Press Release

Reps. Maria Salazar and Carlos Gimenez Secure Endorsement from Animal Wellness Action in their Bid for Reelection to Congress

MIAMI, FL – Today, Animal Wellness Action, a Washington, D.C. non-profit focused on promoting legal standards to halt cruelty and to enforce those laws, formally endorsed U.S. Reps. Carlos Gimenez, R-FL-26, and Maria Salazar, R-FL-27, for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives.

“We are proud to endorse Maria Salazar and Carlos Gimenez for Congress and applaud their tireless work for animals and Floridians alike,” said Marty Irby, executive director at Animal Wellness Action. “Maria and Carlos are both a refreshing breath of fresh air in Congress and are tremendous friends to animals who continue to support practical legislation to protect the voiceless and drive down drug costs for consumers.”

Reps. Maria Salazar and Carlos Gimenez

“Representatives Salazar and Gimenez have shown during their first terms that they are stalwart advocates for animals,” said Wayne Pacelle, president at Animal Wellness Action. “We are proud to endorse their re-election campaigns and urge the people of south Florida to return them to Congress to continue their work.”

Reps. Salazar and Gimenez have cosponsored and backed a broad range of important reforms:

  • Salazar and Gimenez are working to stop needless, costly, and inhumane animal testing as cosponsors of the FDA Modernization Act. The Senate companion bill introduced by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and cosponsored by Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio and 9 other Senators passed the Senate by Unanimous Consent in September. The measure would end animal testing mandates at the FDA by amending the 1938 statute – a Depression-era requirement for animal testing for all new drug development protocols, allow for alternative methods when validated, and help reduce drug costs and time to market for Floridians.
  • Salazar and Gimenez both cosponsored and voted in support of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, that would bar private citizens from keeping dangerous carnivores like lions and tigers in our communities.
  • Salazar and Gimenez are both current cosponsors of the Animal Cruelty Enforcement Act that would establish a dedicated Animal Cruelty Crimes Unit at the U.S. Dept. of Justice with resources to better enforce current anti-cruelty and anti-cockfighting laws on the books.
  • Salazar and Gimenez are both current cosponsors of the Greyhound Protection Act that would end greyhound racing in the U.S. on the national level just as the State of Florida did by passing a ballot measure in 2018 with nearly 70 percent of voters casting their ballot in support of that effort.
  • Salazar and Gimenez supported a bipartisan measure that passed the House by a voice vote in 2021 and would have ended the transport of horses bound for slaughter for human consumption in countries like China, Japan, and North Korea. Salazar is also a current cosponsor of the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act that would permanently bring an end to horse slaughter on U.S. soil and the transport of horses for that purpose.
  • Salazar and Gimenez are both current cosponsors of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, that would help end the soring of Tennessee Walking, Racking, and Spotted Saddle Horses, a scourge that’s plagued the show horse world since the 1950’s.
  • Salazar and Gimenez joined a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2021 to address a terrible policy implemented by the Biden Administration that banned the import of canines from 113 countries and has separated countless American heroes in the military, American citizens, and Diplomats from their pets.
  • Salazar and Gimenez are both current cosponsors of the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act that would end the trade in shark fins used solely for the purpose of shark fin soup.
  • Salazar voted in support of a ban on mink farming in the U.S. as mink have proven to be the number one superspreader of COVID besides human and have spawned at least 6 new variants around the globe, including one in the U.S.

Animal Wellness Action is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(4) whose mission is to help animals by promoting laws and regulations at federal, state and local levels that forbid cruelty to all animals. The group also works to enforce existing anti-cruelty and wildlife protection laws. Animal Wellness Action believes helping animals helps us all. Twitter: @AWAction_News