September 2, 2014
The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s leading political advocacy organization for animal welfare, announces its endorsement of Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., for re-election to the U.S. Senate. Citing Merkley's strong support of animal protection policies, the HSLF urges Oregon voters to support Sen. Merkley in November’s general election.
“Senator Merkley has been a strong supporter of legislation to protect animals from cruelty and abuse and promoted the values of kindness and compassion to all creatures,” said Sara Amundson, executive director of the HSLF. “A vote to return Jeff Merkley to the Senate is a vote for the humane treatment of all animals.”
Among his other efforts, in the 113th Congress Sen. Merkley:
- Co-sponsored the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act (S.1406) to strengthen the federal law against the “soring” of show horses—using caustic chemicals and other painful substances to injure the horses’ hooves and legs to induce a high-stepping gait.
- Co-sponsored the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments (S.820) to ban barren battery cages in the egg industry and improve the treatment of hundreds of millions of laying hens.
- Co-sponsored the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act (S.666), which was included in the 2014 Farm Bill, making it a federal crime to attend or bring a child to a dogfight or cockfight.
- Cosigned a group letter opposing the dangerous and overreaching “King amendment,” which threatened to nullify hundreds of state and local laws on food safety, animal welfare and agriculture, and was nixed from the 2014 Farm Bill.
- Supported efforts to provide adequate funding for the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, Horse Protection Act, Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and federal animal fighting law, as well as for programs to address the needs of animals in disasters and to ease a shortage of veterinarians in rural and inner-city areas and at the U.S. Department of Agriculture through student loan forgiveness.
Also, in 2010, Sen. Merkley was a lead sponsor and helped to successfully pass legislation to ban commerce in videos showing the intentional torture of puppies, kittens and other live animals for the sexual titillation of viewers.
Media Contact: Martin Montorfano, (202) 676-2347, mmontorfano@hslf.org
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HSLF is a nonpartisan organization that evaluates candidates based only on a single criterion: where they stand on animal welfare. HSLF does not judge candidates based on party affiliation or any other issue.
The Humane Society Legislative Fund is a social welfare organization incorporated under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code and formed in 2004 as a separate lobbying affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States. The HSLF works to pass animal protection laws at the state and federal level, to educate the public about animal protection issues, and to support humane candidates for office. Visit us on all our channels: on the web at hslf.org, on our blog at animalsandpolitics.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/humanelegislation and on Twitter at twitter.com/HSLegFund.
Paid for by Humane Society Legislative Fund and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. HSLF, 1255 23rd Street, NW, Suite 455, Washington, DC 20037.
