[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 199 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S9765]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


     
     
                       HORSERACING INTEGRITY AND SAFETY ACT
     
       Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, 
     we were given the text to the omnibus appropriations bill. With the end 
     of the year fast approaching, everyone is trying to get this bill 
     signed into law quickly. That is true even if it has not been fully 
     reviewed and every consequence thought out.
       We saw this 2 years ago, when the omnibus was included with COVID-
     relief funding, within the 2020 omnibus was the Horseracing Integrity 
     and Safety Act.
       Prior to this 2020 act becoming law, with no process and no 
     opportunity to debate the merits of the act, horseracing was regulated 
     by States, and Congress had no role on how the industry was regulated.
       What this 2020 bill did was impose a one-size-fits-all Federal 
     regulatory approach on all States, from Iowa to Kentucky, to West 
     Virginia, to New York. This is a bill that had never gone through the 
     committee process, but it managed to end up in the omnibus.
       As a result of this hasty lawmaking, last month, we saw the Fifth 
     Circuit Court of Appeals strike down the law on the grounds that the 
     act is unconstitutional. Regular order in the Senate, especially 
     through committee process, would have prevented this unconstitutional 
     language.
       This did not come as a surprise. It was clear that the private 
     nonprofit Horseracing Authority created in the 2020 omni wielded nearly 
     unlimited Federal rulemaking authority and answered to no one, not even 
     the President of the United States.
       The court ruled that the power of the Federal Government can be 
     wielded only by the Federal Government, not private entities like the 
     ``Authority.''
       For months I have worked with horsemen in Iowa and my colleagues in 
     the Senate to address the obvious failures with implementation of this 
     law since it went into effect earlier this year.
       I specifically asked the FTC about the extent of its oversight of the 
     FTC, a key factor for the Fifth Circuit's ruling.
       The FTC response was simple. It said it did not have any oversight 
     over the ``Authority.'' This is clearly unconstitutional and is 
     inconsistent with conservative principles of small government and 
     reigning in the Federal bureaucracy.
       Now that the courts have found HISA unconstitutional, Congress should 
     work a fix through the regular committee process to avoid the pitfalls 
     of the previous legislation.
       But that is not what is happening today. In the 2022 omni once again, 
     the special interests that invented the unconstitutional ``Authority'' 
     in the first place have convinced their supporters a quick fix is 
     needed in this omnibus. The same people who pushed the unconstitutional 
     ``Authority'' through in an end of year omnibus are once again forcing 
     legislation without any input from Senators like me.
       This fix to the unconstitutional Federal rulemaking power wielded by 
     the ``Authority'' is included on page 1,930. How many members of 
     Congress even know that this is included? Probably very few.
       I have since introduced an amendment that would strike this text with 
     Senator Manchin. Since then numerous offices reached out to find out 
     what this is--and once they do--have expressed the same opposition to 
     this becoming law that I have.
       This is just one example of which there are many, of legislating on 
     an omnibus. It lets a select few Members, or in this case just one 
     Member, of leadership create new Federal regulatory frameworks for 
     entire industries.
       I support ensuring safe, humane horseracing. But I also support small 
     tracks, like Prairie Meadows in Iowa, which don't have the billionaires 
     backing like those in States that host Triple Crown races.
       And I am not alone because most other States have tracks like Prairie 
     Meadows.
       Instead of governing this way, Congress should work with State racing 
     commissions to regulate horseracing in a responsible way to ensure 
     racetrack safety and the economic viability of small tracks across the 
     country.
       I will work with any Senator who is willing to stand up for small 
     tracks in the next Congress and fix this broken way of governing.
     
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