WASHINGTON (September 28, 2016)—The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the nation’s leading political advocacy organization for animal welfare, announces its endorsement of Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Illinois, for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Citing her strong advocacy for animal protection policies, the HSLF urges voters in Illinois’ 17th Congressional District to support Rep. Bustos in November’s general election.
“Cheri Bustos has been a strong supporter of legislation to protect animals from cruelty and abuse, and she is working to promote the values of kindness and compassion to all creatures,” said Sara Amundson, executive director of the HSLF. “Voters in Illinois’ 17th District who care about the humane treatment of animals should support Rep. Bustos for Congress.”
In the 114th Congress, Rep. Bustos:
- Cosponsored the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act (H.R. 1258) to protect the human and animal victims of domestic violence and support the work of battered women’s shelters to accommodate pets;
- Cosponsored the Prevent Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act (H.R. 2293) to make malicious animal cruelty a crime on federal property and in interstate commerce, and complement the state anti-cruelty laws;
- Opposed a harmful rider that sought to block the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from implementing new rules to crack down on the domestic ivory trade and help stop the poaching and slaughter of elephants for their tusks;
- Opposed measures to substantially weaken the Endangered Species Act and strip federal protections from wolves and other imperiled species;
- Supported funding for 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 USDA positions through student loan forgiveness;
- Supported the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 2576), to update chemical safety tests and reduce or eliminate the testing of tens of thousands of chemicals on animals.
Media Contact: John Cleveland, (202) 676-2338, jcleveland@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.