CONGRESS IS BACK IN SESSION

The most important action anyone of us can take as Stewards on behalf of creation, is to work for good in our country’s policies and legislative actions regarding the created world.

The written word is powerfully felt in our state and national capitols. Whether it is by computer or by letter, please use this page to connect with your elected officials.

Visit the non-partisan PROJECT VOTE SMART and acquaint yourself with current bills and legislation that is at hand.

WRITE YOUR UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MEMBERS

WRITE YOUR UNITED STATES SENATE MEMBERS

For those wishing to call your legislator call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Please go to STATE BY STATE and send your legislators an email in support of the Bill(s) you are concerned about.

PROPOSED BILLS–ANIMAL AND WILDLIFE ISSUES

The Act to Protect Greyhounds

Bill Number: S2041                                                   State of Massachusetts: Passed

Last minute change to effective date, from January 1, 2010 to January 1, 2012

AN ACT RELATIVE TO GREYHOUND RACING.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Chapter 388 of the Acts of 2008 is hereby amended, in Section 2, by striking the last 1 sentence and inserting in its place the following:- Notwithstanding any general or special law to 2 the contrary, the effective date of this section shall be January 1, 2012.

Write your lawmaker to honor the original effective date and protect Greyhounds!

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H.R. 3501: Humanity And Pets Partnered Through The Years

Legislation to allow individuals to claim tax deductions for qualified pet care expenses. The bill would allow any taxpayer who legally owns one or more domesticated animals to take an annual income tax deduction of up to $3,500 for pet care expenses, including veterinary care costs.

FEDERAL BILL: Proposed in House of Rep.

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The Great Ape Protection Act

Bill Number: H.R. 1326                                                           Federal Bill: Pending in House

To phase out the use of chimpanzees in invasive research in the United States, retire the approximately 500 federally owned chimpanzees to permanent sanctuary, and make the recent National Institutes of Health decision to end breeding on federally owned chimpanzees statutory. Some of these chimps have been in research since a man landed on the moon in 1969.

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The Equine Cruelty Act

Bill Number H.R.503/S.727                       Federal Bill: Pending in the Senate

To prohibit certain conduct relating to the use of horses for human consumption.

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Wounded Warrior K-9 Corps Act

Bill Number H.R. 3266                               Federal Bill: Pending in the House

To establish a program of grants for nonprofit groups to encourage the use of service and therapy dogs to assist disabled veterans and members of the Armed Forces.

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Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment

Bill Number S. 619/ H.R.1549                  Federal Bill: Pending in the Senate

To phase out the routine non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in farm animals – a common practice to promote growth and compensate for overcrowded, stressful, unsanitary conditions on factory farms – in order to maintain the effectiveness of antibiotics for treating sick people and animals.

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Polar Bear Trophy Act

Bill Number H.R. 104                                 Federal Bill: Pending in the House

To allow the importation of polar bear trophies taken in sport hunts in Canada before the date the polar bear was determined to be a threatened species.

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Aerial Hunting of Wildlife

Bill Number S. 1535/ H.R. 3381               Federal Bill: Pending in the Senate

To amend the federal Airborne Hunting Act to bar the shooting of wolves, bears, and other predators from aircraft except in limited cases involving a designated biological emergency.

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Wild Horses and Burros

Bill Number H.R. 1018                               Federal Bill: Pending in the House

Restores the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros. This provision was stripped by an amendment slipped into the 2005 Omnibus Spending Bill.On May 19, 2005, the U.S. House overwhelmingly passed an amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill that removed the Bureau of Land Management’s funding for horse slaughter. However, this amendment was ultimately left out of the final version of the bill

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Truth in Fur Labeling

Bill Number S. 1076/ H.R. 2480               Federal Bill: Pending in the Senate

To protect consumers by bringing much-needed accuracy and full disclosure to fur labeling laws. The Truth in Fur Labeling Act closes a loophole in federal law that allows some animal fur garments to go unlabeled if the value of the fur is less than $150. Addresses dog and cat fur in “faux fur”.

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Great Cats and Rare Canids Act

Bill Number H.R. 411/S.529                      Federal Bill: Pending in the Senate

Provides support and financial resources for conservation programs of rare felids (such as lions, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, and iberian lynx) and canids (such as the gray wolf, ethiopian wolf, maned wolf, and african and asiatic wild dogs) to nations within the animals’ natural range

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Current Advocacy Programs for the National Parks Conservation Association

http://act.npca.org/npca/home.html

Current Advocacy Programs for the Audubon Society

http://www.audubonaction.org/site/PageServer?pagename=aa_homepage

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PROPOSED BILLS–ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY ISSUES

Public Lands Service Corps Act 2009

Bill Number H.R. 1612                                                       Federal Bill: In Committee House of Representatives

To amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to expand the authorization of the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, and the Interior to provide service-learning opportunities on public lands, help restore the nation’s natural, cultural, historic, archaeological, recreational, and scenic resources, train a new generation of public land managers and enthusiasts, and promote the value of public service.

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American Clean Energy and Security Act 2009

Bill Number H.R. 2454                                                       Federal Bill: Passed in House of Representatives; in the Senate

In the SenateTo create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy. Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to establish a combined efficiency and renewable electricity standard that requires utilities to supply an increasing percentage of their demand from a combination of energy efficiency savings and renewable energy (6% in 2012, 9.5% in 2014, 13% in 2016, 16.5% in 2018, and 20% in 2021-2039).

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