United States S 1455: Horse Protection Amendments Act of 2019

Bill Text

II 
116THCONGRESS 
1
STSESSION 
S. 1455 
To amend the Horse Protection Act to provide increased protection for horses 
participating in shows, exhibitions, sales, and auctions, and for other purposes. 
IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  
MAY14, 2019 
Mr.  A
LEXANDER(for  himself,  Mr.  MCCONNELL,  Mrs.  BLACKBURN,  and  Mr.  
P
AUL)  introduced  the  following  bill;  which  was  read  twice  and  referred  
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
A  BILL  
To  amend  the  Horse  Protection  Act  to  provide  increased  
protection  for  horses  participating  in  shows,  exhibitions,  
sales, and auctions, and for other purposes. 
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This  Act  may  be  cited  as  the  ‘‘Horse  Protection  4
Amendments Act of 2019’’. 5
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6
Section  2  of  the  Horse  Protection  Act  (15  U.S.C.  7
1821) is amended— 8
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2 
•S  1455  IS
(1)  by  striking  the  section  designation  and  all  1
that  follows  through  ‘‘requires:’’  in  the  matter  pre-2
ceding paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 3
‘‘SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 4
‘‘In this Act:’’; 5
(2)  by  redesignating  paragraphs  (1),  (2),  (3),  6
and  (4)  as  paragraphs  (2),  (4),  (5),  and  (6),  respec-7
tively; 8
(3)  by  inserting  before  paragraph  (2)  (as  so  re-9
designated) the following: 10
‘‘(1)   H
ORSE    INDUSTRY    ORGANIZATION.—The 11
term  ‘Horse  Industry  Organization’  means  the  orga-12
nization  established  under  section  4(c)(1)(A).’’;  and  13
(4)  by  inserting  after  paragraph  (2)  (as  so  re-14
designated) the following: 15
‘‘(3)  O
BJECTIVE   INSPECTION.—The  term  ‘ob-16
jective   inspection’   means   an   inspection   conducted   17
using  only  an  inspection  method  based  on  a  science-  18
based  protocol  (including  swabbing  or  blood  testing  19
protocol) that— 20
‘‘(A)  has  been  the  subject  of  testing  and  is  21
capable  of  producing  scientifically  reliable  and  22
reproducible results; 23
‘‘(B)  has  been  subjected  to  peer  review;  24
and 25
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•S  1455  IS
‘‘(C)  has  received  acceptance  in  the  veteri-1
nary  or  other  applicable  scientific  community,  2
as determined by the Secretary.’’. 3
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 4
Section  3  of  the  Horse  Protection  Act  (15  U.S.C.  5
1822) is amended— 6
(1)  by  redesignating  paragraphs  (4)  and  (5)  as  7
paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and 8
(2)  by  inserting  after  paragraph  (3)  the  fol-9
lowing: 10
‘‘(4)  the  Inspector  General  of  the  Department  11
of   Agriculture   has   determined   that   the   program   12
through  which  the  Secretary  inspects  horses  is  not  13
adequate to ensure compliance with this Act;’’. 14
SEC.  4.  INCREASING  PROTECTIONS  FOR  HORSES  PARTICI-15
PATING    IN    HORSE    SHOWS,    EXHIBITIONS,    16
SALES, OR AUCTIONS. 17
(a)  H
ORSESHOWS  ANDEXHIBITIONS.—Section  4  of  18
the  Horse  Protection  Act  (15  U.S.C.  1823)  is  amended—  19
(1)  by  striking  subsection  (a)  and  inserting  the  20
following: 21
‘‘(a) D
ISQUALIFICATION OFHORSES.— 22
‘‘(1)  I
N   GENERAL.—The  management  of  any  23
horse  show  or  horse  exhibition  shall  disqualify  any  24
horse from being shown or exhibited if— 25
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•S  1455  IS
‘‘(A)  the  horse  is  determined  to  be  sore  by  1
an objective inspection; or 2
‘‘(B)  the  management  has  been  notified  3
that the horse is sore by— 4
‘‘(i)   a   person   licensed   under   sub-5
section (c)(3)(A); or 6
‘‘(ii) the Secretary. 7
‘‘(2)   D
URATION   OF   DISQUALIFICATION.—Any 8
horse  that  is  determined  to  be  sore  by  an  objective  9
inspection  shall  be  disqualified  from  being  shown  or  10
exhibited— 11
‘‘(A)  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  30  days  12
if it is the first determination; and 13
‘‘(B)  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  90  days  14
if  it  is  a  second  or  subsequent  determination.’’;  15
(2) in subsection (b)— 16
(A)   by   striking   ‘‘(b)   The   management’’   17
and inserting the following: 18
‘‘(b)  P
ROHIBITION  ONSALE,  AUCTION, ANDEXHI-19
BITION.—The management’’; 20
(3)  by  striking  subsection  (c)  and  inserting  the  21
following: 22
‘‘(c) H
ORSEINDUSTRYORGANIZATION.— 23
‘‘(1) E
STABLISHMENT.— 24
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