Cockfighting bill stalls in House

The bill has already passed in the Senate.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A cockfighting bill aimed at stemming the spread of bird flu to the United States has stalled despite support from the Bush administration and the poultry industry.
The bill targets trade from Southeast Asia, where cockfighting is suspected of spreading bird flu from chickens to humans. The measure would increase penalties for transporting fighting birds across state lines and from other countries.
But the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has not brought the bill, which has passed the Senate, to a vote. Cockfighting is banned in every state except Louisiana and New Mexico.
"That's a bit of a stretch to say that the animal-fighting bill should be an important part of any avian flu efforts," said Jeff Lungren, spokesman for Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.
Issues such as the Patriot Act and immigration have kept the committee busy, Lungren said, who played down the idea that the bill would do much to keep bird flu from reaching the United States.
Yet Agriculture Department officials have made just that case.
More ability to protect
Last year, then-Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman said the bill would enhance the department's ability to protect U.S. poultry against avian flu and other diseases.
Her successor, Mike Johanns, expressed support for the bill during his confirmation hearings. He told Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., that it would help deter cockfighting, which "could play a role in the introduction and spread of exotic poultry diseases."
Johanns also said the bill made sense from an "animal welfare standpoint."
President Bush has made the fight against bird flu a priority, asking Congress for $7.1 billion to help the country prepare for a possible pandemic.
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