[House Report 109-642]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     109-642

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PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 503, 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.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida, from the Committee on Rules, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                       [To accompany H. Res. 981]

    The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration 
House Resolution 981, by a non-record vote, reports the same to 
the House with the recommendation that the resolution be 
adopted.

                SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION

    The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 503, 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, under a structured rule. The rule provides 1 
hour and 20 minutes of general debate equally divided and 
controlled by the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader or 
their designees. The rule waives all points of order against 
consideration of the bill and provides that the bill shall be 
considered as read.
    The rule makes in order only those amendments printed in 
this report. The rule provides that the amendments printed in 
this report may be offered only in the order printed in this 
report, may be offered only by a Member designated in this 
report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the 
time specified in this report equally divided and controlled by 
the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to 
amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of 
the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. The 
rule waives all points of order against the amendments printed 
in this report.
    Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit with or 
without instructions.

                         EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS

    The Committee is not aware of any points of order against 
consideration of the bill or the amendments made in order under 
the rule. The waivers of all points of order against 
consideration of the bill and against the amendments made in 
order under the rule are prophylactic in nature.

                  SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

    (Summaries derived from information provided by sponsors.)
    1. Goodlatte (VA): Provides that H.R. 503 will take effect 
with respect to any State where it is in violation of the laws 
thereof to ship, transport, move, deliver, receive, possess, 
purchase, sell, or donate any horse or other equine to be 
slaughtered for human consumption. (10 minutes)
    2. Goodlatte (VA): Provides that the prohibitions in H.R. 
503 will not apply with respect to slaughter in existing horse 
plants. (10 minutes)
    3. Goodlatte (VA): Provides that the Secretary of 
Agriculture must certify that sufficient horse sanctuaries 
exist to care for unwanted horses before the law will take 
effect. (10 minutes)
    4. King, Steve (IA): Provides that equines may be shipped, 
transported, moved, delivered, received, possessed, purchased, 
sold, or donated for slaughter for human consumption by Native 
Americans or people from other cultures that eat equine meat. 
(10 minutes)
    5. Goodlatte (VA): Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to 
make a determination, based on empirical evidence, that the 
prohibition on shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, 
receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of 
horses to be slaughtered for human consumption is supported by 
a majority of horse owners before the prohibition can go into 
effect. (10 minutes)
    6. Goodlatte (VA): Replaces ``horse or other equine'' in 
H.R. 503 with ``registered thoroughbred horse''. (10 minutes)
    7. Goodlatte (VA): Provides that the Federal government 
will reimburse State and local governments for the costs 
incurred in caring for abandoned or unwanted horses. (10 
minutes)

                    TEXT OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Goodlatte of Virginia, 
               or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  In the paragraph (8) of section 5 of the Horse Protection 
Act, which is being added by subsection (c)(2) of section 1 of 
the bill, strike ``consumption.'' and insert the following: 
``consumption if the shipping, transporting, moving, 
delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or 
donation occurs in a State that prohibits, pursuant to State 
law, the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, 
possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses or other 
equines within the State to be slaughtered for human 
consumption.''.

2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Goodlatte of Virginia, 
               or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  In the paragraph (8) of section 5 of the Horse Protection 
Act, which is being added by subsection (c)(2) of section 1 of 
the bill, strike ``consumption.'' and insert the following: 
``consumption, unless the horse or other equine will be 
slaughtered at a facility operating before the date of the 
enactment of this paragraph.''.
                              ----------                              


3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Goodlatte of Virginia, 
               or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  In the paragraph (8) of section 5 of the Horse Protection 
Act, which is being added by subsection (c)(2) of section 1 of 
the bill, strike ``consumption.'' and insert the following: 
``consumption, except that this prohibition shall not take 
effect until 30 days after the date on which the Secretary of 
Agriculture certifies to Congress that sufficient sanctuaries 
exist in the United States to care for any horses that may be 
unwanted as a result of this prohibition.''.
                              ----------                              


 4. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative King of Iowa, or His 
                   Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  In the paragraph (8) of section 5 of the Horse Protection 
Act, which is being added by subsection (c)(2) of section 1 of 
the bill, strike ``consumption.'' and insert the following: 
``consumption, unless the horse or other equine will be 
slaughtered for human consumption by Native Americans or 
persons of cultures who have traditionally consumed the meat of 
horses or other equines, as determined by the Secretary.''.
                              ----------                              


5. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Goodlatte of Virginia, 
               or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  In the paragraph (8) of section 5 of the Horse Protection 
Act, which is being added by subsection (c)(2) of section 1 of 
the bill, strike ``consumption.'' and insert the following: 
``consumption, except that this prohibition shall not take 
effect until 30 days after the date on which the Secretary of 
Agriculture (A) determines that, based on empirical evidence, 
the prohibition is supported by a majority of those persons who 
have been owners of a horse or other equine in the United 
States during a representative period, as determined by the 
Secretary, and (B) notifies Congress of that determination.''.
                              ----------                              


6. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Goodlatte of Virginia, 
               or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  In the heading of section 1, strike ``HORSE AND OTHER 
EQUINES'' and insert ``REGISTERED THOROUGHBRED HORSES''.
  Strike ``horses or other equines'' both places it appears and 
insert ``registered Thoroughbred horses''.
  Strike ``horses and other equines'' each place it appears and 
insert ``registered Thoroughbred horses''.
  Strike ``horse or other equine'' both places it appears and 
insert ``registered Thoroughbred horse''.
                              ----------                              


7. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Goodlatte of Virginia, 
               or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Add at the end the following new subsection:
  (f) Reimbursement.--Section 11 of the Horse Protection Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1830) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 11. REIMBURSEMENT OF STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR UNRECOUPED 
                    COSTS RELATED TO STRAY AND ABANDONED HORSES OR 
                    OTHER EQUINES.

  ``The Secretary shall reimburse a State or local government 
of a State for all unrecouped costs incurred by the State or 
local government--
          ``(1) to care for any stray or abandoned horse or 
        other equine; and
          ``(2) to provide for the sale or adoption or the 
        euthanization and disposal of the horse or other 
        equine.''.

                                  
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