Congressional Scorecard and Legislative List for the 117th Congress (2021 – 2023) – Pro-Horse Industry Bills for Inclusion as a Factor in the Legislative Score
Methodology
The American Horse Council regularly identifies legislation that supports the U.S. equine industry, evaluating bills that draw consensus among the diverse membership. Issue areas which unite the industry include but are not limited to federal resources for Equine Assisted Services (EAS), animal welfare issues arising under the Horse Protection Act (HPA), labor flexibility, tax flexibility, electronic logging device (ELD) flexibility, trails access, USDA resources to promote equine programs, and others that may emerge as the legislative process moves forward.
While reviewing the legislative record for the 117th Congress – which will run through January 2023 – AHC is analyzing pro-industry bills, also referred to as “priority legislation,” and identifying their congressional champions. From this broad list of champions, AHC is assigning points based on a lawmaker’s degree of support for priority bills, and other factors listed below. From this point system, a smaller pool of “industry champions” will emerge to inform members of the horse industry which incumbents should be recognized and acknowledged for their support.
- “Original” co-sponsor, aka “champion” of priority bills = 2 points
- Co-Sponsoring of priority bills = 1 point
- Membership in Congressional Horse Caucus 1 point
- Chairmanship role in the Congressional Horse Caucus = 2 points
- “Visibility” of the lawmaker or participation in AHC events = 1 point per event
- Demonstrates a general “open door” policy for the horse industry = 1 point
During the first half of 2021, a handful of lawmakers are emerging as friends of the industry, fighting for the sector on a variety of fronts. The below list is not “set in stone,” and is based on data gathered as of June 30:
- Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT)
- Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)
- Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
- Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY)
- Rep. Andy Harris, MD (R-MD)
For addition information, contact Bryan Brendle at bbrendle@horsecouncil.org
The AHC promotes and protects all horse breeds, disciplines and interests by communicating with Congress, federal agencies, the media and the industry itself every day.