Amendment to Defund Horsemeat Inspections Clears Committee

The amendment would deny the USDA funding to carry out inspections at U.S. horse processing plants.
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An amendment that would deny the USDA funding to carry out inspections at horse processing plants has cleared the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee. The amendment will be included in the Fiscal Year 2014 Appropriations Bill when it moves to the full House for consideration.

Prior to 2005, USDA personnel carried out horsemeat safety inspections at U.S. processing plants. In 2006, Congress voted to strip the USDA of funding for inspections at facilities that process horsemeat for human consumption. Department of Agriculture funding bills contained amendments denying the USDA funding for horse processing plant inspections until November 2011, when Congress passed an appropriations bill that did not contain language specifically forbidding the agency from using federal dollars to fund horsemeat inspections. While there are no horse processing plants currently operating in the United States, the Valley Meat Co., LLC, has applied for a USDA permit to process horses in New Mexico. The operation has had pre-permitting inspections and the permit remains pending.

On June 13, Anne Hughes, spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, said that members of the House Appropriations Committee had passed the so-called Moran Amendment by a voice vote. Co-sponsored by Rep. Bill Young, the bipartisan provision would prevent the USDA from using federal funds to conduct meat inspections at horse slaughter facilities. The funding denial would, in effect, ban horse processing in the United States, Hughes said.

A similar amendment was attached to previous appropriations bills, but was later stripped from the final appropriations legislation. This amendment has a good chance of remaining attached to the final legislation for several reasons, Hughes said

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Written by:

Pat Raia is a veteran journalist who enjoys covering equine welfare, industry, and news. In her spare time, she enjoys riding her Tennessee Walking Horse, Sonny.

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