This is Steve King , U.S. Congressman, Ted Cruz right hand man in Iowa. Best pals, even hunting buddies.He is the U.S. representative for Iowa's 4th congressional district, serving in congress since 2003.Steve King voted against the Farm Bill(which passed without his support) put forth by the HSUS. The farm bill contained many laws concerning animal welfare.Specifically he was against the "Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act". It makes it a federal felony to knowingly bring a minor under the age of 16 to a dogfight or cockfight, punishable by up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and a federal misdemeanor to knowingly attend a fight as a spectator, punishable by up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.Since 2008 it has been a federal felony to sponsor, exhibit, buy, sell, deliver, possess, train or transport an animal for participation in an animal fighting venture. This crime is punishable by a term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of $250,000.What has been happening is when animal fights fights are raided the participants disappear into the crowd...making themselves one of the spectators. There were no laws to address this loophole allowing fighters to escape with no arrest or misdemeanor citations.If you believe that the United States should legalize dogfighting because we allow humans to fight, fear not. You’ve got an ally in the United States Congress.During a tele-townhall late last week, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) fielded a question about his opposition to animal rights and recently introduced thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/07/18/540441/republican-bill- that would undermine local standards preventing animal torture. “It’s wrong to rate animals above human beings,” he told the questioner. To make his point, King argued that “there’s something wrong” for society to make it a “federal crime to watch animals fight” but “it’s not a federal crime to induce somebody to watch people fighting.”KING: When the legislation that passed in the farm bill that says that it’s a federal crime to watch animals fight or to induce someone else to watch an animal fight but it’s not a federal crime to induce somebody to watch people fighting, there’s something wrong with the priorities of people that think like that.King did not say whether it was also hypocritical that society allows people to get married yet not animals.Of course, there is a very good reason we ban dogfighting and other similar forms of cruelty: animals don’t have a choice in the matter. Manny Pacquiao chooses to step into the ring. Michael Vick’s dogs did not. Similarly, when a human boxer loses a fight, he is not ritually executed after the fight. The same is not always true in dogfighting.Unfortunately, King is a hsus.typepad.com/files/king-record-on-animal-welfare.pdf for legalizing dogfighting, cockfighting, and other forms of animal torture. Most recently, he fought hsus.typepad.com/files/king-record-on-animal-welfare.pdf that would make it illegal to bring a child to an animal fight. He has also thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/07/14/516799/republican-cong his love for states’ rights in order to forbid localities from enacting anti-animal torture standards.