(Homes for Horses Coalition) The vote taken in the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, July 12, was in regard to an amendment to the agriculture spending bill. The Roybal-Allard/Dent Amendment bans spending American tax dollars to fund horse slaughter inspections. No inspections equals no slaughter. There was confusion in social media about whether YES or NO was the desirable vote. We were looking for YES votes; yes to continue the ban on inspections. Unfortunately, the NO votes prevailed by a small margin.

It was a road block, but the journey is far from over. The horse slaughter amendment is part of a larger bill that funds the Department of Agriculture for 2018 and still needs to pass the House. If House leaders bring the agriculture spending bill to the floor, there is the possibility of offering the amendment there and winning when all House lawmakers have a chance to vote on the issue. Even if that doesn’t happen, we can still win a horse slaughter defund amendment in the Senate, which would give us a chance to prevail when the final bill is negotiated.

Given the worst case scenario that the final bill allows the spending of tax dollars on horse slaughter inspections, it still doesn’t necessarily mean that plants will begin processing horses. It merely opens the door to that possibility. Preparing a plant for horse processing and applying for appropriate permits takes time and resources.

Here is a breakdown of House Appropriations Committee vote. If your representative voted yes, contact their office to thank them. Consider writing a letter to the editor and posting on their social media pages praising them for protecting horses and being fiscally responsible. If your representative voted no, use the same tactics to politely express your disappointment.

YES (25)

Peter Aguilar, D-Calif., Sanford Bishop, D-Ga., Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., Katherine Clark, D-Mass., Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., Charlie Dent, R- Pa., David Joyce, R-Ohio, Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., Barbara Lee, D-Calif., Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., Betty McCollum, D-Minn., Grace Meng, D-N.Y., Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, Mark Pocan, D-Wis., David Price, D-N.C., Mike Quigley, D-Ill., Tom Rooney, R-Fla., Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, José Serrano, D-N.Y., Peter Visclosky, D-Ind., Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Kevin Yoder, R-Kan.

NO (27)

Robert Aderhold, R-Ala., Mark Amodie, R-Nev., Ken Calvert, R-Calif., John Carter, R-Texas, Tom Cole, R-Okla., Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, John Abney Culberson, R-Texas, Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., Jeff Fortenberry, R-Nev., Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., Kay Granger, R-Texas, Tom Graves, R-Ga., Andy Harris, R-Md., Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., John Moolenaar, R-Mich., Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., Martha Roby, R-Ala., Harold Rogers, R-Ky., Michael Simpson, R-Idaho, Chris Stewart, R-Utah, Scott Taylor, R-Va., David Valadao, R-Calif., Steve Womack, R-Ark., and David Young, R-Iowa