Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 724, the bipartisan Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, or the PACT Act, introduced by Representative Ted Deutch and Vern Buchanan.

In 2017, Pennsylvania passed Libre's Law, which increased penalties for animal abuse. I was honored to help push that legislation over the finish line in the Pennsylvania State Senate. I am proud to once again help pass legislation that will better protect our Nation's animals.

In 2010, Congress passed the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act to address the trade in obscene videos of live animals being crushed, burned, or subjected to other forms of heinous cruelty. While this was an important first step, the law only bans the trade in video depictions of cruelty, not the underlying act of cruelty itself.

The PACT Act addresses this gap by prohibiting the underlying acts of animal cruelty that occur on Federal property or affect interstate commerce, regardless of whether a video is produced.

As a former district judge, I served on the frontlines of our judicial system. I witnessed firsthand the connection between animal cruelty and violence toward people. In fact, the FBI recently recognized that addressing animal cruelty is critical to protecting our communities.

The PACT Act would give Federal law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need to combat extreme animal cruelty. This bill would give the FBI the authority to act against animal cruelty that is discovered while investigating another interstate crime, such as drug smuggling or human trafficking.

The PACT Act would not interfere with enforcement of State laws related to felony animal cruelty provisions. The legislation focuses solely on extreme acts of animal cruelty and exempts normal agriculture and hunting practices.

The PACT Act is endorsed by the National Sheriffs' Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, as well as more than 100 law enforcement agencies.

And in the Senate, the PACT Act is sponsored by my good friend, Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, and it passed in both the 114th and the 115th Congresses by unanimous consent. In the House, it currently has more than 300 bipartisan cosponsors.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the PACT Act so we can better protect our Nation's animals from abuse and torture. I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 724, the PACT Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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