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H.R. 1518: PAST Act

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H.R. 1518: PAST Act

113th Congress · introduced 2013-04-11 · Animals · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2013-04-11 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Whitfield, Ed [R-KY-1] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

PAST Act

Plain summary

Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2013 or the PAST Act - Amends the Horse Protection Act (HPA) to replace the Designated Qualified Persons program responsible for inspecting horses for soring with a new inspection system. (The soring of horses is any of various actions taken on a horse's limb to produce a higher gait that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness.) Directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prescribe regulatory requirements to license, train, assign, and oversee persons who are to be hired by the management of horse shows, exhibitions, sales, or auctions and are qualified to detect and diagnose sore horses or otherwise inspect horses at such events. Prohibits issuing a license to any person unless such person is free from conflicts of interest. Authorizes USDA to revoke a license for unsatisfactory performance. Requires USDA to give a preference to persons who are licensed or accredited veterinarians in issuing the licenses. Requires USDA to assign USDA-licensed inspectors after receiving notice that management intends to hire the inspectors. Directs an inspector to issue a citation for violations and notify USDA of the violations within five days of the citation being issued. Requires USDA to: (1) publish on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's website information on violations of such Act; and (2) disqualify a horse that is sore for specified time periods that increase after the first, second, and third instance. Prohibits a person in any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction from causing or directing a horse to become sore for the purpose of showing, exhibiting, selling, auctioning, or offering for sale the horse. Prohibits showing, exhibiting, selling, or auctioning a Tennessee Walking, a Racking, or a Spotted Saddle horse with: (1) an action device that causes friction by rotating around a horse's leg or sliding up and down the leg or strikes the hoof, coronet band, fetlock joint, or pastern of the horse; or (2) a weighted shoe, pad, wedge, hoof band, or other device or material if it is constructed to artificially alter a horse's gait and is not strictly protective or therapeutic. Increases the maximum criminal penalties and maximum civil liability penalties for certain HPA violations. Authorizes USDA to disqualify a violator from: (1) transporting or arranging for the transportation of a horse to or from a show, exhibition, sale, or auction; (2) personally giving instructions to an exhibitor; or (3) being knowingly present in a warm-up area, inspection area, or other area that spectators are not permitted. Permits USDA to permanently disqualify a person with at least three violations after notice and an opportunity for a hearing.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

PAST Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Whitfield, Ed [R-KY-1] · 307 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Dina Titus (D-NV), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Adam Smith (D-WA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Scott H. Peters (D-CA), Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), James A. Himes (D-CT), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), William R. Keating (D-MA) and 247 more.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong113-hr1518 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113