[House Report 110-93]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 110-93
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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.