Today, U.S. Representative John Rose (TN-06) voiced his strong opposition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) finalized regulation, which would unnecessarily decimate the Tennessee Walking Horse industry.

U.S. Representative John Rose released the following statement:

“President Biden has severely damaged the Tennessee Walking Horse industry and those who work in it,” said Rep. Rose. “Implementing this regulation is a slap in the face of all those that love and cherish Tennessee Walking Horses. Once again, President Biden has chosen to use an executive order to bypass the normal legislative process to enact rules that otherwise could not gain the support necessary to be passed into law.”

Background:

Rep. Rose has led the effort in Congress to defend the Tennessee Walking Horse industry and put in place practical protections. He spoke on the House Floor against the “PAST Act,” which places unreasonable burdens on Tennessee Walking Horse exhibitors, and in support of the “Protecting Horses from Soaring Act,” which gives state officials and industry and equine experts the authority to ensure consistent oversight of inspections instead of expanding the federal government’s costly and counterproductive intrusion.

In September of 2023, Rep. Rose led a letter to USDA’s APHIS requesting a 60-day extension for the proposed rule and outlined why more time was critical to ensure the most comprehensive and focused comments were submitted to APHIS for review. USDA responded to Rep. Rose’s letter one day ahead of the October 20th deadline, stating the deadline would not be extended. Rep. Rose blasted this response in a press release.

Since then, Rep. Rose has worked with Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to inform them of the dangerous implications this proposed rule would have on the walking horse industry and its people.

The APHIS rule can be found here.