Michael Markarian

Congress made important progress last year addressing serious gaps in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's enforcement of key animal welfare laws by providing the agency much-needed funding to allow for better inspection programs. The USDA's own Inspector General had issued damning audits in late 2010 regarding the agency's...

A bipartisan group from Florida's congressional delegation is calling on President Obama to finalize a long-delayed rule barring the trade in dangerous giant snakes. A letter from U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and a House letter led by U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-16th, and co-signed by...

The House and Senate have passed different versions of the agriculture spending bill for 2012, and a conference committee of key lawmakers is now working to iron out the differences and pass a final bill in the coming days. One key issue to be decided is whether Congress...

It was headline news around the globe last week when Terry Thompson opened the cages at his private menagerie in Zanesville, Ohio, and then shot himself. Local responders combed the neighborhood with helicopters and infrared technology trying to track down the wild animals and protect the public. The...

Today the Obama Administration, admirably, issued two notices from two different federal agencies on new proposals to advance animal welfare. The first item, which you can read about on Wayne Pacelle's blog, is a positive finding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a petition filed by...

A few Missouri politicians are busy trying to repeal or dismantle Proposition B, the voter-approved Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, which sets humane standards for large-scale dog breeding operations. Prop B passed in a statewide vote -- and won majorities in most state Senate and state House districts....

I wrote in July about a misguided federal agency plan to transfer about 200 government-owned chimpanzees from a warehouse facility in New Mexico to an active research laboratory in Texas -- and now I can convey some good news on this front. Rene Romo of the...

Ever since Missouri citizens voted in favor of Proposition B -- the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act -- in November, a few politicians have been thumbing their noses at voters and talking about overturning the will of the people. One bill has already been pre-filed to repeal Prop...

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday gave final approval to H.R. 2480, the Truth in Fur Labeling Act, to provide a much-needed upgrade to the nearly 60-year-old federal fur labeling law. The House previously passed the bill in July, and it now goes to President Obama for his signature.

President Obama's bipartisan deficit-reduction commission is making recommendations for reducing the deficit, and here at The Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund we are proposing a few cost-cutting measures for lawmakers to consider in getting the country's budget back on...

The U.S. Senate is scheduled today to take up S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, introduced by Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and a bipartisan group of lawmakers, which would give the Food and Drug Administration new authorities and resources to stop food safety problems before...

It's been a year of one-two punches against the industry in our battle to knock out cockfighting. Two states--Arkansas and Kansas--passed laws to make cockfighting a felony, and other states enacted tougher penalties. HSUS and HSLF are on the march in the remaining states where cockfighting is still treated like...

Congress took two steps in recent days on animal issues, as part of its larger bills related to the Department of Defense and military spending. 

I wrote back in July about legislation introduced by Senators Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Representatives

There's no question that we as a society need to do more to help homeless dogs and cats find loving families, and we are even seeing the issue of pet adoption enter the public policy arena. In California, for example, Assemblyman Cameron Smyth (R-Santa Clarita) introduced a bill...

Virginia state Sen. Ken Cuccinelli may be one of the only elected officials in the country running for statewide office who is an apologist for staged animal fighting and has the record to prove it. He's running this November for attorney general in Virginia, yet he's soft on dogfighting and...

I met 14-year-old San Diego student Ben Byrom last year, when he was volunteering for the campaign to pass Proposition 2 and ban inhumane factory farming practices. Ben was too young to circulate petitions himself  because he wasn't a registered voter, but he helped his parents gather signatures...

Politico's Erika Lovley reported yesterday on a new study conducted by researchers at Stanford University and the University of Chicago, indicating that women in Congress tend to be more effective than male lawmakers. The study examined the performance of House members over two decades, and found that on...

The economic downturn is having ripple effects in nearly every part of American life, but the impact on animal shelters has been especially acute. Struggling families are relinquishing more dogs and cats to shelters, as they find they can no longer afford the costs of pet care, or they are...

How many times have you heard about a cruel or abusive practice involving animals, and wondered, "How can that be legal? Isn't there a law against that?"

Now, the Humane Society Legislative Fund has an opportunity for you to take your idea and help shape future public...

When Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell signed a bill yesterday -- surrounded by dogs and dog lovers -- to curb some of the worst puppy mill abuses, he knew he was taking a major step forward for man's best friend. What he probably didn't know was that his humane...