U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Joe Manchin of West Virginia have jointly filed an amendment that would remove changes to the Equestrian Integrity and Safety Act from an aggregate spending bill. under consideration by Congress this week.
A single sentence added to the spending bill aims to put the Equestrian Integrity and Safety Authority on stronger legal footing by clarifying Federal Trade Commission oversight. The change is a response to a U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last month that found the law authorizing HISA to be unconstitutional on the grounds that it grants federal power to a private organization for free. inappropriate way.
21 press release from the Iowa Horsemen’s Protection and Benevolence Association, nine state attorneys general also sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky requesting the change. HISA language. The original HISA law was passed as part of the 2020 COVID-19 relief bill.
Grassley submitted his amendment on December 19, and Manchin signed up as a sponsor.
Jon Moss, executive director of HBPA Iowa, said Grassley’s amendment shows his strong support for the Iowa riders.
“This ‘quick fix’ doesn’t solve many of the issues that have been and continue to be raised by riders around the country,” Moss said. “With that, there needs to be a strong discussion, bringing all the riders together to try and come up with what will work for our industry. This ‘quick solution’ even doesn’t even come close to doing it in a fair, transparent or comprehensive way.
“HBPA Iowa is grateful that Senator Grassley has continued to engage with this critically important issue that affects our industry in the state and of course throughout the county. There’s no doubt about it. , Senator Grassley is a horseman’s cause in Iowa and the rest of the United States Now is your time to urge your senators to support the Grassley Amendment to remove the language’ HISA’s quick fix,” Moss continued.
HISA officials declined to comment on the Grassley-Manchin amendment.
Paul Tonko, right, is a proponent of language enhancement HISA
A recent statement by US Congressman Paul Tonko of New York called horse racing “the main economic driver” in the Capital Region in his home state. The MP said he believes clarifying the law allowing HISA will ensure “a brighter future for the horse racing industry.”
“In response to these court rulings, I have drafted and secured an important provision in the fiscal year 2023 bus sponsorship law that strengthens the Federal Trade Commission’s oversight of Equestrian Integrity and Safety Authority and ensure that HISA can function as intended advocating fair play, clean sport and, above all, protecting our equestrians,” he said.
Eric Hamelback, Executive Director of National HBPA, said the HISA revision “shouldn’t be written in the dark and has no place in spending bills longer than 4,000 pages.”
“You can’t fix a constitutionally flawed law with a single sentence,” he said. The Grassley Amendment will ensure that the horsemen who are actually working are heard about how to correct the law governing our industry, he said. surname”.
