{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://johnrose.house.gov/media/press-releases/us-rep-john-rose-speaks-support-tennessee-walking-horse-industry", "U.S. Rep. John Rose Speaks in Support of the Tennessee Walking Horse Industry", "2022-11-14", "2022", "2022-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "John W. Rose", "R000612", "johnrose.house.gov", "johnrose", "https://johnrose.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C.\u2014Today, U.S. Rep. John Rose (TN-06) spoke on the House Floor against the \u201cPAST Act,\u201d which would amend the Horse Protection Act of 1970 to place unreasonable burdens on Tennessee Walking Horse exhibitors by unduly expanding soring regulations and enforcement of an already over-regulated industry. Soring involves the intentional infliction of pain to a horse\u2019s legs or hooves in order to force the horse to perform an artificial, exaggerated gait. Additionally, the bill would expand the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s current jurisdiction over horse show inspections and ban many industry-wide, standard training and show devices.\n\nRep. Rose absolutely supports ending soring but believes it must be done without expanding the size and scope of the federal government, risking the end of a time-honored, Tennessee tradition, and in consultation with Tennessee Walking Horse industry experts. The Performance Show Horse Association describes the \u201cPAST Act\u201d as legislation that would \u201cdo little more than create another layer of bureaucracy at the USDA while denying horse enthusiasts the opportunity\u201d to participate in competitions that are the basis of the Tennessee Walking Horse Industry.\n\nIn his remarks, Rep. Rose spoke in support of H.R. 6341, the \u201cProtecting Horses from Soaring Act,\u201d which was introduced by Rep. DesJarlais (TN-04) and cosponsored by Tennessee Reps. Fleischmann (TN-03), Kustoff (TN-08), and Green (TN-07). H.R. 6341 would give state officials and industry and equine experts the authority to ensure consistent oversight of inspections instead of expanding the federal government\u2019s footprint. Rep. Rose is a proud original cosponsor of the \u201cProtecting Horses from Soaring Act.\u201d\n\nWatch Rep. Rose\u2019s remarks here.\n\nRemarks:\n\nMister Speaker, Today, I rise in opposition to HR 5441, the \u201cPAST Act.\u201d As an 8th generation farmer and Tennessean, the grand tradition of Tennessee Walking Horses is among my earliest and fondest memories.\n\nWe take great pride in the fact that the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration draws neighbors and tourists alike to Shelbyville, Tennessee every year for our world-class showcase.\n\nHowever, over the years this grand tradition has on occasion been marred by a few bad actors looking to gain a competitive edge at the unfair expense of the hundreds of other Walking Horse exhibitors who do things right, and at the grossly unacceptable expense of the horses themselves that suffer from the cruel and unconscionable technique known in the industry as \u201csoring.\u201d\n\nThose who sore our Tennessee Walking Horses compromise the integrity of the competition, put a stain on what has long been a wonderful, family-oriented tradition, and by far most importantly, subject our prized Tennessee Walking Horses to harm and suffering. I can assure you that we in Tennessee stand strongly against this vile technique.\n\nMy strong disgust to soring is actually why I rise today in opposition to the \u201cPAST Act.\u201d This bill is not the best solution to end this cruel practice. While I appreciate the sincere motives of those supporting this bill, I call on my colleagues to consider another, better solution.\n\nI am a proud original cosponsor of HR 6341, the \u201cProtecting Horses from Soring Act of 2021,\u201d authored by my friend and colleague from Tennessee Congressman DesJarlais.\n\nThis bill works to end soring in a way that is fair to those acting properly and humanely and provides timely consequences for those who are not.\n\nInspections must be objective, but the \u201cPAST Act\u201d does not correct the subjective process currently used. My colleague\u2019s bill, HR 6341, creates a framework for consistent, scientific, and objective inspections. The bill also prevents conflicts of interest and suspends horses from shows if they are found to be sore.\n\nIndustrywide, the current compliance rate is between 96-99%. Which is an increase from the 92-95% compliance rate the industry had when we debated this bill last Congress. This is a 4% increase in less than three years.\n\nThese compliance rates are based on USDA standards. Overall, the Walking Horse industry has a USDA compliance rate higher than even the food industry.\n\nWith that record, the rate of catching bad actors at this point is of course extremely low. These low rates mean we must be vigilant if we are going to find and stop the remaining bad actors. Vigilance will require a new system.\n\nThe \u201cPAST Act\u201d does not create a scientific, objective process for inspections, and until we have that, the remaining bad actors will continue to go under the radar while those acting with integrity could be treated unfairly.\n\nIt is because of these concerns that I will oppose the \u201cPAST Act\u201d today, and call on my colleagues to also oppose it and instead stand with me in truly stopping soring by supporting HR 6341 the \u201cProtecting Horses from Soring Act of 2021.\u201d I yield back the balance of my time.\n\n(End of remarks)", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:24:37Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://johnrose.house.gov/media/press-releases/us-rep-john-rose-speaks-support-tennessee-walking-horse-industry"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1402759701013565, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}