[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 22263-22265]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         SUPPORTING NATIONAL WILD HORSE AND BURRO ADOPTION DAY

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 688) expressing support for the goals and 
ideals of the first annual National Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Day 
taking place on September 26, 2009.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 688

       Whereas in 1971, in Public Law 92-195 (commonly known as 
     the ``Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act'') (16 U.S.C. 
     1331 et seq.), Congress declared that wild free-roaming 
     horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and 
     pioneer spirit of the West;
       Whereas, under that Act, the Secretary of the Interior and 
     the Secretary of Agriculture have responsibility for the 
     humane capture, removal, and adoption of wild horses and 
     burros;
       Whereas the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest 
     Service are the Federal agencies responsible for carrying out 
     the provisions of the Act;
       Whereas a number of private organizations will assist with 
     the adoption of excess wild horses and burros, in conjunction 
     with the first National Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Day; 
     and
       Whereas there are approximately 31,000 wild horses in 
     short-term and long-term holding facilities, with 18,000 
     young horses awaiting adoption: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) supports the goals of a National Wild Horse and Burro 
     Adoption Day to be held annually in coordination with the 
     Secretary of Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture;
       (2) recognizes that creating a successful adoption model 
     for wild horses and burros is consistent with Public Law 92-
     195 (commonly known as the ``Wild Free-Roaming Horses and 
     Burros Act'') (16 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) and beneficial to the 
     long-term interests of the people of the United States in 
     protecting wild horses and burros; and
       (3) encourages citizens of the United States to adopt a 
     wild horse or burro so as to own a living symbol of the 
     historic and pioneer spirit of the West.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Guam (Ms. Bordallo) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Guam.


                             General Leave

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the resolution that is now under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Guam?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 688, introduced by the gentlewoman 
from Nevada, Representative Dina Titus, expresses support for the goals 
and the ideals of the first annual National Wild Horse and Burro 
Adoption Day, which takes place on September 26, 2009.
  In 1971, Congress passed the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act, 
which sought to prevent the disappearance of these horses and burros 
from the western range and created the Wild Horse and Burro Adoption 
Program.
  H. Res. 688 supports the first annual National Wild Horse and Burro 
Adoption Day. It recognizes that a successful adoption program is vital 
to managing these animals, and that more must be done to promote the 
program and educate the public. I would also note that in support of 
the goals of that 1971 act, I am proud to be a cosponsor of H.R. 1018, 
the Restore our American Mustangs, or ROAM Act, introduced by House 
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rahall and passed by this House in 
July.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 688 is important in drawing attention 
to the vital role of adoption in saving America's wild horses and 
burros. I commend Representative Titus for shining a light on this 
important event, and I ask my colleagues to support passage.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 688, and I 
yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to commend the Nevada delegation for this resolution urging 
the public to adopt the 18,000 wild horses waiting for adoption. 
However, it is a little confusing. Just 2 months ago, both the 
Democratic sponsor and cosponsor of this bill voted in favor of

[[Page 22264]]

H.R. 1018, a bill that even the Obama administration said would make 
the problem worse, not better.
  I am also perplexed, with Nevada's unemployment rate at 13.2 percent, 
how both of our Democratic colleagues from that hard-hit State could 
vote for a bill that would spend close to a billion dollars to expand a 
failed welfare program for wild horses.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
Representative Titus, the sponsor of this resolution.
  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Rahall and 
subcommittee Chairman Grijalva for bringing this timely resolution to 
the floor today.
  I rise in strong support of H. Res. 688, a resolution I introduced 
with my colleagues from the Nevada congressional delegation in support 
of the goals and ideals of National Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Day.
  Wild horses and burros are living symbols of the independent, free 
spirit of the American West. My State of Nevada is home to more than 
half the wild horses in the country, and our State quarter depicts a 
trio of wild mustangs.
  The Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act, which became law in 
1971, gave the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior 
responsibility for the humane capture, removal, and adoption of wild 
horses and burros. The agencies ensure that healthy herds thrive on 
healthy rangelands. But because these animals have no natural 
predators, herd sizes can increase dramatically in very short periods 
of time.
  In order to maintain balance on the rangelands, wild horses and 
burros are gathered and offered for adoption and sale. Currently, there 
are some 31,000 wild horses in short-term and long-term holding 
facilities, with 18,000 young horses available for adoption.

                              {time}  1500

  Although reasonable people might disagree on the appropriate number 
of horses that should be allowed to roam free, ranchers, wild horse 
advocates, environmentalists, animal lovers, and taxpayers alike can 
agree that there is a pressing need to improve upon the adoption 
programs to remove horses from these holding facilities and place them 
in good adoptive homes.
  On September 26, 2009, a number of private organizations will assist 
with the adoption of excess wild horses and burros in conjunction with 
the first National Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Day. State BLM 
offices, as well as rescue centers, wild horse groups, 
environmentalists, and volunteers from all walks of life will be 
engaged in activities leading up to and on this important day.
  BLM, the American Horse Protection Association, the Mustang Heritage 
Foundation, the Humane Society of the United States, and Wild Horses 
4Ever all support National Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Day, and more 
than 65 adoption and educational events will take place across the 
country in support of its goals. Wild horse advocates have set a 1,000 
horse and burro adoption goal for National Wild Horse and Burro 
Adoption Day. This will save taxpayers $1.5 million. This process has 
already begun as we saw last weekend with a successful adoption event 
in Pahrump, Nevada.
  The resolution we are considering today supports the goals of 
National Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Day to be held annually in 
coordination with the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture. It also 
recognizes that creating a successful adoption model for wild horses 
and burros is consistent with the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burros 
Act of 1971 and beneficial to the long-term interests of the people of 
the United States in protecting wild horses and burros.
  Lastly, my resolution encourages Americans to adopt a wild horse or 
burro and own a living symbol of the historic and pioneer spirit of the 
American West, just as my sister, Rho Hudson, did when she adopted a 
wild burro, Sadie, who is a nice addition to her ranch in Pea Vine 
Canyon, Nevada.
  More than 220,000 wild horses and burros have been adopted since 
1973. By placing this renewed emphasis on the importance of wild horse 
adoption programs, we will protect the welfare of these majestic 
animals and save taxpayer dollars at the same time.
  I urge passage of this important resolution.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of H. Res. 688.
  Having no additional speakers on this topic, I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of our nation's 
wild horses and burros. These graceful and social wild animals have 
captured the hearts and minds of many Americans. They are stunning to 
watch as they roam free on public lands and remain an historical 
national treasure. It is imperative that we protect and ensure a viable 
future for them.
  Ensuring a strong adoption program for wild horses and burros is one 
important step toward addressing the current ineffective, inhumane and 
expensive practices the Bureau of Land Management, BLM, has employed to 
manage the population. As such, I support this bill and will continue 
to work to ensure the success of the adoption program.
  However, adoption alone will not offset the damage caused by the 
failed herd management practices of the BLM. Despite efforts to adopt 
out horses and burros, BLM has more than 30,000 wild horses in holding 
areas. In October 2008, the GAO released a report entitled ``Effective 
Long-Term Options Needed to Manage Unadoptable Wild Horses.'' This 
report affirms that BLM will continue to face budget shortfalls if 
long-term corrections to current management practices are not put in 
place. The bulk of these shortfalls are anticipated to result from the 
current management methods that round up wild horses and burros from 
Herd Management Areas, HMA, to long- and short-term holding areas.
  The BLM maintains that removal of the horses from the BLM lands is 
necessary to ``maintain a thriving ecological balance.'' However, the 
BLM has a history of using this statutory goal as justification for 
failed herd management practices.
  When Congress enacted the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 
1971, 54 million acres were dedicated for use by wild horses and 
burros. Currently, they roam on 29 million BLM acres and 2.5 million 
Forest Service acres. Additional state, tribal, and private lands bring 
the total acreage to 34.3 million, a reduction of 19.2 million acres. 
Approximately 13 million of the 19.2 million closed acres were under 
BLM ownership and closed to wild horses and burros because of new laws 
and regulations as well as BLM's own land use planning decisions. This 
clearly defies congressional intent and shows a pattern of behavior on 
the part of BLM that reduces the land on which wild horses and burros 
roam.
  BLM's decision to reduce land available to the wild horses and burros 
is called into question by the facts. A 1990 Government Accountability 
Office (GAO) report concluded that removals had not been demonstrated 
to improve range conditions, in part because livestock cause greater 
degradation to riparian areas and consume higher levels of forage. 
Furthermore, the Congressional Research Service states that the extent 
of damage by wild horses and burros as compared to livestock suffers 
from a ``lack of definitive data on forage consumed and range 
degradation.'' Yet there are approximately 33,000 wild horses and 
burros on 34 million acres of land, while there are at least 6.4 
million cattle, sheep and other livestock that graze on 160 million 
acres of BLM land. The density of the livestock population far exceeds 
that of the population of wild horses and burros. But BLM continues to 
argue that the horses and burros threaten BLM's ability to maintain 
ecological balance.
  Recently, the BLM justified a roundup of wild mustangs on the Pryor 
Mountain Range of Montana and Wyoming with the ``thriving ecological 
balance'' argument. The Pryor Mountain Range wild mustangs are reported 
to have a genetic link to the Spanish horses of the Conquistadors 
brought to America in 1500. Their DNA makes them a unique wild horse 
that is a distinct part of America's history.
  According to equine geneticist, Gus Cothran of Texas A&M University, 
who has been studying the wild horse population of the Pryor Mountains 
for many years, the single most important factor ``in maintaining 
genetic variation in a managed population is effective population 
size.'' Genetic diversity is vital to the long term survival of any 
herd. BLM's decision to roundup the Pryor Mountain Range horses 
threatens the effective population size which compromises the genetic 
diversity of the herd.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H. Res. 688 and 
pledge to continue to work to correct the failed management practices 
of the BLM.

[[Page 22265]]


  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I again urge Members to support this 
important bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 688.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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