Horse Slaughter Legislation Tracker

Federal

U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 503)
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• Rep. Scott Murphy (D-New York, 20th Dist): Not a co-sponsor. Murphy's office tells NewsChannel 13, "While no final bill has come to the floor, Congressman Murphy feels that it would be unfair to place further burdens on our horse owners, who are finding it more and more expensive to care for their animals during these tough economic times. As a result, some owners are forced to cut feed, veterinary services and even abandon their horses. Unwanted horses are often neglected and abused by owners who lack the finical resources to care for them."
• Rep. Paul Tonko (D- New York, 21st Dist): Co-sponsor. He signed on as a co-sponsor on Tuesday, October 27, 2009. According to his office, Congressman Tonko has been a longtime supporter of animal rights.
• Rep. John Conyers Sponsor H.R. 503: NewsChannel 13 contacted Conyers' office to ask whey the bill has seen no action since March. We were told they would get back to us but so far have not.

U.S. Senate (S. 727)
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• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D- New York): Co-sponsor. On October 22, 2009 her office told NewsChannel 13 there was a secret hold placed on the legislation in the Senate. We did some research and found secret holds are no longer allowed. A law which was passed and signed in 2007 requires any senator placing a hold on legislation to name themselves within 6 days.
• Sen. Charles Schumer (D- New York): Co-sponsor. On October 22, 2009, Schumer spoke with NewsChannel 13 via satellite. He strongly supports this legislation. When asked why it's being held up, he said they are trying to get unanimous consent to avoid filibuster and they are three votes away. We asked about a hold being placed on the legislation. He said it was a Democrat, but they didn't yet have the name of the lawmaker. He said they will soon because law requires them to give their name within six days.
• Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana): Sponsor. October 23, 2009 Landrieu's office told NewsChannel 13 they have been trying to work with the Judiciary Committee to get the bill out of Committee before the end of the year. They asked for a hotline, which is a notice of intent to request that the legislation be passed by unanimous consent. Each office receives the hotline request and if a Senator is planning to object to the legislation, they notify the cloakroom of their intent to object. According to Landrieu's office, one office has notified the cloakroom that they intend to object but that office is unknown at this time. A hold on a bill only becomes public knowledge if a live unanimous consent request was made on the Senate Floor. That has not occurred yet.
• Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont): Chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee. A spokesperson in the Judiciary Committee office tells NewsChannel 13 that Leahy has cleared this legislation to be discharged from the committee but there needs to be a unanimous agreement for that to happen. They say somewhere along the line there has been a hold placed on the legislation. Since Leahy has cleared it, the hold issue goes to the Senate Majority office (Sen. Harry Reid).
• Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada): Senate Majority Leader. NewsChannel 13 contacted Reid's office and asked where the legislation stands and who placed a hold on it. We received an email saying the Senate was very busy and it's not clear when the legislation would come to the Senate floor. As for the hold, they said "… this is Sen. Landrieu's bill. You should contact her office regarding this." We then asked if Reid supports this legislation. We are awaiting a response.
• Secret Holds Legislation: This was created and signed into law in 2007 to provide greater transparency in the legislative process. We thought, since a secret hold may be at play here, it would be interesting to provide you information on the law. Here is a link to the text.

State Legislation

New York State

Senate S3178 Prohibits the slaughter of horses for human consumption
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• Sen. Frank Padavan (R,C 11th District): Sponsor. A spokesman in Padavan's office tells us this legislation was first introduced in 2004. Since then, it has passed in the state Senate four times; 2005 (vote 59 to 1); 2006 (vote 59 to 0); 2007 (vote 60 to 1); 2008 (vote 58 to 0)

Assembly A3736 Prohibits the slaughter of horses for human consumption
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• Assemblyman Deborah Glick (66th District): Sponsor. October 28, 2009 A staffer says this bill was first introduced in 2004 but has not yet made it out of the Assembly Agriculture and Markets Committee. Staffer says they have a lot of people that contact them in favor of this bill but the Farm Bureau opposition keeps it from moving on.