand the connection between animal
cruelty and violence toward people. In fact, the FBI recently
recognized that addressing animal cruelty is critical to protecting our
communities.
The PACT Act would give Federal law enforcement and prosecutors the
tools they need to combat extreme animal cruelty. This bill would give
the FBI the authority to act against animal cruelty that is discovered
while investigating another interstate crime, such as drug smuggling or
human trafficking.
The PACT Act would not interfere with enforcement of State laws
related to felony animal cruelty provisions. The legislation focuses
solely on extreme acts of animal cruelty and exempts normal agriculture
and hunting practices.
The PACT Act is endorsed by the National Sheriffs' Association, the
Fraternal Order of Police, and the Association of Prosecuting
Attorneys, as well as more than 100 law enforcement agencies.
And in the Senate, the PACT Act is sponsored by my good friend,
Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, and it passed in both the 114th and
the 115th Congresses by unanimous consent. In the House, it currently
has more than 300 bipartisan cosponsors.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the PACT Act so we can
better protect our Nation's animals from abuse and torture. I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Iowa (Mrs. Axne).
Mrs. AXNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Deutch and Buchanan
for this bill. I am very excited to be able to vote for it today.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the PACT Act, and am grateful for
the support that it has. As a longtime animal lover and advocate, and
somebody who worked to take care of the puppy mill issues that we have
in my own State of Iowa, I know more than anybody that there is nothing
like bringing animals to the forefront that brings people together.
This is absolutely a bipartisan issue. And while the Animal Crush
Video Prohibition Act prohibits trade in obscene video depictions of
live animals being tortured, as Representative Deutch said, the bill
did nothing to prohibit the underlying conduct of the cruelty itself.
This is what the PACT Act does.
It strengthens the animal crush video law by prohibiting animal
cruelty, regardless of whether a video is produced. There is documented
connection between animal cruelty and violence to people. In fact,
studies show animal abusers are five times more likely to commit
violent crimes against people, and it is linked to domestic violence,
as well as child and elder abuse.
The PACT Act gives Federal law enforcement and prosecutors the tools
they need to combat extreme animal cruelty and to protect our
communities at the same time. Whether it is the veterinarian in my own
State of Iowa--ranked 49th when it comes to animal welfare laws--who
was recently arrested for debarking dogs by shoving rod-like objects
into their vocal chambers without anesthesia, or whether it is in my
neighboring State of Nebraska, where a man was recently accused of
severely burning a cat by holding it under water, scalding hot water,
across this country, people are torturing animals and it absolutely has
to stop.
So tomorrow, on Make a Dog's Day, which is in support of encouraging
dog adoption, let's do these companion animal friends of ours one
better by a unanimous vote for the PACT Act today and put an end to the
horrible acts of cruelty that should not be allowed in this country.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick), my good friend.
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I join with my bipartisan colleagues here to proclaim
that animal abuse is unacceptable and must end, which is why we are all
proud to be supporters, and many of us, original cosponsors of the PACT
Act because it strengthens Federal law regarding animal cruelty.
{time} 1645
As was previously mentioned, the Animal Crush Video Act of 2010
banned the creation and distribution of these despicable videos.
However, it did not make the actual animal abuse itself a crime.
[[Page H8357]]
The bipartisan PACT Act goes a step further and outlaws this
malicious animal cruelty, regardless of the presence of video evidence.
Mr. Speaker, as a former FBI agent, my agency's profiling studies
demonstrated how violence against animals is a precursor to human
violence. That is why we are fighting aggressively against egregious
animal cruelty and why it is so important.
Law enforcement, including the FOP, strongly supports this
legislation because it provides another tool for them to use for animal
abuse cases that might otherwise go unprosecuted.
More than 100 law enforcement agencies and organizations across our
country have endorsed the PACT Act. We must come together and stand up
for innocent, defenseless animals, which is why there are over 300--in
fact, 301, to be exact--cosponsors, both Democrats and Republicans, on
this bill.
I commend Senator Toomey, our colleague from Pennsylvania, for
introducing the companion bill in the Senate. We must pass the PACT Act
as soon as possible so that it can be signed into law, and we must make
sure that this type of animal abuse no longer happens.
Together, we will end all types of animal cruelty and will continue
to be a voice for the voiceless.
Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), the chairman of the Congressional Animal
Protection Caucus, an original cosponsor of the PACT Act, and a great
voice for animals and animal rights.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy
and his leadership on this issue.
Mr. Speaker, it is a breath of fresh air for us in these sort of,
shall we say, troubled times in our Nation's Capital, when there is so
much discord and disagreement, and it seems we can't really agree on
fundamental facts: Is today Tuesday or Wednesday?
Animal welfare is one of those issues that brings people together on
a bipartisan basis.
I am pleased that the bipartisan Congressional Animal Welfare Caucus
has been involved in advancing this. Animal cruelty has been an area in
which I have been involved since the beginning of my tenure in
Congress. We fought, in farm bills, for years to try to advance
protections against animal cruelty.
I am pleased that we are here today dealing with something where
Congress has already acted to make these provisions illegal. But what
we haven't done is make it illegal to depict these horrific crush
videos.
It was horrifying, when we brought that legislation to the floor, for
people to understand what some sick, sadistic people do in portraying
these horrific acts of cruelty. What we find is that it is linked to
larger issues.
People who abuse animals are often linked to horrific instances of
violence against their family and community. It is dehumanizing to us
all, as well as, of course, the cruelty that is involved there.
We need to enact this legislation to make the actual creation of the
depiction of the animals being abused illegal.
For example, the PACT Act would allow for charges to be brought
against a puppy mill operator who is drowning unwanted animals if he is
engaged in interstate activity. It would take strides to protect our
overall communities from violent crime.
I would hope that this would also signal more activity on the floor
of this House because we have a range of legislation that is teed up
and ready to go that has broad, bipartisan support.
I appreciate the fact that we are getting 290, or whatever the number
is, but life is short. We ought to be able to move these items with
broad, bipartisan support to the floor.
We shouldn't necessarily be here just renaming post offices on a
Monday. I mean, these are substantive issues that matter to people. We
ought to be moving them through. I think this is an important first
step, and I am pleased to add my support to it.
Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Michigan (Ms. Stevens).
Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, we are standing here today in support of
the PACT Act, to make it a crime to commit abuse that has already been
detected in videos or the videos that we have made illegal.
We need to render the acts illegal. We need to enforce detection. We
need to support enforcement writ large. We need to stand up for the
rights of animals and stand up against animal cruelty.
I come from the great State of Michigan, and this is something that I
have heard from my residents from all corridors throughout my district.
We are home to great equine farms as well as other establishments
that care for animals, and that is a message that we want to put
forward. We want to stop animal abuse on the front end and also stop
other forms of domestic abuse that may arise from it.
I led the Department of Justice appropriations process that directs
the use of Department of Justice funds to enforce our Nation's animal
cruelty laws. Today, with the PACT Act, we are realizing another
important step in protecting the rights of animals and in stopping
abuse before it starts.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes''
on H.R. 724, the PACT Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, we should do everything we can to prevent
the torture of animals and take steps to hold accountable those who
would engage in such horrific acts.
The PACT Act is a significant Federal measure to help put an end to
the abuse of animals.
I am thankful to be on the House floor at this incredibly gratifying
bipartisan moment, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting
this bipartisan bill.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge every companion
animal that has brought love to my staff members since the PACT Act was
first introduced. Those would be Thomas Jefferson, Desi, Stella, Dock,
Bubba, Maple, Hazel, Cheech, Ollie, Frodo, Theo, Johnson Tiki,
Tankford, Littleman, Natale, Enzo, Dino, Virgil, Rooney, Maybeline,
Prudence, Peppermint, Nazca, Poseidon, Gus, Sansa, Tony, Dwyane Wade,
and my dearly departed Jessie.
For all of them and for every animal who brings joy to everyone in
this Chamber, let's do our part to prevent animal cruelty and torture,
and let's pass the PACT Act.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 724, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________