Silver Spring resident Sally Tom says she’s grown tired of watching the local pet supply store where she works regularly throw away around 50 pounds of usable pet food per day because of expired sell-by dates, damage in transit, or customer returns.
Tom, a former lobbyist and longtime pet owner, decided to try to put an end to the practice by store owners who fear legal repercussions in the event of a pet getting sick from donated food. She presented the issue to her congressional representative, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Dist. 8) of Takoma Park.
That lead to Raskin’s sponsorship of the BARK Act, which would eliminate potential liability for pet stores that want to donate food and supplies that still are usable but no longer can be sold to animal shelters and rescue organizations.
“I’m quite accustomed to relying on my constituents for great legislative ideas, and it often comes from their own personal experience” Raskin told Bethesda Today on Tuesday morning.
Tom said she had met Raskin years earlier while he was campaigning for a Senate seat in the Maryland General Assembly.
Raskin served in the state Senate for almost 10 years, before his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2017.
“When his campaign workers went door to door in his Senate district, one of the things that they did was they handed out little packets of dog treats. So I knew that he definitely was a fan of animals,” Tom said.
Tom, who has also volunteered at animal welfare organizations including the Humane Rescue Alliance, didn’t just bring the issue to Raskin, she suggested a solution.
She said she found out through research that the issue of food waste had already been addressed, but only for humans. The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act of 1996 protects grocery stores and other individuals from liability when they are donating food to those in need in good faith.
Tom said she suggested in February 2020 that Raskin could sponsor equivalent legislation pertaining to pet food for animals and he quickly agreed.
This third time that the bill has been introduced, but both Tom and Raskin say there is much more positive momentum around it this time, with sponsorships from prominent animal rights organizations such as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The first two times, the bill didn’t get to a vote.
“It’s a win-win position,” Raskin said Tuesday. “We have two dogs in our nuclear family right now, but we have six or seven dogs in our extended family.”
Raskin co-sponsored the bill with Republican Rep. Young Kim of California in the House of Representatives, while Sens. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, a Democrat, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a Republican, have introduced equivalent legislation in the Senate. The bills would change the current laws regarding liability but would not require any spending or allocation of money from taxpayers or the federal government.
Raskin, whose district covers a majority of Montgomery County, hopes the legislation can send a message that bipartisan work is possible in the current polarized political climate.
“Sometimes it seems like our politics are frozen and we are in a constant oppositional mode,” Raskin said. “It feels very good to be working on a bill that can bring people together across party lines.”
“It’s moving swiftly, but there are always potholes in the legislative process,” Raskin said. “I would be thrilled if we could get it done this year.”
Tom said she’s happy that a frustrating experience at her day job could result in a new law impacting animal welfare.
“It feels wonderful,” Tom said. “I’m very excited about the enthusiasm for this bill.”
