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The Big Cat Public Safety Act

Making Progress in Congress

June 11, 2018

THIS POST CONTAINS OUTDATED INFORMATION – PLEASE VISIT www.tcwr.org/advoacy FOR UPDATED INFORMATION ABOUT THE BIG CAT PUBLIC SAFETY ACT. The Big Cat Public Safety Act was reintroduced in the 117th session as H.R. 263.

Creating change in the lives of big cats across the United States takes time, patience, and a lot of persistence. On June 5, 2018, the Big Cat Public Safety Act was introduced to the Senate and assigned bill number S. 2990. This is a large step forward for the Big Cat Public Safety Act. For the bill to pass it must be approved by both the House and the Senate before being put on the President’s desk to be signed.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act – S. 2990 was presented to the Senate by Connecticut’s Senior Senator Richard Blumenthal and co-sponsored by five other Senators; Senator Kristen Gillbrand (NY), Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA), Senator Edward Markey (MA), Senator Jack Reed (RI), and Senator Bernie Sanders (VT). After being read twice it was sent to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. It has yet to be assigned to a subcommittee but this should happen shortly. This means that the bill already has 6% of the Senate’s support, it will need 51% to pass.

The bill will run concurrently in the House of Representatives and the Senate so that it has a better chance of becoming a law. The bill must be passed before January 3, 2019, when the 115th session of Congress ends. Having the bill run in both the House of Representatives and the Senate at the same time will make the most out of the remaining time.

The bill has yet to pass in the House of Representatives, but we are seeing some major progress there. H.R. 1818 currently has 131 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, that is over 30% of the 435 members of the House! For a bill to pass it needs 218 votes 50.11%. But for the bill to even be voted on it needs to move from subcommittee to the floor. With your help, we could get the bill passed in the House soon. 

The supporters of The Big Cat Public Safety Act have done amazing things! Getting 30% of the House and introducing the bill to the Senate took a lot of support, but we aren’t done yet! Please continue to reach out to your Congressmen about The Big Cat Public Safety Act. Our Advocacy page has been updated to now include Senators. If you’ve already sent a message to your House Reps. we are asking that you send a message again to stress the importance of The Big Cat Public Safety Act, and also send a message to your Senators.

It is only with your help that we can make a major change in the lives of ALL big cats across the United States of America. We can change the world one paw step at a time. Help us, help them and send an email today. You can also share links on social media and encourage your friends and family to also reach out to their congressmen. You can make a difference in the lives of big cats TODAY!

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