On the recordMay 18, 2018
I would like to begin by thanking Chairman Roskam for his work on this amendment. I do speak in favor of amendment No. 14 which strengthens Federal laws against animal fighting and has garnered bipartisan support many times over the past two decades. This is something that still happens. It still happens in our country. Just a month ago, over 1,000 birds were collected in a cockfighting raid just in my district in southern California. Forcing two animals to fight to the death is not only a crime problem, it is a moral problem as well. There is strong bipartisan agreement that animal fighting is an inexcusable crime. We should strengthen our laws to protect animals and society from this barbaric activity which has no place in modern society.
