Congressman is fighting China’s attempts to overturn a key California agriculture law that Central Valley farmers have invested in by the hundreds of millions of dollars
Washington, D.C. — Animal Wellness Action, a national policy and political organization seeking to enhance and advance legal protections for animals, has announced it is launching an independent expenditure campaign to help re-elect David Valadao in the race for California’s 22nd congressional district. The group cited his strong record in fighting an attempt by a Chinese-run company (Smithfield Foods) to overturn one of California’s key agricultural laws and streamlining federal rules on drug screening and approval that will spare animals used in testing, speed up delivery of life-saving drugs to patients, and drive down the cost of those treatments and cures.
The ad that the organization released to voters in the 22nd district may be found here.
Earlier this term, Rep. Valadao co-led a Republican letter in opposition to the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act (H.R. 4417), which would federally overturn certain voter-approved state laws to shield farm animals from extreme confinement, including California’s Proposition 12. The EATS Act is being pushed by the Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods, and it would threaten California family farmers who have invested millions of dollars to comply with California’s animal housing law. Prop 12 was ultimately upheld as constitutional by a bloc of conservatives and liberals on the U.S. Supreme Court, with the opinion penned by Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee.
“We shouldn’t allow China to drive agriculture policy in the United States and overturn U.S. elections, including the landslide election favoring Prop 12,” noted Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “David Valadao is standing in the way of Smithfield Food and its federal policy goal that would cripple egg and pig farmers, including key companies in the Central Valley.”
The group also lauded Rep. Valadao’s work to reform animal testing laws and regulations. As a key co-sponsor of the bipartisan FDA Modernization Act 3.0 (H.R. 7248) to promote animal-free drug testing, he successfully worked to add language to this year’s FDA appropriations bill telling the Food and Drug Administration to promptly implement a 2022 law that made animal testing of new drugs optional for the first time ever.
Rep. Valadao has also been a reliable supporter of other key animal welfare measures including the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act (H.R. 2742) to combat illegal animal fighting, the Greyhound Protection Act (H.R. 3894) to end greyhound racing in the United States, and the Animal Cruelty Enforcement (ACE) Act (H.R. 8923) to improve federal enforcement of laws against animal cruelty.
“Animal Wellness Action urges voters in the 22nd congressional district of California who care about animal welfare and who abhor animal cruelty to send Rep. Valadao back to Congress this fall,” Pacelle said.
The full endorsement letter for Rep. Valadao may be viewed here.
In other Central Valley races, Animal Wellness Action has endorsed incumbent Democrat Jim Costa for re-election in California’s 21st congressional district, and Democratic challenger Adam Gray in his effort to unseat Rep. John Duarte in the 13th district, which is located to the north of the 21st and 22nd districts.