mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. chairman , several weeks ago we passed on the floor here an amendment banning the slaughter of wild horses that had been sneaked into the omnibus bill by a substantial bipartisan vote . 
this amendment i offer today is a supplement to that amendment , and one that we have sought a vote on , an up-or-down vote , for several years in this body . 
for that reason in particular , i want to thank the subcommittee chairman for affording us this opportunity . 
the amendment essentially would end the use of taxpayer dollars to enable and subsidize foreign enterprises , largely operating in opposition to the vast opinion and support of united states citizens , and in fact the majority of states have outlawed the slaughter of horses for human consumption ; and yet this process continues on . 
mr. chairman , there has been a lot of misinformation spread about this issue . 
the opposition will say this amendment will lead to an increase in the abuse of horses , or horses running wild in our streets . 
such statements are not true , and i want to offer some facts . 
first of all , each year 65 , 000 horses are slaughtered in this country for human consumption in europe and in asia , not here , where they are sold as a delicacy . 
another 30 , 000 are trucked to canada and mexico for slaughter . 
misstatement number one , that slaughter is the same as humane euthanasia , it is not , mr. chairman . 
slaughter is not the same as humane euthanasia administered by a veterinarian . 
euthanasia of horses is administered by lethal injection , whereas slaughter is administered by unskilled , untrained workers using the captive bolt . 
many times this is administered improperly , causing unnecessary pain and suffering before death , and that is after these horses have been transported in excess of 1 , 000 miles in the most inhumane conditions perceived . 
misstatement number two , that if this legislation is successful , we will cause an overpopulation of horses . 
passage of this amendment will not cause an overpopulation of horses , since each year the numbers are this , about 690 , 000 horses die in the u.s. , many of which are euthanized by licensed veterinarians . 
slaughter represents only 1 percent of the horses that die each year , and this would not result in overpopulation of horses as some have suggested . 
mr. chairman , it is simply this : americans do not profit from slaughtering horses . 
horses are not bred in the united states for that purpose . 
this is an export-driven market . 
foreigners eat our horses and foreign companies make money off the sale of the meat . 
this amendment simply says that the use of american taxpayer dollars to pay for the salaries and the work of usda inspectors ought to stop , and those resources ought to be committed to making sure the food supply and the food chain here in this country are fully protected . 
let us stop this practice , a practice that flies in the face of generations of precedent here in congress and strong opposition by the american public . 
mr. chairman , i reserve the balance of my time . 
