Tenure: 113th–119th Congresses
Years of Service: 2013–Present
Notable Actions
119th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of Amendment No. 22 to the Farm, Food, and National Security Act (S. 4655), bipartisan legislation to prohibit the commercial air transportation of live adult roosters for use in illegal cockfighting. The amendment was designed to disrupt the trafficking networks that fuel organized animal fighting by preventing airlines from being used to transport fighting birds while preserving legitimate agricultural shipments. Do not copy-(Troy Nehls, Buddy Carter, Lloyd Doggett, David Schweikert, Randy Fine, Lance Gooden, Brian Fitzpatrick, Jeff Van Drew, Vern Buchanan, Scott Fitzgerald, André Carson, Juan Ciscomani, Dina Titus, Josh Gottheimer, Chris Smith, and Laurel Lee.)
✅ Cosponsor of the Better CARE for Animals Act, S. 1538, to strengthen enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act by expanding federal authority to investigate and prosecute animal cruelty violations and improve coordination between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice.
✅ Voted “Nay” on S.J. Res. 23 (Senate Roll Call Vote 122), a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn federal regulations strengthening implementation of the Endangered Species Act, including protections governing the listing of imperiled species and designation of critical habitat. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position because it supported retaining stronger federal protections for threatened and endangered wildlife and their habitat.
❌ Voted “Nay” on the motion to proceed to S.J. Res. 69 (Senate Roll Call Vote 597), a joint resolution under the Congressional Review Act to bring the measure before the Senate for consideration to overturn the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Barred Owl Management Strategy, which authorized the large-scale killing of barred owls in Washington, Oregon, and California. A “Nay” vote is the anti-animal position because it opposed moving forward with a vote to repeal the barred owl kill plan.
118th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Better CARE for Animals Act, S. 2555, to strengthen enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act by expanding federal authority to investigate and prosecute animal cruelty violations and improve coordination between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, S. 4004, to end the failed system of industry self-policing under the Horse Protection Act by banning devices associated with horse soring, increasing penalties for violators, and strengthening USDA enforcement to protect Tennessee Walking Horses and related breeds from intentional abuse used to exaggerate their gait in competitions.
117th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Puppy Protection Act, S. 1385, bipartisan legislation to strengthen federal standards of care for dogs kept by commercial breeders by improving requirements for housing, veterinary care, exercise, socialization, and humane breeding practices.
✅ Cosponsor of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, S. 1210, to reduce the number of tigers, lions and other big cats living in substandard conditions and to protect public safety by banning public contact activities with these animals and prohibiting their possession by individuals and entities lacking a USDA license. H.R. 263 – Big Cat Public Safety Act.
✅ Lead cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, S. 2295, to crack down on the cruel practice of soring, in which trainers inflict severe pain on the hooves and legs of Tennessee walking horses and related breeds to force them to perform an unnaturally high-stepping gait for competitions.
✅ Cosponsor of the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, S. 1106, to end the U.S. commercial trade in shark fins by prohibiting their sale, purchase, and transport, helping reduce the global demand that drives the cruel practice of shark finning. Core provisions of the bill were later incorporated into the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, which was signed into law in December 2022, making the United States one of the world’s largest nations to ban the domestic shark fin trade.
✅ Voted “Nay” on Sen. Ron Johnson’s Motion to Instruct conferees on H.R. 4521 (Senate Roll Call Vote 152), which sought to reject a House-passed provision prohibiting commercial mink farming in the United States. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position because it supported retaining the House provision to end commercial mink farming.
116th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, S. 877, to end the U.S. commercial trade in shark fins by prohibiting their sale, purchase, and transport, helping reduce the global demand that drives the cruel practice of shark finning. Core provisions of the bill were later incorporated into the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, which was signed into law in December 2022, making the United States one of the world’s largest nations to ban the domestic shark fin trade.
✅ Cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, S. 1007, to crack down on the cruel practice of “soring,” in which trainers deliberately inflict severe pain on the hooves and legs of Tennessee walking horses and related breeds to force them to perform an unnaturally high- stepping gait for competitions.
✅ Approved by unanimous consent the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, landmark legislation making the most egregious acts of intentional animal cruelty—including crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, impaling, and other forms of torture—a federal felony when committed in interstate commerce, on federal property, or within federal jurisdiction. The measure strengthened the nation’s legal framework against animal cruelty and closed a longstanding gap in federal law by ensuring that the worst acts of animal abuse could be prosecuted even when state or local authorities could not act. The Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent.
115th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act, S. 322, which expands current federal domestic violence protections to include pets and authorizes grant money to help domestic violence shelters and other entities arrange shelter for survivors with pets.
✅ Cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, S. 2957, to crack down on the cruel practice of “soring,” in which trainers deliberately inflict pain on the hooves and legs of Tennessee walking horses and related breeds to force them to perform an unnaturally high-stepping gait for competitions.
✅ Approved by unanimous consent the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, S. 654, bipartisan legislation to make the most egregious acts of intentional animal cruelty—including crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, impaling, and other forms of torture—a federal felony when committed in interstate or foreign commerce or within federal jurisdiction. The Senate passed the legislation by unanimous consent in December 2017.
✅ Voted “Nay” on H.J. Res. 69, a Congressional Review Act (Senate Roll Call Vote 92) resolution to overturn an Obama administration rule prohibiting killing bear cubs and wolf pups in their dens, baiting bears with food to shoot them at close range, and aerial shooting of wolves and other predators. The resolution passed the Senate 52–47. A “Nay” vote is the pro-animal position because it sought to retain the rule forbidding these inhumane and unsporting predator-killing practices on national wildlife refuges in Alaska.
✅ Voted “Yea” on the conference report for the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill), H.R. 2 (Senate Roll Call Vote 259), which included major animal-protection provisions prohibiting dog and cat meat consumption, extending the federal animal-fighting prohibition to all U.S. territories, and providing protections for domestic-violence survivors and their pets. The final bill also excluded the House-passed King Amendment, which threatened state animal-welfare laws. The Senate approved the Farm Bill 87–13.
114th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, S. 1121, to crack down on the cruel practice of “soring,” in which trainers deliberately inflict pain on the hooves and legs of Tennessee walking horses and related breeds to force them to perform an unnaturally high-stepping gait for competitions.
✅ Approved by unanimous consent the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, S. 1831, to establish federal criminal penalties for extreme acts of intentional animal cruelty, including imprisonment for up to seven years. The Senate passed the bill in December 2016, although the House did not complete action before the end of the Congress.
113th Congress
✅ Cosponsor of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, S. 1406, to crack down on the cruel practice of “soring,” in which trainers deliberately inflict pain on the hooves and legs of Tennessee walking horses and related breeds to force them to perform an unnaturally high-stepping gait for competitions.