The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“STATEMENTS ON SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Senate section on pages S5839-S5840 on June 5, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
STATEMENTS ON SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 45--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT THE HUMANE METHODS OF SLAUGHTER ACT OF 1958 SHOULD BE FULLY ENFORCED SO
AS TO PREVENT NEEDLESS SUFFERING OF ANIMALS
Mr. FITZGERALD (for himself, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Akaka) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry:
S. Con. Res. 45
Whereas public demand for passage of Public Law 85-765
(commonly known as the ``Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958'') (7 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) was so great that when President Eisenhower was asked at a press conference if he would sign the bill, he replied, ``If I went by mail, I'd think no one was interested in anything but humane slaughter'';
Whereas the Act requires that animals be rendered insensible to pain when they are slaughtered;
Whereas on April 10, 2001, a Washington Post front page article reported that enforcement records, interviews, videos, and worker affidavits describe repeated violations of the Act and that the Federal Government took no action against a company that was cited 22 times in 1998 for violations of the Act;
Whereas the article asserted that in 1998, the Secretary of Agriculture stopped tracking the number of humane-slaughter violations;
Whereas the article concluded that scientific evidence shows tangible economic benefits when animals are treated well;
Whereas the United States Animal Health Association passed a resolution at an October 1998 meeting to encourage strong enforcement of the Act and reiterated support for the resolution at a meeting in 2000; and
Whereas it is the responsibility of the Secretary of Agriculture to enforce the Act fully: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),
SECTION 1. HUMANE METHODS OF ANIMAL SLAUGHTER.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Secretary of Agriculture should--
(A) resume tracking the number of violations of Public Law 85-765 (7 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) and report the results and relevant trends annually to Congress; and
(B) fully enforce Public Law 85-765 by ensuring that humane methods in the slaughter of livestock--
(i) prevent needless suffering;
(ii) result in safer and better working conditions for persons engaged in the slaughtering of livestock;
(iii) bring about improvement of products and economies in slaughtering operations; and
(iv) produce other benefits for producers, processors, and consumers that tend to expedite an orderly flow of livestock and livestock products in interstate and foreign commerce; and
(2) it should be the policy of the United States that the slaughtering of livestock and the handling of livestock in connection with slaughter shall be carried out only by humane methods.
Mr. FITZGERALD. Mr. President, I rise today to submit a resolution expressing the sense of the Congress that the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958 should be fully enforced to prevent the needless suffering of animals.
On April 10, 2001, the Washington Post printed a front page story entitled ``They Die Piece by Piece.'' This graphic article asserted that the United States Department of Agriculture was not appropriately enforcing the Humane Slaughter Act. In response, I am introducing this resolution that encourages the Secretary of Agriculture to fully enforce current law including the Humane Slaughter Act of 1958, as amended by the Federal Meat Inspection Act in 1978.
The Humane Slaughter Act simply requires that animals be rendered insensible to pain before they are harvested. However, apparently this law is not being enforced in some instances. For example, the Washington Post article reported that ``enforcement records, interviews, videos and worker affidavits describe repeated violations of the Humane Slaughter Act'' and ``the government took no action against a Texas beef company that was cited 22 times in 1998 for violations that include chopping hooves off live cattle.''
While the regulated industry may argue that problems highlighted in this article are not endemic of the entire meat processing industry,
``a couple of rotten apples could ruin the whole basket.'' As the Washington Post article demonstrated, there are some operations that may need oversight to ensure that the entire meat industry does not get a ``black eye.''
Additionally, the Washington Post article pointed out that in 1998, the USDA stopped tracking the number of humane slaughter violations. USDA's Director of Slaughter Operations reportedly admitted ``she didn't know if the number of violations was up or down.'' This is simply unacceptable. We cannot manage nor regulate what we do not monitor nor measure. Thus, the resolution asks the Secretary of Agriculture to reinitiate tracking of violations and report these results and relevant trends to Congress annually.
This legislation is supported by the Society for Animal Protective Legislation, the Humane Society of the United States, and the Humane Farming Association. The resolution is sound public policy that enjoys bipartisan support. I thank my colleagues, Senators Leahy and Akaka, for joining me as original co-sponsors of this bill, and I encourage my Senate colleagues to join us in this endeavor.
I ask unanimous consent that a letter of support from the Humane Society of the United States be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
The Humane Society
of the United States,
Washington, DC, May 22, 2001.
Dear Senator: On behalf of the Human Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal protection organization with 7 million members and constituents, I am writing to express our support for the resolution, soon to be introduced by Senator Peter Fitzgerald, calling on USDA to enforce the Humane Slaughter Act. We urge you to cosponsor Senator Fitzgerald's resolution.
On April 10, 2001, the Washington Post printed a front-page story entitled ``They Die Piece by Piece.'' The disturbing investigative article revealed that the USDA is not currently enforcing the Humane Slaughter Act and that the Department has stopped tracking humane-slaughter violations. To address these failings, Senator Fitzgerald is introducing a resolution encouraging the Secretary of Agriculture to fully enforce the law. The resolution calls for enforcement of the Humane Slaughter Act of 1958 and asks that the Department resume tracking humane-slaughter violations and report its findings to Congress annually.
The Washington Post reported that prior to ending the tracking of humane-slaughter violations in 1998, USDA records gave us a snapshot of the extraordinarily inhumane slaughter practices occurring at processing plants. For example:
USDA took no action against a Texas beef company that was cited 22 times in one year for violations such as chopping hooves off live cattle.
Inspectors at a livestock processing plant in Hawaii describe hogs walking and squealing after being stunned (a process meant to render animals unconscious) as many as four times.
Another Texas plant had 22 violations in 6 months, including live cattle dangling from an overhead chain.
Hogs are submersed in scalding water after being stunned to loosen their hides for skinning. This means that poorly stunned animals are scalded and drowned. Videotape from an Iowa pork plant shows hogs squealing and kicking as they are being lowered into the water.
Congress passed the Humane Slaughter Act in 1957. It should be enforced vigorously--now 40 years after enactment. To cosponsor this resolution calling for the enforcement of existing law on humane slaughter, please contact Terry Van Doren of Senator Fitzgerald's office (4-2854) or for more information, please contact Susan Solarz of HSUS (202/955-3664).
Sincerely,
Wayne Pacelle,
Senior Vice President,Communications and Government Affairs.
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