Doesn't it bother anyone that Congressional authority is being

[_dynamicdems]

circumvented by the USDA? :-(

[sandnsea]

1. Congress, the People, how quaint

This is where the scandal overload takes its toll. Fight to pass a law and then the Administration just rolls right over it. So now what. What's the plan to stop the horse slaughter, any court cases being filed?

[_dynamicdems]

4. On this one the USDA rode over Congress AND the Administration.

Bush signed the bill into law. It was bi-partisan and had overwhelming support in the House and Congress.

From the Christian Science Monitor:

Battle over ban on horse slaughter pits Congress against federal regulators

HOUSTON – In the weeks between hurricane Katrina and the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, Congress was bombarded with e-mails, phone calls, and faxes - about horse slaughter.

snip

But the three foreign-owned slaughterhouses say they will pay the inspectors' salaries under a "fee for service" arrangement, similar to the system used for elk and other exotic animals.

The USDA has agreed to allow the $4 million industry to continue under this arrangement. In a letter to members of Congress in late December, its deputy general counsel, James Michael Kelly, wrote that the amendment "does not prevent horse slaughter at all."

That angered many in Congress, and earlier this month, 40 members of the House and Senate wrote Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, demanding that inspections of the horses stop.

"The agency must cease inspection of horses for slaughter. Failure to do so constitutes willful disregard of clear Congressional intent on the part of the USDA," the letter warned. "The agency has absolutely no authority to circumvent a Congressional mandate and effectively rewrite an unambiguous law at the request of the horse-slaughter industry."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0130/p03s03-uspo.html


This is the only action I know of:

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Please send comments via mail, email or the USDA website before March 9, urging the USDA to withdraw the regulations that would allow the horse slaughterhouses to keep operating. It is very important that the agency hears from as many concerned Americans as possible.

Here are some issues you should include in your letter:
The USDA should not be considering any proposal that will allow the slaughterhouses to continue operating. Such an action is a clear violation of Congressional intent and federal law.
President Bush signed into law the 2006 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which Congress amended to prohibit horse slaughter by removing funds required to inspect horses intended for slaughter. This was NOT simply a way to alter how inspections are funded.

Docket Clerk
Docket Number 05-036IF
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
300 12th Street, SW
Room 102 Cotton Annex
Washington, DC 20250
E-mail: [email protected]

Online: Go to http://www.regulations.gov , and in the ‘‘Search for Open Regulations’’ box, select ‘‘Food Safety and Inspection Service’’ from the agency drop-down menu, then click on ‘‘Submit.’’ In the Docket ID column, select the FDMS Docket Number (05-036IF) to submit public comments.

Additionally, please write your Members of Congress to urge their support of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, H.R. 503 and S. 1915, if you have not already done so. A permanent ban on horse slaughter is the only way we can ensure that America’s horses will truly be safe.

S.1915
Title: 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.
Sponsor: Sen Ensign, John (introduced 10/25/2005) Cosponsors (15)
Related Bills: H.R.503
Latest Major Action: 10/25/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COSPONSORS(15), ALPHABETICAL

Sen Bayh, Evan - 12/12/2005
Sen Byrd, Robert C. - 10/25/2005
Sen DeMint, Jim - 10/25/2005
Sen Dodd, Christopher J. - 1/25/2006
Sen Feinstein, Dianne - 2/9/2006
Sen Inouye, Daniel K. - 10/25/2005
Sen Kerry, John F. - 1/25/2006
Sen Landrieu, Mary L. - 10/25/2005
Sen Levin, Carl - 10/25/2005
Sen Lieberman, Joseph I. - 10/25/2005
Sen Lott, Trent - 10/25/2005
Sen Menendez, Robert - 1/25/2006
Sen Specter, Arlen - 10/25/2005
Sen Stabenow, Debbie - 1/25/2006
Sen Stevens, Ted - 11/1/2005

[sandnsea]

8. I wrote

I submitted the public comment and will call Wyden's office since he isn't a co-sponsor yet. But I still say the USDA wouldn't have done this without White House approval, Bush's signature was just another fraud.

[Noisy Democrat]

2. Excuse me?

I don't have any idea what you're talking about. Could you add a link or a summary?

[Noisy Democrat]

3. Oh!

You must mean the horse thing. Yes, it's disturbing.

[_dynamicdems]

5. Apparently, Senator Kerry thinks so too. He just signed onto S.1915 n/t

[globalvillage]

6. This is just too awful.

I will write.

[_dynamicdems]

7. Thank you. It is more horrible than is polite to describe here and many

of these animals are children's pets who have had to be given up because they can't afford them anymore. I'm posting a letter I'm sending to Sen. Kerry to thank him for his co-sponsorship of the bill.