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[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1453 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1453

    To prohibit the regulation by the Secretary of Health and Human 
 Services and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs of any activities of 
  sponsors or sponsorship programs connected with, or any advertising 
 used or purchased by, the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association, its 
agents or affiliates, or any other professional rodeo association, and 
                          for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 7, 1995

Mr. Burns (for himself, Mr. Craig, Mr. Reid, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Bryan, and 
  Mr. Inhofe) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To prohibit the regulation by the Secretary of Health and Human 
 Services and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs of any activities of 
  sponsors or sponsorship programs connected with, or any advertising 
 used or purchased by, the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association, its 
agents or affiliates, or any other professional rodeo association, and 
                          for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Rodeo Freedom Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) professional rodeo is an important and popular 
        spectator sport that is attended by an estimated 18,000,000 
        American adults annually across the United States and 
        particularly in the Western and Southwestern regions;
            (2) in the Western and Southwestern regions, the sport of 
        rodeo has a long and interesting history and therefore, is of 
        great cultural and social significance to such States;
            (3) the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association has 10,000 
        members and sponsors approximately 800 rodeos in 46 States 
        every year;
            (4) because of its cultural associations with the Western 
        and Southwestern regions of the United States, the rodeo is an 
        important attraction for domestic and foreign tourism to those 
        regions;
            (5) the professional rodeo and the support industries 
        associated with professional rodeo generate substantial 
        economic activity in host communities and are significant 
        sources of income, economic security, employment, recreation, 
        and enjoyment for Americans;
            (6) the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association enjoys the 
        freedom to choose the sponsors or sponsorship programs 
        associated with the rodeos of the association;
            (7) the sponsors or sponsorship programs associated with 
        the rodeos of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association assist 
        in sustaining the sport of rodeo and in making such sport 
        affordable and accessible to millions of adult rodeo fans 
        across America;
            (8) despite the enjoyment that millions of Americans derive 
        from watching rodeo events, and the importance of such events 
        to the economies of the Western and Southwestern regions and of 
        the United States, Federal agencies other than the Federal 
        Trade Commission have proposed restrictions upon the activities 
        of sponsors, sponsorship programs, or advertising connected 
        with rodeo events; and
            (9) such restrictions, if adopted will--
                    (A) jeopardize the continued financial viability of 
                professional rodeos;
                    (B) result in a considerable financial loss to 
                tourism and other related industries;
                    (C) interfere with the enjoyment of rodeo events by 
                millions of American adults who attend rodeos annually; 
                and
                    (D) impose unconstitutional limitations on both 
                commercial speech and the freedom of association of the 
                membership of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys 
                Association.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION.

    The Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Commissioner of 
Food and Drugs shall have no authority under the Federal Food, Drug, 
and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) to regulate--
            (1) activities of sponsors or sponsorship programs 
        connected with--
                    (A) the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association or 
                its activities or events; or
                    (B) any other professional rodeo association or the 
                agents or affiliates of such association or the 
                activities or events of such association, agents, or 
                affiliates; or
            (2) advertising that is used or purchased by, or that is in 
        connection with--
                    (A) the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association or 
                its activities or events; or
                    (B) any other professional rodeo association or the 
                agents or affiliates of such association or the 
                activities or events of such association, agents, or 
                affiliates.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect as if enacted on August 10, 1995.
                                 <all>
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