The hearing is over. Let's discuss.

[hamhouke]

For those of you who watched the live stream, I would love to hear your observations.  I got the feeling that the committee didn't really understand the impact to the pet trade until WE started beating down their doors.  Good work by the Humane Society of the US, PETA, and Defenders of Wildlife in covering their true agenda when they convinced the sponsors of this bill to write it.  Deception, misinformation, no...  surely your not talking about PETA and their ilk...

It would appear that this bill is modeled after parts of similar laws in Israel, where the government apparently gets to "work in cooperation with the pet industry" to decide what animals Israelis are permitted to buy at pet stores.  Once there, the guy from Israel who was testifying essentially said that they are happy to take what they can get.  I'm all for looking around and learning all we can about the way other countries handle problems and using what works and steering clear of what doesn't.  I don't think that all ideas have to be made in America, but this ain't Israel.  And here in the USA, we take a dim view of the government disallowing our rights until we can convince them that we should be "allowed" them.

That guy really chapped by britches.

[snakebite33308]

i agree, maybe the gov. needs to listen to people who are actually educated before they try to make decisions on things that will affect the people they are trying to govern, sometimes they forget how they got to the point they are at.

[Truly Rare]

Well what did they decide? I can't find an answer on any of the forums?

[snakebite33308]

that they are going to have to go back and look for solutions to actual problems not an overall ban

[hamhouke]

Yeah, from here it goes to markup where everybody changes it and tries again.  It is not being sent to the floor as is, which could be a good thing.  But, I will reserve judgment until I see the markups.

[snakebite33308]

yeah i feel the same way

[Southern_Boa_Gurl]

Going to re-post this email that I got yesterday.  It may have changed since then, but it highlights what offices we really need to hit up

HOT OFF THE PRESS: PHONE CALLS MAKING A DIFFERENCE!
admin Phone Calls 2009-04-22
Just got off the phone with Representative Kildees office.  Representative Kildee is a co-sponsor of HR 669 as well as a member of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans & Wildlife. The staffer said that Rep Kildee is rethinking his position based on the volume of phone calls his office is receiving that are opposed to HR 669.
A staffer in another of the Representatives offices said that they had gotten more phone calls about HR 669 than the Economic Stimulus bill!!!
Here is a list of all 23 Subcommittee Members that is all over the internet … we’ve added the latest information that we have about where they stand and feedback from our callers around the country. The accounts in red are third party information that may or may not be 100% accurate … but if we heard the same thing from 5 or more people about a call with a Representatives office, we felt that it would be ok to share.
Keep calling! Today and tomorrow morning too! The hearing is at 10AM EST, you can call right up to the hearing!
Remember, PLEASE be polite and PLEASE be respectful. Don’t be afraid to ask how many calls they’ve gotten or where the Representative stands on the issue, you are allowed. Do not forget to thank them for their time when you’re done.
Great job everyone, keep it up!

Madeleine Z. Bordallo (Ch)(NP-Guam)
202/225-1188 - Sponsor of the Bill, For it, Staffers telling people that they are over reacting and that their pets will be safe
 
Neil Abercrombie (D-HI)
202/225-2726 - Co-Sponsor of the Bill, For it, One staffer told me personally that “it’s going to pass”

Henry Brown (R-SC)
202/225-3176 - Opposes the bill, most vocal opposition on the subcommittee, USARK did a great job with Rep Brown!!
 
Lois Capps (D-CA)
202/225-3601 - Undecided at this time

William Cassidy (R-LA)
202/225-3901  - Undecided at this time (we need to keep calling and asking for his help!!!)

Jason Chaffetz (R-UT)
202/225-7751 - Strongly opposed!!!

Donna M. Christensen (NP-Virgin Islands)
202/225-1790 - Undecided at this time

Diana L. DeGette (D-CO)
202/225-4431 - Undecided at this time

Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (NP – American Samoa)
202/225-8577 - Undecided at this time

Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
202/225-2635 - Likely to oppose

John Fleming (R-LA)
202/225-2777 - Undecided at this time
Doc Hastings (R-WA)
202/225-5816 - Undecided at this time

Dale E. Kildee (D-MI)
202/225-3611 - Co-Sponsor of the Bill, was For it but due to the volume of calls in opposition is “re-thinking” his position. GET ON HIM!! This can make a huge difference!!!

Ronald James Kind (D-WI)
202/225-5506 - Co-Sponsor, For it

Frank M. Kratovil, Jr. (D-MD)
202/225-5311 - Undecided at this time, Spoke to Legislative staffers and they are very interested in the businesses that would be hurt and why there is such strong opposition.

Douglas L. Lamborn (R-CO)
202/225-4422 - Undecided at this time

Frank J. Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ)
202/225-4671 - For it

Pedro R. Pierluisi (NP-Puerto Rico)
202/225-2615 - Undecided at this time

Nick Joe Rahall, II (D-WV)
202/225-3452 - Undecided at this time

Gregorio Sablan (I- Mariana Islands)
202/225-2646 - Co-Sponsor, For it

Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
202/225-5456 - Undecided at this time. Reports that staffers seem agitated by calls.

Robert J. Wittman (R-VA)
202/225-4261 - Opposed

Donald E. Young (R-AK)
202/225-5765 - Undecided at this time

[Gloryhound]

Letter we got from USARK:  Take note of the area in bold.

 VICTORY over HR669!!!
WE DID IT FOLKS!!!! Victory over HR669! You can thank yourselves and the Reptile Nation, for a hard fought Victory! Our nearly 50,000 grassroots letters and 1,000s of phone calls to the offices of the subcommittee members clearly prevailed at today's Insular Affairs Subcommittee hearing on HR 669. HR 669 in it's current form is finished. For anything to go forward it MUST be re-written from the ground up....and USARK will have a seat at the table along with other stake holders.

Delegate Faleomavega from Samoa said, "The letter and phone campaign hit the subcommittee like a BUZZ SAW". Harry Burroughs, of the subcommittee staff said, "I haven't seen a letter writing campaign like this in 30 years! You should be proud of yourselves." Take heart in the fact that the Reptile Nation stopped HR669 in it's tracks!!

We also need to thank Congressman Henry Brown, SC for helping us to focus our fight on the Subcommittee as opposed to the full House of Representatives. He is the one who instructed us to write real letters to be truly effective. He said emails are fine if that is all you can manage, but they can be filtered and deleted. There is no denying the weight of thousands of paper letters from American citizens. The Reptile Nation was responsible for 49,229 letters delivered to the Subcommittee in less than two weeks. Congressman Brown's staff made sure they all got in the door. 38,000 of those letters will be entered into the permanent record. Thank you my friends!

Credit should also be given to Bill Martin, a witness who testified at the hearing. He is the President of Blue Ridge Aquatics, a large multi-state Tilapia farming operation. They farm Tilapia as a food fish. He had some serious problems with the bill and the ear of much of the committee. His plain talk of how this bill would destroy hundreds of families hit home. What they do and the impact this bill would have on them parallels the plight of the Reptile Nation.

Senior Democrat staff from the House Committee on Natural Resources advised Subcommittee Chair Madeleine Bordallo that if she wants something to go forward she will have to go back to square one and draft a new bill. Then have another subcommittee hearing. When and if she does, USARK will be there to represent the interests of the Reptile Nation!! They probably will try, and that will be our challenge for another day. But Today VICTORY is SWEET!...... Celebrate today and rest, because tomorrow we must get ready to fight again.

Thank you Reptile Nation! Thank you Tom Wolfe. Thank you everyone who did their part.

Stay tuned... This fight has only begun!

USARK

A note from Tom Wolfe:

"The good news is, USARK engineered a significant victory which caught the attention of the entire membership of the Subcommittee and their staffs.

The bad news is this is just the first step in the process. Members of  the Reptile Nation should be jubilant with this victory. However, our success should be measured, because the proponents of HR 669 will be back soon with another version of the same legislation. They will not rest, so we must not rest either.

Take satisfaction in a job well done and a victory well deserved, but know we all must rise up again to fight on because the battle has just begun!" 

[Southern_Boa_Gurl]

Woohooo that's awesome!!!!

[Duff]

Definitely great news to read!