The Post and Courier
U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace, Jim Clyburn, and Tom Rice Applauded for Backing Big Cat Public Safety Act
CHARLESTON, SC - With the support of the national law enforcement, animal welfare, and conservation and mainstream zoological communities, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act, H.R. 263, on Friday by a vote of 278 to 134. H.R. 263 was introduced by bipartisan Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Mike Quigley, R-Ill., and was actively supported on the floor by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-Mt. Pleasant, who was a cosponsor of the bill and voted in support of the measure. Rep. Tom Rice, who represents Myrtle Beach, where one of the last 'cub petting' operations in the U.S. exists, voted in support of the measure as well as Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-Charleston, who whipped the entire Democrat Conference into voting in support of the bill. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill, was a cosponsor of the bill but abstained from the vote.