On the Issues
Animal Rights
As a member of the Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus, Susan has supported legislation to protect both wild and domestic animals from cruelty and abuse.
Animal Rights Press Releases:
- Susan Davis Named "Humane Advocate" for Her Work to Protect Animals
- Susan Davis Supports Crack Down on Dog Fighting
- Susan Davis Votes to Protect Polar Bears
- Rep. Susan Davis Votes To Protect Wild Horses
Legislation Susan has introduced in the 110th Congress:
H.Res.1046 is a resolution to designate September 2008 as National Link Awareness Month, bringing further awareness and attention to the link between animal cruelty and other forms of societal violence. Bill Details
Legislation Susan has cosponsored in the 110th Congress:
H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, would amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Bill Details
H.R. 891, the Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act, would ensure that domestic dog and cat fur is prohibited from being manufactured, sold, imported, exported or advertised in the United States. It would also require the labeling of all fur products under the Fur Products Labeling Act. Bill Details
H.R. 661, The Downed Animal and Food Safety Protection Act, would provide regulations ensuring the humane treatment, handling, and disposition of non-ambulatory livestock. Non-ambulatory or “downed” animals pose a threat to the safety of the food supply because of the 15 known cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or Mad Cow Disease, in North America, at least 12 involved downed animals. Human consumption of BSE-laden beef has been linked to variant Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease, a fatal, degenerative brain disease for which there is no cure. Bill Details
On a related note, an undercover investigation of the Hallmark Meat Packing Company in Chino, CA by the Human Society of the United States exposed illegal practices feared to be endemic in the American meat packing industry. Downed cattle were being abused, tortured and then illegally slaughtered in the facility, thereby being permitted to enter the human food supply. Susan signed a letter to the United States Department of Agriculture which called on the USDA to take prompt and systematic investigation of the abuses which occurred. Slaughter operations were suspended and a meat recall was put into effect.
Pet Food Recall
Many San Diego families were affected by the pet food contamination that tragically caused the illness and deaths of pets across the country. This cannot happen again.
Both the House and Senate have held hearings on this matter. To solve this problem, Susan cosponsored The Human and Pet Food Safety Act (HR 2108) to provide the Food and Drug Administration with mandatory recall authority, require the FDA to establish adverse event reporting standards and penalties, and provide standing FDA authority to inspect overseas. The bill also addresses surveillance and early detection issues, and will standardize voluntary benchmarks.
On February 6, 2008 two Chinese nationals and the business they operate, along with a U.S. company and its president and chief executive officer, were indicted by a federal grand jury. The indictments were for their roles in the importation into the United States of products they claimed were wheat gluten. These products were contaminated with melamine and used to make pet food. Melamine is used to create products such as plastics, cleaning products, glues, inks, and fertilizers. This substance has no approved use as an ingredient in human or animal food in the United States.
La Jolla Seals
During much of the year, seals and sea lions are present on a small stretch of beach in La Jolla. While most visitors to this area love to watch the seals and respect the seals' need for distance from humans, unfortunately, a small number of people blatantly harass the seals even during pupping season.
A court ruling has mandated that the seals be removed so the beach can be returned to its original state as a children’s beach. However, there has been a great deal of community objection to this ruling and Susan is following the matter closely.
