[House Report 110-93]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     110-93

======================================================================

 
TO RESTORE THE PROHIBITION ON THE COMMERCIAL SALE AND SLAUGHTER OF WILD 
                     FREE-ROAMING HORSES AND BURROS

                                _______
                                

 April 17, 2007.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 249]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 249) to restore the prohibition on the commercial 
sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 249 is to restore the prohibition on 
the commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses 
and burros.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    H.R. 249 repeals a rider contained in the FY 2005 
Consolidated Appropriations Act that provided for the 
commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and 
burros, thus restoring the prohibition on the commercial sale 
and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros that, up 
until December 2004, had been in existence since 1971.
    In 1971 Congress passed the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and 
Burro Act (PL 92-195). That law established as national policy 
``that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected 
from capture, branding, harassment, and death; and to 
accomplish this they are considered in the area where presently 
found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public 
lands.'' The law also directed that ``no wild free-roaming 
horse or burros or its remains may be sold or transferred for 
consideration for processing into commercial products.''
    The 1971 Act directed the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
and the Forest Service to enforce the law on public lands. 
Unfortunately, these agencies, especially the BLM, have not 
lived up to the task. Reports of the Government Accountability 
Office and the Inspector General, as well as newspaper exposes, 
have outlined numerous instances in which the BLM has failed to 
properly manage these animals. As recently as the late 1990s it 
was found that, because of BLM's lax enforcement, hundreds of 
these animals had ended up at commercial slaughtering plants.
    In addition to the agency's lax oversight of adoptions of 
these animals, much of their problems stem from the fact that 
the agency annually rounds up more animals than can be adopted 
in a single year. As a result, the BLM currently has 
approximately 31,000 wild horses and burros in holding 
facilities where their care and feeding use up nearly half of 
the agency's budget for wild horse and burro management.
    While ``excess'' wild horses and burros have been cited as 
the reason for the recent changes in law, it is important to 
note that there are significantly fewer wild horses and burros 
on the public lands today than there were 25 years ago. In 1980 
there were approximately 62,638 wild horses and burros on 
public lands. By February 2007, this number had dropped to 
approximately 28,500. Yet, the BLM continues to round up many 
more animals each year than can be adopted, adding to a growing 
number being placed in holding facilities.
    The rider to the FY 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act 
was inserted without the benefit of any hearings or public 
notice. Known as the ``Burns rider'' for its sponsor, former 
Senator Conrad Burns, the rider directs that wild horses and 
burros more than 10 years of age or that had been 
unsuccessfully offered for adoption three times must be sold 
without limitation. The rider also eliminated the provision in 
law that had prohibited the sale or transfer of wild horses and 
burros or their remains for processing into commercial 
products. Despite efforts to minimize the impact of these 
changes in law, more than 50 wild horses have been slaughtered 
as a result of the Burns rider.
    Humane alternatives to slaughter exist and federal agencies 
have the authority to carry out such humane actions as 
adoption, sterilization, relocation, and placement with 
qualified individuals and organizations.
    As part of the FY 2006 Interior Appropriations bill, the 
House, by a vote of 249-159, adopted the Rahall amendment that 
prohibited the use of funds for the sale or slaughter of wild 
free-roaming horses and burros. The House again adopted this 
same amendment as part of the FY 2007 Interior Appropriations 
bill by voice vote.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 249 was introduced by Natural Resources Committee 
Chairman Nick J. Rahall, II (D-WV) on January 5, 2007. The bill 
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources. On March 7, 
2007, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the 
bill. Representative Jeff Flake offered, then withdrew, an 
amendment to delete the prohibition on sales. The bill was then 
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by 
voice vote.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    Compliance With House Rule XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that Rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

H.R. 249--A bill to restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and 
        slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros

    H.R. 249 would prohibit the commercial sale of wild horses 
and burros by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Currently, 
BLM administers a program to protect, manage, and control wild 
free-roaming horses and burros. As part of that program, BLM 
sells wild horses and burros that are over 10 years of age for 
commercial purposes for about $10 per animal if the animals 
have not been successfully adopted in three auctions. If the 
animals are not adopted and BLM cannot sell the animals, it 
provides long-term care for them.
    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 249 would not have a 
substantial effect on the federal budget. BLM would lose 
minimal proceeds from the sale of the animals (which are 
classified as discretionary offsetting collections), and also 
would incur additional costs for providing long-term care for 
some animals. Based on information from BLM about the number of 
animals sold and the cost to care for them, CBO estimates that 
the resulting net changes in discretionary spending under H.R. 
249 would not exceed $500,000 annually, assuming the 
availability of appropriated funds. Enacting H.R. 249 would not 
affect direct spending or revenues.
    H.R. 249 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Tyler Kruzich. 
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           Earmark Statement

    H.R. 249 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9(d), 9(e) or (f) of rule XXI.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                        ACT OF DECEMBER 15, 1971

                          (Public Law 92-195)

   AN ACT To require the protection, management, and control of wild 
free-roaming horses and burros on public lands.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


  Sec. 3. (a)  * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (d) Wild free-roaming horses and burros or their remains 
shall lose their status as wild free-roaming horses or burros 
and shall no longer be considered as falling within the purview 
of this Act--
          (1)  * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (5) upon destruction or death for purposes of or 
        incident to the program authorized in this section[.] 
        Provided, That no wild free-roaming horse or burro or 
        its remains may be sold or transferred for 
        consideration for processing into commercial products.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  [(e) Sale of Excess Animals.--
          [(1) In general.--Any excess animal or the remains of 
        an excess animal shall be sold if--
                  [(A) the excess animal is more than 10 years 
                of age; or
                  [(B) the excess animal has been offered 
                unsuccessfully for adoption at least 3 times.
          [(2) Method of sale.--An excess animal that meets 
        either of the criteria in paragraph (1) shall be made 
        available for sale without limitation, including 
        through auction to the highest bidder, at local sale 
        yards or other convenient livestock selling facilities, 
        until such time as--
                  [(A) all excess animals offered for sale are 
                sold; or
                  [(B) the appropriate management level, as 
                determined by the Secretary, is attained in all 
                areas occupied by wild free-roaming horses and 
                burros.
          [(3) Disposition of funds.--Funds generated from the 
        sale of excess animals under this subsection shall be--
                  [(A) credited as an offsetting collection to 
                the Management of Lands and Resources 
                appropriation for the Bureau of Land 
                Management; and
                  [(B) used for the costs relating to the 
                adoption of wild free-roaming horses and 
                burros, including the costs of marketing such 
                adoption.
          [(4) Effect of sale.--Any excess animal sold under 
        this provision shall no longer be considered to be a 
        wild free-roaming horse or burro for purposes of this 
        Act.]

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  Sec. 8. (a) Any person who--
          (1)  * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (4) [except as provided in section 3(e),] processes 
        or permits to be processed into commercial products the 
        remains of a wild free-roaming horse or burro, or

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                            DISSENTING VIEWS

    I oppose H.R. 249. This legislation needlessly eliminates 
the sale authority of the Bureau of Land Management and bans 
the sale or transfer of wild horses and burros for commercial 
processing, which is already prohibited by the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM).
    Under current law, BLM is allowed to sell animals that are 
either more than 10 years old or have been offered 
unsuccessfully for adoption at least three times. Roughly 2,300 
animals have been successfully sold into private care. Selling 
old animals that have not been adopted is a humane solution. It 
places animals into private care and lessens the crowding in 
holding facilities. The proceeds from selling eligible animals 
are returned to BLM's adoption fund to help with the wild horse 
and burro adoption program, which lowers the overall cost to 
taxpayers.
    Because the bill groups the sale of wild horses and burros 
with the ban on slaughter, I oppose it. I do not believe that 
the two issues should be tied together.
    However, I take hope from the Chairman's promise to hold 
hearings on the issue in exchange for the withdrawal of my 
amendment. I look forward to working with the Committee to 
address our mutual concerns.
                                                        Jeff Flake.

                                  
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