Can someone decode this Congressman's response for me please?

[Guest guest]

At the urging of my fellow VNOD, NTARN and ACT members, I emailed my

representatives this morning regarding the Horse Slaughter bill (HB

2476). Below is the response I received from Congressman Burgess'

camp this afternoon (my email to him is at the very end of this

post).

 

Please note, I usually don't speak in American or un-American terms

(as many " American " viewpoints and practices are nothing to be proud

of), but I thought this might speak to a man of the cloth

(government cloth, that is).

 

I thought my email to him adequately addressed the situation and my

concerns, however, after reading his response (or his secretary's

response) I'm second-guessing myself. So, if anyone has any advice

as to what happened here, or how to address these people, I'm all

ears. Thanks for reading.

 

 

March 7, 2007

 

Mrs. Julia McCloud

XXXX XXXXXXX

Flower Mound, Texas

 

Dear Mrs. McCloud,

 

Thank you for contacting me regarding your concerns with horse

slaughter regulations. I appreciate hearing from you on this

important issue.

 

Congresswoman Janice Schakowsky (D-Illinois) introduced H.R. 503,

commonly referred to as The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act,

on January 17, 2007. If enacted, this legislation would amend the

Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving,

delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation

of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human

consumption.

 

As you may know, during the 109th Congress Congressman John

Sweeney (R- New York) introduced an amendment to the USDA

FY2006 appropriation bill (P.L. 109-97, H.R. 2744) that prohibited

the use of federal funds to pay salaries and expenses of personnel

to inspect horses under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or under the

guidelines issued under the Federal Agriculture Improvement and

Reform Act of 1996. On June 8, 2005, the amendment passed by 269-

158. On September 20, 2005, the Senate adopted a virtually

identical floor amendment by Senator Ensign, by a 69 to 28 vote.

President Bush signed this bill into law on November 10, 2005.

 

Because the Federal Meat Inspection Act requires USDA's Food Safety

and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspection of equines (like other

designated livestock species) before their meat may enter into

commerce, the presumption was that the three U.S. horse slaughter

plants could no longer process them for human food (effective 120

days after the bill is signed into law). However, it remained

unclear whether if the plants could continue to slaughter horses for

food if other funds could be found for inspection.

 

Without the inspection, horse meat cannot be sold for human

consumption, shutting down the U.S. supply of horse meat that is

sold throughout France, Italy, Belgium and Japan. While the 2006

appropriations bill prohibited funding to pay for inspection, it did

not eliminate the government's responsibility to carry out

inspections of carcasses and meat at horse slaughter facilities. The

USDA recently put forth a plan that would allow the plants to have

their animals checked before slaughter via a fee-for-service system.

The policy will allow equine exporters to meet federal requirements

that apply to meat sold for human consumption. The FSIS established

a fee-for-service program to fund the inspections and plants will

now pay $43.64 per hour to have government inspectors checking the

animals prior to slaughter. According to the FSIS, this work is done

by specially trained veterinarians.

 

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. I appreciate

having the opportunity to represent you in the U.S. House of

Representatives. Please feel free to visit my website

(www.house.gov/burgess) or contact me with any future concerns.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Michael C. Burgess, M.D.

Member of Congress

 

 

Dear Congressman Burgess:

 

The term un-American comes to mind when I think of the great state

of Texas allowing the slaughter of horses for human consumption

within its borders.

 

If it's within your power, and if you can influence others to do so,

please vote against Rep. Sid Miller's HB 2476, which would allow

foreign companies such as Beltex, to conduct such inhumane, and un-

American, business in Texas.

 

Your loyal constituent,

 

 

Julia McCloud