Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) proposed renaming a Republican bill against the harming of service animals after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who admitted that she shot a puppy to death.
During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Goldman addressed the "Bill to Outlaw Wounding of Official Working Animals Act" sponsored by Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA).
As written, the bill would declare that "any alien" is deportable or inadmissible to the country if they admit or are convicted of harming animals used in law enforcement.
Goldman sought to remind his colleagues that the woman in charge of deportations was an admitted puppy killer.
"I am strongly against anyone assaulting dogs," Goldman said. "But I really want to know how, if at all, it would apply to Cabinet members who have admitted that they have shot and killed a dog. Is it only at the port of entry, or is this just broadly against any assault on dogs?"
"And so this renaming, I think, would really capture the true essence of the bill, which is that we really don't want anybody to kill dogs, especially the Secretary of Homeland Security," he continued. "And so I would urge my colleagues to support this amendment that would rename the bill the Kristi Nome K-9 Relief Act of 2025."
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) urged his colleagues to vote against Goldman's amendment.
"If you're gonna kick a dog because it's simply trying to investigate whether you're carrying contraband and doing the job at a port of entry, then you've already shown that you are not fit to come into our country based on our rules," Issa said. "And for that reason, I oppose any changing of the name that would distract from the obvious goal that the gentleman wrote this bill for, which is to protect the law enforcement people and their service animals from the kind of attacks we saw here."
