II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4004 

To amend the Horse Protection Act to designate additional unlawful acts 

under the Act, strengthen penalties for violations of the Act, improve 

Department of Agriculture enforcement of the Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 20, 2024 

Mr. CRAPO (for himself, Mr. WARNER, Mr. DAINES, Mr. KAINE, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. 

BROWN, Ms. BUTLER, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CASEY, Mr. 

COONS, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. 

FETTERMAN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. 

HICKENLOOPER, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. KING, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LUJA ́N, 

Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. OSSOFF, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. PETERS, Mr. REED, Ms. ROSEN, 

Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. SMITH, 

Ms. STABENOW, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WARNOCK, Ms. WARREN, Mr. 

WELCH, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. SCHUMER) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend the Horse Protection Act to designate additional 

unlawful acts under the Act, strengthen penalties for 

violations of the Act, improve Department of Agriculture 

enforcement of the Act, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prevent All Soring 

3 Tactics Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘PAST Act of 2024’’. 

4 SEC. 2. INCREASED ENFORCEMENT UNDER HORSE PRO5 TECTION ACT. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Horse Protection 

7 Act (15 U.S.C. 1821) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 

9 and (4) as paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5), respec10 tively; 

11 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so re12 designated) the following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(1)(A) The term ‘action device’ means any 

14 boot, collar, chain, roller, or other device that encir15 cles or is placed upon the lower extremity of the leg 

16 of a horse in such a manner that it can— 

17 ‘‘(i) rotate around the leg or slide up and 

18 down the leg, so as to cause friction; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) strike the hoof, coronet band, fetlock 

20 joint, or pastern of the horse. 

21 ‘‘(B) Such term does not include soft rubber or 

22 soft leather bell boots or quarter boots that are used 

23 as protective devices.’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

25 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(6)(A) The term ‘participate’ means engaging 

2 in any activity with respect to a horse show, horse 

3 exhibition, or horse sale or auction, including— 

4 ‘‘(i) transporting or arranging for the 

5 transportation of a horse to or from a horse 

6 show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction; 

7 ‘‘(ii) personally giving instructions to an 

8 exhibitor; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) being knowingly present in a warm10 up area, inspection area, or other area at a 

11 horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or 

12 auction that spectators are not permitted to 

13 enter. 

14 ‘‘(B) Such term does not include spectating.’’. 

15 (b) FINDINGS.—Section 3 of the Horse Protection 

16 Act (15 U.S.C. 1822) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘and soring horses for 

19 such purposes’’ after ‘‘horses in intrastate com20 merce’’; and 

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘in many ways, including 

22 by creating unfair competition, by deceiving the 

23 spectating public and horse buyers, and by neg24 atively impacting horse sales’’ before the semi25 colon; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (3) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

5 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

6 paragraphs: 

7 ‘‘(6) the Inspector General of the Department 

8 of Agriculture has determined that the program 

9 through which the Secretary inspects horses is inad10 equate for preventing soring; 

11 ‘‘(7) historically, Tennessee Walking Horses, 

12 Racking Horses, and Spotted Saddle Horses have 

13 been subjected to soring; and 

14 ‘‘(8) despite regulations in effect related to in15 spection for purposes of ensuring that horses are not 

16 sore, violations of this Act continue to be prevalent 

17 in the Tennessee Walking Horse, Racking Horse, 

18 and Spotted Saddle Horse breeds.’’. 

19 (c) HORSE SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS.—Section 4 of 

20 the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1823) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘appointed’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘licensed’’; and 

24 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

25 sentences: ‘‘In the first instance in which the 


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1 Secretary determines that a horse is sore, the 

2 Secretary shall disqualify the horse from being 

3 shown or exhibited for a period of not less than 

4 180 days. In the second instance in which the 

5 Secretary determines that such horse is sore, 

6 the Secretary shall disqualify the horse for a 

7 period of not less than one year. In the third 

8 instance in which the Secretary determines that 

9 such horse is sore, the Secretary shall disqualify 

10 the horse for a period of not less than three 

11 years.’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘appointed’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘licensed’’; 

14 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

15 following new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(c)(1)(A) The Secretary shall prescribe by regula17 tion requirements for the Department of Agriculture to 

18 license, train, assign, and oversee persons qualified to de19 tect and diagnose a horse which is sore or to otherwise 

20 inspect horses at horse shows, horse exhibitions, or horse 

21 sales or auctions, for hire by the management of such 

22 events, for the purposes of enforcing this Act. 

23 ‘‘(B) No person shall be issued a license under this 

24 subsection unless such person is free from conflicts of inVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Apr 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4004.IS S4004

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1 terest, as defined by the Secretary in the regulations 

2 issued under subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(C) If the Secretary determines that the perform4 ance of a person licensed in accordance with subparagraph 

5 (A) is unsatisfactory, the Secretary may, after notice and 

6 an opportunity for a hearing, revoke the license issued to 

7 such person. 

8 ‘‘(D) In issuing licenses under this subsection, the 

9 Secretary shall give a preference to persons who are li10 censed or accredited veterinarians. 

11 ‘‘(E) Licensure of a person in accordance with the 

12 requirements prescribed under this subsection shall not be 

13 construed as authorizing such person to conduct inspec14 tions in a manner other than that prescribed for inspec15 tions by the Secretary (or the Secretary’s representative) 

16 under subsection (e). 

17 ‘‘(2)(A) Not later than 30 days before the date on 

18 which a horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auc19 tion begins, the management of such show, exhibition, or 

20 sale or auction may notify the Secretary of the intent of 

21 the management to hire a person or persons licensed 

22 under this subsection and assigned by the Secretary to 

23 conduct inspections at such show, exhibition, or sale or 

24 auction. 


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1 ‘‘(B) After such notification, the Secretary shall as2 sign a person or persons licensed under this subsection 

3 to conduct inspections at the horse show, horse exhibition, 

4 or horse sale or auction. 

5 ‘‘(3) A person licensed by the Secretary to conduct 

6 inspections under this subsection shall issue a citation 

7 with respect to any violation of this Act recorded during 

8 an inspection and notify the Secretary of each such viola9 tion not later than five days after the date on which a 

10 citation was issued with respect to such violation.’’; and 

11 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub12 section: 

13 ‘‘(f) The Secretary shall publish on the public website 

14 of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the 

15 Department of Agriculture, and update as frequently as 

16 the Secretary determines is necessary, information on vio17 lations of this Act for the purposes of allowing the man18 agement of a horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale 

19 or auction to determine if an individual is in violation of 

20 this Act.’’. 

21 (d) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—Section 5 of the Horse Pro22 tection Act (15 U.S.C. 1824) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘or (C) respecting’’ and in25 serting ‘‘(C), or (D) respecting’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘and (D)’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘(D) causing a horse to become sore or direct3 ing another person to cause a horse to become 

4 sore for the purpose of showing, exhibiting, sell5 ing, auctioning, or offering for sale the horse in 

6 any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale 

7 or auction, and (E)’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘appoint’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘hire’’; 

10 (3) in paragraph (4)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘appoint’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘hire’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘qualified’’; 

14 (4) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘appointed’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘hired’’; 

16 (5) in paragraph (6)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘appointed’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘hired’’; and 

19 (B) by inserting ‘‘that the horse is sore’’ 

20 after ‘‘the Secretary’’; and 

21 (6) by adding at the end the following new 

22 paragraphs: 

23 ‘‘(12) The use of an action device on any limb 

24 of a Tennessee Walking Horse, a Racking Horse, or 


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1 a Spotted Saddle Horse at a horse show, horse exhi2 bition, or horse sale or auction. 

3 ‘‘(13) The use of a weighted shoe, pad, wedge, 

4 hoof band, or other device or material at a horse 

5 show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction 

6 that— 

7 ‘‘(A) is placed on, inserted in, or attached 

8 to any limb of a Tennessee Walking Horse, a 

9 Racking Horse, or a Spotted Saddle Horse; 

10 ‘‘(B) is constructed to artificially alter the 

11 gait of such a horse; and 

12 ‘‘(C) is not strictly protective or thera13 peutic in nature.’’. 

14 (e) VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES.—Section 6 of the 

15 Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1825) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘Except as provided in 

19 paragraph (2) of this subsection, any per20 son who knowingly violates section 5’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘Any person who knowingly vio22 lates section 5 or the regulations issued 

23 under such section, including any violation 

24 recorded during an inspection conducted in 

25 accordance with section 4(c) or 4(e)’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘more than $3,000, or 

2 imprisoned for not more than one year, or 

3 both.’’ and inserting ‘‘more than $5,000, 

4 or imprisoned for not more than three 

5 years, or both, for each such violation.’’; 

6 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

7 (i) by striking subparagraph (A); 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘(2)’’; and 

9 (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

10 (B) and (C) as paragraphs (2) and (3), re11 spectively, and moving the margins of such 

12 paragraphs (as so redesignated) two ems 

13 to the left; and 

14 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

15 paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(4) Any person who knowingly fails to obey an order 

17 of disqualification shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined 

18 not more than $5,000 for each failure to obey such an 

19 order, imprisoned for not more than three years, or both.’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (b)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘section 5 of this Act’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘section 5 or the regulations 

24 issued under such section’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘$2,000’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘$4,000’’; and 

3 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

4 paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(5) Any person who fails to pay a licensed inspector 

6 hired under section 4(c) shall, upon conviction thereof, be 

7 fined not more than $4,000 for each such violation.’’; and 

8 (3) in subsection (c)— 

9 (A) in the first sentence— 

10 (i) by inserting ‘‘, or otherwise partici11 pating in any horse show, horse exhibition, 

12 or horse sale or auction’’ before ‘‘for a pe13 riod of not less than one year’’; and 

14 (ii) by striking ‘‘any subsequent’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘the second’’; 

16 (B) by inserting before ‘‘Any person who 

17 knowingly fails’’ the following: ‘‘For the third 

18 or any subsequent violation, a person may be 

19 permanently disqualified by order of the Sec20 retary, after notice and an opportunity for a 

21 hearing before the Secretary, from showing or 

22 exhibiting any horse, judging or managing any 

23 horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or 

24 auction, or otherwise participating in, including 

25 financing the participation of other individuals 


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1 in, any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse 

2 sale or auction (regardless of whether walking 

3 horses are shown, exhibited, sold, auctioned, or 

4 offered for sale at the horse show, horse exhi5 bition, or horse sale or auction).’’; and 

6 (C) by striking ‘‘$3,000’’ each place it ap7 pears and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 

8 (f) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

10 Agriculture shall issue regulations to carry out the amend11 ments made by this section, including regulations pre12 scribing the requirements under subsection (c) of section 

13 4 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1823(c)), as 

14 amended by subsection (c)(3). 

15 (g) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this Act or 

16 any amendment made by this Act, or the application of 

17 a provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be 

18 unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the 

19 amendments made by this Act, and the application of the 

20 provisions to any person or circumstance, shall not be af21 fected by the holding. 

Æ 


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