Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman, the ranking member, and the entire committee for their work in passing this bill out of committee. I know it was somewhat contentious. It shouldn't have been, but it was.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 5441, the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act, acronym, the PAST Act, which I proudly introduced with several prime cosponsors who worked on it, including Brian Fitzpatrick, Jan Schakowsky, and Vern Buchanan. Mr. Buchanan, like Mr. Bilirakis, is a Member of the class of 2006, of which I am, as well.

The PAST Act will shut down the cruel practice of horse soring, which has been described here on the floor. It is a horrendous practice that horse trainers have used in the Tennessee Walking, Spotted Saddle, and Racking Horse shows.

The horses have a beautiful gait to start with. They have a natural gait, a smooth, natural gait. It is revered in Tennessee. It used to be Tennessee Walkers paraded at the University of Tennessee football games to great applause and great thrill of the fans.

However, some people, to make it even more imposing, took away their natural gait, which is enough of a miracle and enjoyment to watch, and put in these soring practices to get a high gait, extremely high gait, known as the Big Lick. The Big Lick is wrong. To achieve the Big Lick, horse trainers irritate or blister a horse's forelegs through the application of caustic chemicals such as mustard oil, cut the horse's hooves painfully short, or use mechanical devices to inflict pain, all of which is reprehensible. Anyone who cares about horses realizes they have lives and senses, and as well, they suffer pain just like every other animal does.

Far too often, those involved in showing the Tennessee Walking Horses have turned a blind eye to this abusive act of the trainers. They do little to try to police it, and the penalties are so minor it does nothing to prevent this barbaric act.

I have led this legislation for years. My chief of staff, Marilyn Dillihay, has been strongly supportive of this. As we all know, we work for our constituents and then for our chief of staff.

The PAST Act would codify key elements of the Horse Protection Act rule that the USDA finalized in January of 2017 by eliminating the failed system of industry self-policing and prohibited the use of devices that are integral to the soring practice and Big Lick. It would also strengthen penalties and increase consequences for individuals caught soring a horse.

I thank Chairman Pallone and Chairwoman Schakowsky for their support and work on this bill. I also particularly thank Priscilla Presley, Elvis' widow. Priscilla and Elvis had Tennessee Walkers at Graceland. They loved their Tennessee Walking Horses, which had a natural gait, and Priscilla has lobbied on this for many years and come to many activities, encouraging the passage of this act.

Priscilla Presley is a pretty amazing human being, and this is one of the areas where she has surpassed just being the spouse of the rock and roll legend, Elvis Presley, and being a star in her own right in many ways.

I thank the 263 bipartisan Members who cosponsored the bill and the hundreds of stakeholder groups and individuals who have lent their support, including the Humane Society, the American Horse Council, U.S. Equestrian Federation, American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners, the State veterinary organizations of all 50 States, National Sheriffs' Association, and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.

The plague of soring has marred the Tennessee Walking Horse and related breeds for more than six decades. I am proud to lead the fight to end it. We are going to end it.

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