Rep. Earl Blumenauer Receives 2007 Humane Legislator of the Year Award

WASHINGTON – The Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund will honor Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) as the 2007 Humane Legislator of the Year at a reception this evening in the U.S. Capitol.

“Representative Blumenauer has been one of the best and most effective voices for animal protection policies in the U.S. Congress,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. “On the major policy debates relating to animal protection, Rep. Blumenauer is in the forefront, and we are enormously grateful to him for his passion and leadership.” Among his many efforts to protect animals, Rep. Blumenauer has championed:

• A bill to establish felony penalties for violating federal animal fighting laws – an effort he has led with Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA). The Animal Fighting Enforcement Prohibition Act passed Congress early in the 110th Congress and was signed by President Bush in May 2007. Blumenauer battled against animal fighting long before the Michael Vick case made headlines and prompted lawmakers across the country to strengthen laws against dogfighting and cockfighting. Passage of this legislation in 2007 culminated a more than six-year effort to upgrade weak and ineffective misdemeanor penalties against interstate or foreign transport or commerce related to animal fighting enterprises.
• The Charitable Remainder Pet Trust Act, which would revise the Internal Revenue Code to allow people to set up trusts to fund the continued care for their pets in the event of the person's death. In a nation where two-thirds of American households have pets, pet trusts provide peace of mind for animal caregivers, who can be sure that funding for their animals' care will be guaranteed.
• Increased funding for federal animal welfare programs, including enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act and Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. In 2007, Congress approved a record level of funding for key animal welfare laws. While funding for animal welfare remains a miniscule portion of the federal budget, it has more than doubled over the past nine years thanks to the work of Rep. Blumenauer and other Congressional leaders.

“The people of Oregon’s 3rd District are fortunate to have such a hard-working advocate for animals, but it truly is the entire nation that benefits from his service, added Pacelle While Rep. Blumenauer receives the top honor for 2007, The HSUS and HSLF are honoring 131 additional members of Congress who were the prime authors of animal protection legislation or who scored a perfect 100 percent on the 2007 Humane Scorecard. Previous recipients of the Humane Legislator of the Year Award were Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) in 2005 and Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) in 2006.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization – backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty -- On the web at humanesociety.org.