U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter [R-Mich.], has introduced legislation to create a tax deduction for pet owners’ expenses related to their pets.

According to the pet industry trade magazine, Pet Product News, McCotter, a Livonia Republican, introduced the legislation July 31 in conjunction with a Pet Product News survey on the industry.

The legislation is being supported by the lobbying arm of the pet industry, the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC).

According to the PPN story, the proposed legislation will amend the IRS code to allow pet owners to deduct up to $3,500 in pet related expenses, including veterinary care. [Emphasis added.]

As Heywood notes, McCotter is a vocal opponent of health care reforms for people currently being negotiated in Congress.

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Rep. Lamborn

WASHINGTON — Three Republican Congressmen last week launched a new caucus aimed at defending the nation against international treaties they see as threats to American rights and national interests. The so-called sovereignty movement has gained surprising momentum on the Hill recently and Lamborn’s new House caucus goes further in establishing its presence.

The Washington Independent reports the House Sovereignty Caucus is the brainchild of Lamborn, Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) and Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.).

The launch party was held June 24th, when dozens of Hill staffers, foreign policy experts, and old Washington hands made their way to the lower floor of the Capitol Visitors Center, a sprawling complex below the halls of Congress. Retired Lt. Col. Oliver North and former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith stopped by to make remarks and pose for photos. Patrick Henry College Chancellor Michael Farris made small talk near a table of fruits, vegetables and soft cheeses.

“I have said for years that we ought to get the U.S. out of the U.N. and the U.N. out of the U.S.,” said Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), addressing the crowd in an impromptu speech. “I’ll do everything I can in the Congress to maintain the U.S. as a sovereign nation, subservient to no one but the almighty God.”

A series of traffic delays meant that, Frank Gaffney, the president of the Center For Security Policy, was the last supporter of the new caucus to give a speech. He bemoaned the confirmation of Harold Koh as Legal Adviser to the State Department, an “enemy” of sovereignty, shortly after the Senate had agreed to move ahead to a vote on his nomination. But he was optimistic. “We may now have in the House a vehicle for keeping the so-called ‘Upper House’ more honest on these issues.”

Read more at TWI.