AVMA makes last-ditch effort to convince lame duck Congress to vote on soring bill

The 113th Congress is on track to be the least productive class of legislators in modern American history; expectations for the remainder of this lame duck session are, in a word, low. But American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Executive Vice President Ron DeHaven, DVM, MBA, has made a last-ditch effort to appeal to the gentler nature of America's partisan Congress. Maybe, just maybe, Congressmen like horses more than they dislike each other's politics.

Bottom line: Despite more than 300 bipartisan cosponsors, if the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act doesn't pass this session, the AVMA fears the bill will meet a far worse fate than a "do-nothing" Congress. In 2015, it will be at the mercy of an immovable Kentucky Republican.

The PAST Act, designed to bolster the 1970 Horse Protection Act by making the actual act of soring illegal, has been met with much contention from walking horse groups. The bill would overhaul the oversight and enforcement capabilities of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that currently relies on industry groups to self-police. Those groups believe the PAST Act is unnecessary regulation-that soring is not pandemic but the sin of a few.

That's where Senate-Majority-Leader-to-be Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) comes in. He joined U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and 10 other legislators-the majority Republicans from Tennessee and Kentucky-in support of a counter bill to the PAST Act. Called the Horse Protection Amendments Act of 2014, the house resolution, which would increase use of technology to identify soring but continue use of stacked, weighted shoes and chains to train horses, was referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, where it sits. The fate of the counter bill matters little, as the fate of the PAST Act would seem sealed with the Senate in the hands of McConnell.

"Given that he supports the alternative bill, the PAST Act is almost guaranteed not to move, which is why it is extremely important that we get it passed now," says Victoria Broehm, communications manager with the AVMA's Governmental Relations Division.

Look to 2015 for the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act

The AVMA hoped the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act (VMLRPEA) could have advanced as part of any tax legislation implemented during the remainder of the congressional session. "However, we were disappointed that yesterday the U.S. House passed its one-year tax extenders package without the VMLRPEA," Victoria Broehm of the AVMA said Dec. 4.

The loan repayment program places veterinary graduates in underserved areas and in turn helps repay educational loans. The Enhancement Act would provide a federal income tax exemption for financial awards received under the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, which are currently taxed at 39 percent. "This bill is incredibly important for putting veterinarians into areas of the country that desperately need their help," Broehm says. "In the coming weeks, the AVMA will reevaluate its strategy on this bill so that it can map out a plan for the 114th Congress."

DeHaven penned letters to both U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner (R-Ohio) this week imploring them to bring the bill to a vote. He also wrote an editorial piece to The Hill saying, "The PAST Act has broad, bipartisan support from more than 360 lawmakers, yet languishes in the halls of Congress because some high-ranking officials do not have the guts to cross party lines and support a law that is based in common sense and the recognition of our human responsibility to protect animals that cannot protect themselves."

Broehm says neither chamber has indicated a willingness to bring the PAST Act to the floor for a vote-especially at a time when another government shutdown is possible if a funding deal cannot be reached. "The odds are fairly slim, but we are still hopeful that leadership will listen to the calls of their constituents and the 365 members who have already signed onto this important legislation and do what is right for America's walking horses," she says.