By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson
We begin our work in 2022 encouraged by the knowledge that a handful of significant animal protection laws at the state level have now taken effect across the country. That makes for a great start to a year in which we hope to extend the reach of our campaigns to help all animals.
On the surface, perhaps, the most important legislative packages approved in the U.S. Congress and signed into law this year—the American Rescue Plan Act (focused on COVID-19 relief) and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—may not have seemed relevant to the mission of animal protection. But the truth is that both contained sweeping gains for us, and this was no accident.
Just three years ago, HSLF played a critical role in the passage of California’s Proposition 12, which ushered in the strongest farm animal protection law in the world.
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced its version of the Fiscal Year 2022 Agriculture Appropriations bill following the House passage of its version last week. The Senate bill and accompanying committee report contain some important highlights for animals, notably for enforcement of laws including the Animal Welfare Act, Horse Protection Act and the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.
Today’s approval of H.R. 4502, a package of appropriations bills funding key federal agencies, offers dramatic evidence of the success we’ve achieved through our laser-like focus on the federal budgeting process.
