Guest Commentary by John Holland ~ president of Equine Welfare Alliance
“…if there is one consistent theme in Congress, it is that they almost never do things the way they are supposed to…”
This is part three concerning the omnibus bill. Part one, as many of you have discerned, was our optimistic New Year’s message hinting at good things ahead, and part two was the announcement of the defunding language in the omnibus budget and how it got there.
These developments have led to the question of how long this will stop slaughter houses from returning to the US. I will attempt to explain the answer to that question. Like most things in Washington, the answer is a bit convoluted. However, I think it is safe to say it will stop their return for at least two years and here is why.
Budgets are, as we all know, a one-year affair that begins October 1st. The process is supposed to start with the President’s budget, which is broken into 12 separate budgets (such as the Agriculture Budget), which in turn go to the various appropriations committees to be amended.
These budgets are then supposed to go to the floor of their respective houses for a vote. Following their passage in the Senate and House, the resulting budgets are supposed to go to a conference committee to hammer out differences, and then back to the House and Senate for a final vote.
But if there is one consistent theme in Congress, it is that they almost never do things the way they are supposed to. According to the Congressional Research Service, Congress has passed a full budget only three times in the past 26 years! Most years they pass a CR for all or most individual budgets.
Last year, the agriculture budgets got through the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, but neither reached their respective floors for a vote. Both budgets had defunding language, as did the President’s budget. The budget for other departments didn’t even get that far.
A CR, or Continuing Resolution, is merely a way of keeping spending at the same level (or at some multiple of the current level) for an additional period. The duration can be from a day to as much as the remainder of the current budget year.
An omnibus budget is yet another way for Congress to shortcut its budgeting process. This fiscal year, we got a series of short CRs, followed by an omnibus budget.
Since the omnibus was based on the bipartisan budget “framework” agreement reached a month earlier, and since that agreement was for two years, we can be sure that the 2015 budget will be a one-year CR.
Now it gets kind of ironic. The late Sue Wallis, Dave Duquette and even Charlie Stenholm had speculated publicly, and no doubt prayed, that there would be a CR for 2014. That would have continued the funding for inspections from the previous 2012 and 2013 budgets.
However there is something call an “anomaly” that can be added to a CR to place a restriction on certain funds. Since nobody was sure the omnibus would pass, a CR was indeed prepared and tucked away to keep the government funded the rest of the year if the omnibus blew up.
That CR contained an anomaly that prohibited any funds from being used for horse slaughter inspections. So had they been forced to use the CR, it would have had the same outcome (defunding). We knew this well before the budget deal was struck, and actually expected that is the way things would go.
And why is this important going forward? It is important because it was none other than Secretary Vilsack who signed off on the anomaly. That explains why Victoria wanted to thank him. It also means that it will be virtually impossible for the pro-slaughter camp to accomplish a removal of the defunding language for the 2015 budget CR.
So the plants are locked out for two years and probably more. And that is the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would have said.
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Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Reblogged this on "OUR WORLD".
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I think it is great news. But coming from Illinois where we thought it would never return again causes me concern. The fight to rid our state of that company was long and hard. It was very intense with its ups and downs as we have seen. It didn’t help many of the equines who are bought at auctions and sales where they may experience deplorable conditions and disease. The trucks and the planes keep taking our precious equines out of or country where they are slaughtered. Let the other countries raise and slaughter their own animals because they care nothing for them. It was terrible that a Japanese millionaire was able to purchase the thoroughbred Ferdinand, take him to Japan only to have him slaughtered when his get did not perform to his satisfaction. No one should rest for a minute until the bill is signed into law keeping the slaughterhouses closed, stopping our equine friends from being sent out of the united states shores and prosecuting the low life’s that break the law. No more slaps on the wrist and probation. We all need to demand this from our local authorities. Rescues and the investigators who go out on humane calls need to be thanked for their tireless efforts as well as the advocates who continue/monitor the conditions of our wild horses and burros. We need to demand our legislators account for every penny the blm has been using to destroy our wild horse and burro populations. We need to demand how many are being kept on private ranches and farms at our expense. Again, I will not rest or stop fighting until federal legislation is passed. This is the only way we will see an end to slaughter in the us and an end to our equines being sent out of the us to be slaughtered in other counties.
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This defunding is all great and wonderful for the US soil. BUT, we Canadians and US horse people need to work together because until horse slaughter is stopped in Canada those poor horses are still going to be coming here. The SAFE ACT..a HUGE THING to get passed. WE need to work as a team…the more people the stronger we are together.
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Thanks again John that clears it up for everyone! What a cool no shaking horse! : )
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A Zillion thanks to John Holland and all the people who have worked out front and also those who worked behind the scenes.
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I do celebrate the REINSTATEMENT of defunding the USDA to inspect U.S. horse meat processing plants. However, I really don’t think the equine enemies are worried one tiny bit yet. Stopping the shipment to Mexico and Canada is now front and center. The brutality will not end till all those plants close and the last trucks are off the interstates to the borders.
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What it does do is galvanize our forces and our resolve. The unification of Horse and Burro lovers, both domestic and wild has only just begun. It is a worldwide network. We’re learning fast. Our Wild Horses and Burros are also still at great risk. They need to be released from the holding pens/concentration camps and returned to their RIGHTFUL AND LEGAL HERD MANAGEMENT AREAS. Zeroed out Herd Management Areas need to be reinstated. We celebrate for 5 minutes and then BACK TO THE BATTLE FIELD.
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yes this is great news but i am still praying for the passage of the S.A.F.E. ACT H.R.1094 AND S.541 I HEAR THIS IS THE LAST YEAR TO TRY AND GET IT PASSED .I PRAY THAT IT DOES SO OUR WILD AND TAME HORSES WILL NOT BE SHIPPED TO OTHER COUNTRIES TO BE EATEN .
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While I agree this is terrific news, we really all must focus on the SUPPLY side which feeds this industry from American soil. We need to ask breeders the hard questions, support the shelters and maybe develop organizations like an equine food shelf system for owners strapped for hay.
The Muhammed Yunus microcredit model might be a fit here – where small loans are available for a short term, and peer pressure ensures they are repaid so the funds are perpetually available to help others. This can work if the focus is on helping the horses, not on who is credit worthy or not, and maybe requiring a co-signer etc.
We also need to think hard about a national approach to end of life issues for our horses since fewer and fewer people have the land to bury a beloved horse (I am one of those today).
Could we develop a national organization that could fund a portable crematorium, for example? Imagine if folks could have one come to the horse for a reasonable fee, and provide an urn with ashes as we do with our dogs and cats. My only information about cremating horses is that it costs over $1000, which is out of reach for most of us, especially as we have to stretch our dollars to keep our critters fed.
The oversupply of throwaway saddle horses is a business model which should be questioned by anyone and everyone now. And of course, the SAFE Act needs more political energy.
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From the information that I was sent from Canadian Horse Defense Coalitions Blog it looks like the number of horses killed in Canadian slaughter plants had dropped about 11% for 2013. That included the US horses and Canadian. I emailed the USDA to see if I could get the stats on the number of US horses that was exported to Mexico for slaughter. The blog said they think it has something to do with horse meat being found mixed with beef in the EU. More and more people in these countries I believe are not buying horse meat. We also don’t know how much of a downturn there is in the horse meat orders from these EU countries that buy from Canada and Mexico.
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At least some in the UK are calling for an outright ban on US horsemeat. They mention prosecutions from last year’s scandal will be forthcoming in the next “two to four months.”
http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Supply-Chain/US-imports-of-horsemeat-should-be-banned-from-entering-the-UK
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Barbara, I just went to read the comments on that article and found your name! Sorry
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It is wonderful the progress to stop any hors slaughter plants in the US. Now the SAFE Act has to be voted in. Not THEN but NOW do we have to make plans to find a safe home, be it a rescue organization or rehome for the horse’s that sit in the auction pens, waiting to be sold for slaughter. Rescue operatins are already underway and having great success in rehoming many of those horse’s but they can’t do it alone. It is now time for all of us who are against horse slaugter house’s and the transport of horse’s to slaughterhouse’s to come up with a plan as to wh will be come of those auction horse’s. We can’t ask the government to handle what we are creating in the horse word. Breeder, look at the economy and pasted sales, breed with responsibilty. Horse owners, take the resonsiblity of caring for your own horse’s and get assistance from hay funds if feed is a problem. It’s up to all of us.
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Excellent News.
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Standing ovation for you, John Holland! Every great team has great quarterbacks/leaders – and you are certainly one of ours! Until you ALL are better paid for what you do (and have done), THANK YOU SO MUCH!
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