Industry Info
Equine Welfare Data Collective Releases Data Snapshot
Today the American Horse Council ( AHC ) released its second , or pre-election , scorecard for the 117th Congress ( January 3 , 2021 – January 3 , 2023 ).
The AHC scorecard examines and reports on legislation important to the equine industry . We identify issues of significance based on internal analysis and member input . Points are assigned to individual legislators based on their level of support and recorded votes . This is a non-partisan process . Only proposals that have earned consensus among our members are tabulated .
Speaking on the importance of the scorecard , Julie Broadway , President of the American Horse Council remarked , “ The equine industry was confronted with many challenges during the past two years . The pandemic , supply chain disruptions , worker shortages , taxes , public land access were among the focus of our advocacy efforts . Fortunately , the AHC did not stand alone while trying to find remedies and solutions . We were able to count on our friends in Congress for assistance . To acknowledge our “ champions ,” we now release our AHC Legislative Scorecard .”
Broadway offered her congratulations and thanks to the top ten AHC champions in both the House of Representatives and Senate .
Senate Champions Senator John Barrasso ( R-WY ) Senator Shelley Moore Capito ( R-WV ) Senator Susan Collins ( R-ME ) Senator Mike Crapo ( R-Idaho )
12 • Walking On
Senator Steve Daines ( R-MT ) Senator Jerry Moran ( R-KS ) Senator Mike Rounds ( R-SD ) Senator Kyrsten Sinema ( D-AZ ) Senator Roger Wicker ( R-MS ) Senator Ron Wyden ( R-OR )
House of Representative Champions Representative Andy Barr ( R-6-KY ) Representative Ted Budd ( R-13-NC ) Representative Henry Cuellar ( D-28-TX ) Representative Andy Garbarino ( R-2-NY ) Representative Andy Harris ( R-1-MD ) Representative Jamie Herrera Beutler ( R-3-WA ) Representative Ashley Hinson ( R-1-IA ) Representative Richard Hudson ( R-8-NC ) Representative Billy Long ( R-7-MO ) Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer ( R-3-MO )
A Note on Methodology : The American Horse Council identifies and evaluates legislation that earns consensus among its diverse membership . Issue areas that unite the industry include , but are not limited to , federal resources for Equine Assisted Services ( EAS ), animal welfare issues arising under the Horse Protection Act ( HPA ), labor flexibility , tax flexibility , electronic logging device ( ELD ) flexibility , trails access , USDA resources to promote equine programs , and others that may emerge as the legislative process of the 117th Congress moves toward adjournment .
The evaluation process entails developing a list of “ priority legislation ” and identifying congressional sponsors and co-sponsors . From this broad list , AHC assigns points based on a lawmaker ’ s degree of support for priority bills and other factors listed below . From this point system , we declare a smaller pool of “ industry champions .”
Factor
“ Original ” co-sponsor , aka “ champion ,” of priority bill
Co-sponsorship of priority bills
Membership in the Congressional Horse Caucus
Chairmanship role in the Congressional Horse Caucus
“ Visibility ” of the lawmaker , or participation in AHC
Events ( One point per event )
Whether the lawmaker demonstrates a general “ open-door ” policy for the horse industry
Points Two
Two One
Two
One
One
While the scorecard does not formally assign points for representation of the “ Top Ten ” states by equine population , AHC monitors and pays special attention to congressional delegations from Texas , California , Florida , Oklahoma , Kentucky , Ohio , Missouri , North Carolina , Pennsylvania , and Colorado .
For more information on the methodology and to find out how your congressional delegation scored , contact
info @ horsecoucil . org