Letters: Readers discuss Pat Roberts looking out for animals and POTUS tweets

Kudos to Roberts

I wish to thank Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts for his terrific work for mainstream animal welfare reforms in the recent Farm Bill that Congress passed overwhelmingly. It contains three key provisions that will affect millions of animal lives:

▪ PAWS, the Pet and Women Safety Act, which provides critical protections for pets of domestic violence victims and establishes a grant program to allow more shelters to accommodate pets;

▪ The Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act, which prevents dogs and cats from being slaughtered for human consumption in the United States;

▪ PACE, the Parity in Animal Cruelty Enforcement Act, which restricts animal fighting in U.S. territories.

I especially applaud Roberts’ tremendous efforts to ensure the PAWS Act provision was included in the bill. The final Farm Bill also jettisoned the dangerous amendment from Iowa Rep. Steve King that would have upended many state agriculture and animal protection laws. We are grateful it was removed.

Roberts deserves credit for helping to pass bipartisan legislation that aids agriculture and advances animal welfare.

Marty Irby

Executive Director

Animal Wellness Action

Washington, D.C.

Work cut out

First on the congressional agenda in Washington, D.C., in January: legislation to prevent the president of the United States from using a smartphone for reasons of national security. “Her emails” pale compared to “his tweets” in betraying the American people.

Barbara Loots

Kansas City