PVA/Election-Candidate Information/2004/Federal

A Colorado
non-profit organization
advocating for animals
in the political arena

PVA 2004 Candidate Information
~ U.S. Congressional District 7 ~

This page contains candidate information about the candidates for U.S. Representative for Colorado Congressional District 7.

Highlights from this race:

The "Pro-Animal Pick" for this race is Dave Thomas (Democratic Party) because of his questionnaire response score of 84%. To volunteer to help his campaign, please call 303.232.2410.
Bob Beauprez (Republican Party) is the incumbent for this office. The current Congress (108th Congress) is still in progress, so we do not have a voting score for it. The Humane Society of the United States, along with the Fund for Animals, has prepared a mid-term scorecard for the 108th Congress, which you can see by visiting http://fund.org/uploads/HumaneScorecard2003.pdf. (Colorado legislator scores are on page 9.) Because of Representative Beauprez's poor voting record on animal issues during the current Congress, he receives a "Paws Down" from PVA.
All candidates in this race are listed below, along with their responses or a notation that they did not respond.

Notes:

Responses are given exactly as they were written. Spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors were not corrected.
PVA imposed a 25-word limit on comments because of space limitations; however, if a candidate exceeded this limit we did not cut the text off in mid-sentence. In any case where a candidate's comment is not shown in full, we have included a note to contact us for the full comment.
PVA's selections for "Pro-Animal Picks" and "Paws Down" candidates are based solely on the candidates' stances on animal-related issues.
Each candidate's party affiliation is indicated in parentheses immediately following his or her name below. Party abbreviations are as follows. "ACP" - American Constitution Party; "COPI" - Concerns of People, Inc. Party; "CRP" - Colorado Reform Party; "D" - Democratic Party; "G" - Green Party; "L" - Libertarian Party; "N" - Natural Law Party; "R" - Republican Party; "U" - Unaffiliated.

Candidate questionnaire scores

1a. Did you grow up with animals? Yes/No
1b. If so, what kind?

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

2a. Does your family have animals? Yes/No
2b. If so, what kind?

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes - Horses, Chickens, Turkeys, 2 Dogs, 2 Cats
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

The bills and resolutions referred to in the following questions are from the 108th (current) Congress. We thank the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for some of the legislation descriptions. For more information about any bill or resolution (including its complete text), please visit http://thomas.loc.gov.

3. The “Pet Safety and Protection Act” (S. 2346) would amend the Animal Welfare Act to ensure that all dogs and cats used by research facilities are obtained legally. Would you be likely to vote for this bill? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

4. The “Puppy Protection Act” (H.R. 3484) would crack down on chronic violators of humane standards and prevent relentless overbreeding by commercial dog breeders. Would you be likely to vote for this bill? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

5. The “American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act” (H.R. 857 & S. 2352) would prohibit the slaughter of horses for human consumption and prohibit the trade and transport of horseflesh and live horses intended for human consumption. Would you be likely to vote for this bill? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

6. The “Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act” (S. 736 & H.R. 1532) would authorize felony-level jail time for animal fighting, prohibit interstate commerce of cockfighting implements, and update provisions on animal seizure and disposition after arrests. Would you be likely to vote for this bill? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

7. Senate bill 1460 (S. 1460) and House bill 2932 (H.R. 2932) would curb overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture, which supports overcrowded and unsanitary conditions on factory farms and endangers public health. Would you be likely to vote for this bill? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

8. In response to the threat of “mad cow disease”, the USDA recently banned the slaughter of “downed” cattle (cattle who are unable to walk) for human consumption. The “Consumer and Producer Protection Act” (H.R. 4121) would weaken this ban to allow such slaughter if the reason for the animal’s inability to walk is “fatigue, stress, obdurator nerve paralysis, obesity, or one or more broken or fractured appendages, severed tendons or ligaments, or dislocated joints.” Would you be likely to vote for this bill? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

9. The “Downed Animal Protection Act” (H.R. 2519 & S. 1298) would end the use of certain nonambulatory livestock (cattle, sheep, swine, goats, or horses, mules, or other equines) in human food and require that these downed animals be humanely euthanized when presented at slaughter facilities. Would you be likely to vote for this bill? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

10. The “Truth in Tuna Labeling Act” (S. 130) would require that tuna labeled "dolphin safe" be from tuna fish caught without the deliberate harming, chasing, harassing, or netting of dolphins. Would you be likely to vote for this bill? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

11. House Concurrent Resolution 90 (H Con Res 90) would amend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to extend the hunting season for mourning doves into their nesting period. Would you be likely to vote for this resolution? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Undecided
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

12. The “Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act” (H.R. 3446) would encourage non-lethal management methods and create a moratorium on the killing of Yellowstone bison so they can freely roam federal public lands surrounding the park. Would you be likely to vote for this bill? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

13. H.R. 1800 would prohibit interstate commerce of steel-jaw leghold traps and interstate commerce of fur of animals caught with these devices. Would you be likely to vote for this bill? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

14. Senate Concurrent Resolution 55 (S Con Res 55) and House Concurrent Resolution 216 ( H Con Res 216) would oppose resumption of commercial whaling and express opposition to the killing of whales under the guise of "scientific research." Would you be likely to vote for this resolution? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

15. The “Don't Feed the Bears Act” (H.R. 1472) would prohibit the intentional feeding of bears on federal public lands in order to end the hunting practice known as "bear baiting" and reduce the number of dangerous interactions between people and bears. Would you be likely to vote for this bill? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

16. The “Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act of 2004” (H.R. 4114) would eliminate protections provided by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for 94 so-called "non-native" species of birds. This legislation would leave many species imperiled in the U.S. and around the world. Would you be likely to vote for this bill? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	No
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

17. The “Antifreeze Safety Act” (H.R. 1563) would require inclusion of a “bittering agent” in engine coolant and antifreeze. This would reduce the risk of poisoning of animals and children. Would you be likely to vote for this bill? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

18. Would you be willing to consider factual documentation from PVA on a given issue? Yes/No/Undecided

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Yes
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

Please add any other comments ...

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	None given
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

Candidate questionnaire scores

CD7	Clyde Harkins (ACP)	Did not respond
CD7	Dave Thomas (D)	Overall Questionnaire Response Score = 84%
CD7	Bob Beauprez (R)	Did not respond

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