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House farm bill amendment would curb state animal welfare laws
Story Date: 5/17/2013
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Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 5/17/13
A voice vote in the U.S. House Agriculture Committee this week amended the House version of the farm bill to prohibit states from enacting laws that place conditions on the means of production for agricultural goods that are sold within its own borders but are produced in other states.
For example, the amendment would disallow such state laws as the California one that will only allows eggs (produced in any state) to be sold from hens housed in cages specified by the state of California by 2015.
In a statement, amendment sponsor Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said the amendment would also “shut down the Humane Society of the United States, PETA and other radical organizations from creating a network of restrictive state laws that will slowly push agriculture production towards the demise."
The ASPCA, however, had another view on the amendment.
"The King Amendment essentially tramples states' sovereign rights to enact legislation protecting animals on farms and in puppy mills, improving the environment and protecting consumers," said Nancy Perry, senior vice president of ASPCA Government Relations. "Even more troubling, this provision would strike down many existing state animal cruelty laws, leaving some animals with no legal protections. The ASPCA expresses its dismay over this amendment and hopes the full chamber will object to this unprecedented assault on states' rights."
"The Constitution of the United States reserves the regulation of interstate commerce to the Congress, not the states," countered King, in his statement.
The five-year farm bill has now passed committee in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The next step will be floor votes in each congressional chamber. Current legislation was extended to Sept. 30, 2013 last year when the House failed to bring its version of the new bill to the floor for a vote.
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