Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I join with my bipartisan colleagues here to proclaim that animal abuse is unacceptable and must end, which is why we are all proud to be supporters, and many of us, original cosponsors of the PACT Act because it strengthens Federal law regarding animal cruelty. {time} 1645 As was previously mentioned, the Animal Crush Video Act of 2010 banned the creation and distribution of these despicable videos. However, it did not make the actual animal abuse itself a crime. The bipartisan PACT Act goes a step further and outlaws this malicious animal cruelty, regardless of the presence of video evidence. Mr. Speaker, as a former FBI agent, my agency's profiling studies demonstrated how violence against animals is a precursor to human violence. That is why we are fighting aggressively against egregious animal cruelty and why it is so important. Law enforcement, including the FOP, strongly supports this legislation because it provides another tool for them to use for animal abuse cases that might otherwise go unprosecuted. More than 100 law enforcement agencies and organizations across our country have endorsed the PACT Act. We must come together and stand up for innocent, defenseless animals, which is why there are over 300--in fact, 301, to be exact--cosponsors, both Democrats and Republicans, on this bill. I commend Senator Toomey, our colleague from Pennsylvania, for introducing the companion bill in the Senate.…”