Of course, you can make your own judgments. My own are after the video.
Please send your thanks to Jan Shakowsky, Lee Terry, Ed Whitfield and Steve Cohen for helping us by getting this hearing on the floor.
I cannot tell everyone enough how incredibly proud I am of Donna Bennefield, Teresa Bippen, Dr. Ron DeHaven, Marty Irby, and James Hickey, Jr. They had facts to back up their information, their stories were strong and their convictions true. They were able to answer every question strongly and were johnny-on-the-spot with their facts and information. Heck, when people couldn't get a straight answer out of the opposing persons, they came back and got the correct answer from those who are for the Act. Even when faced with deflecting questions, they brought the conversation back to the HPA and did not dwell on other horse industry issues.
Dr. John Bennett and Mr. Julius Johnson weren't able to backup any of their information, and Johnson continually deferred to others when he didn't have the facts in front of him. Dr. John Bennett couldn't do anything but say the exact same thing over and over again, and I imagine he's going to make the BL folks very unhappy with his answers. Marsha Blackburn, who received $70,000 from the BL industry, was rude, crass, and downright mean when she didn't get the answers she wanted when she tried to deflect and point the finger elsewhere. Not only that, but she left during the hearing, came back, and spent the rest of her time messing around on her computer. Seems like $70K that was poorly spent to me.
No matter what, I think it was quite clear that the truth came out about how soring is still rampant and stacks and chains need to go. The question is whether or not the PAST Act will move to the Senate (it has pretty much passed in the House with 225 co-sponsors). It isn't a law yet, but I personally think we are closer than ever to stopping this nightmare, and we are going to see and end to soring and the BL very, very soon.
We will keep you updated...if this goes to the Senate, then we have A LOT more hard work to do! Stay tuned!
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