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Dear Friend,

You may be pleased to know that today the House of Representatives voted to end the cruel practice of horse soring by passing H.R. 693, the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act.

Horse soring is the use of devices to cause injury to the front feet and limbs of horses with the intent of inflicting pain as horses step down. This forces horses who have been sored into a high-stepping, unnatural gait known as ‘The Big Lick’ to obtain an unfair advantage at horse shows. Although the Horse Protection Act prohibited the practice of soring in 1970, it has been weakly enforced and largely ineffective, allowing rampant soring of horses to continue.

The PAST Act strengths the Horse Protection Act by imposing stiffer penalties, eliminating the current system of industry self-policing, and prohibiting certain devices that have been implicated in the practice of soring.

The PAST Act passed the House by a vote of XXX- XX. It is long overdue that Congress end this horrific practice and strengthen protections for horses. As a pet owner, I was pleased to see H.R. 693 pass with bipartisan support and I encourage my Senate colleagues to advance this critical animal welfare protection.

As always, I am here to help you. If you need assistance in dealing with a federal agency, such as the VA, IRS or Department of Education, please do not hesitate to contact my Bothell office at (425) 485-0085. If you have questions or comments about the topics that matter most to you, I encourage you to contact me through my website. You may also keep up-to-date on what I’m doing by following me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.