Congresswoman deserves support for steadfast commitment on animal welfare issues.
Washington D.C. — Animal Wellness Action, a national policy and political organization seeking to enhance and advance legal protections for animals, has endorsed Summer Lee for re-election in the race for Pennsylvania’s 12th congressional district.
The group applauded her leadership on numerous animal welfare issues, noting her co-sponsorship of the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act (H.R. 2742), aimed at cracking down on illegal dogfighting and cockfighting, and the Addressing Digestive Distress in the Stomachs of Our Youth (ADD SOY) Act (H.R. 1619), to ease the production burden on dairy cows by giving schoolchildren the option to receive nutritionally equivalent non-dairy milk in the National School Lunch Program.
“Summer Lee is one of the leaders on animal welfare in the U.S. Congress,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “She understands that cruelty to animals is wrong and that it’s typically bound up with other forms of social violence.”
Earlier this year, Rep. Lee stood up against two irresponsible bills the Republican leadership brought up for votes on the House floor. The first would have weakened Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves across much of the lower 48 states, opening the door to trophy hunting and commercial trapping. Such a policy might also expose wolves to being recreationally run over with snowmobiles — a practice that came to light earlier this year in Wyoming. Rep. Lee also voted against a bill that would have impeded state and local officials from properly regulating the use of hazardous lead ammunition on public lands and waterways, increasing the risk of lead poisoning for eagles and other scavenger species.
“We urge voters in the 12th congressional district of Pennsylvania to back Rep. Lee this fall,” Pacelle said.
The full endorsement letter for Rep. Lee may be viewed here.