More than 100 Members of Congress Urge Secretary Vilsack to Publish Rule Preventing Horse Soring

Representatives Steve Cohen (TN-09), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Vern Buchanan (FL-16) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) today led a letter with more than 100 Members of Congress asking Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to publish a rule to prevent the intentional harming of horses known as “soring” that the Obama Administration was days from publishing in 2017 when Vilsack previously served as Secretary. ​

The rule mirrors the industry endorsed Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act by taking common sense measures to protect certain Tennessee Walking Horses and Racking Horses from this type of mistreatment. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration suspended the HPA rule four years ago and never reinstated it.

In their letter, the Members noted that the rule has massive bipartisan support in Congress and generated more than 100,000 public comments in support. Efforts to strengthen Horse Protection Act enforcement are overwhelmingly popular with the public.

​Efforts to pass federal legislation to end soring through the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R.693 came to a tipping point in 2019 when the bill passed the U.S. House by a landslide vote of 333-96. The companion bill in the U.S. Senate, S.1007, had the support of the majority of the upper chamber, with 52 Senators supporting the bill. 

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