Oregon Public Broadcasting

Wild horses in 10 states, including Oregon and Idaho, would get more room to roam and perhaps avoid the slaughterhouse under a bill approved Friday by the U.S. House.

But a Northwest congressman is using the bill to lampoon Democrats' spending priorities. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.

The target of Washington Republican Representative Doc Hastings' ire is the Restore Our Wild Mustangs Act.

The bill would allow the federal government to buy more land for wild horses to roam, instead of keeping them penned up until they can be sent for adoption or slaughtered.

Supporters say it's a humane way to manage the wild horse population.

But, in a speech on the House floor, Hastings called the bill a waste of money when the federal unemployment rate is 9.5 percent.

Doc Hastings: "Our country is in the middle of the worst recession in a half century. Over 14-and-a-half million Americans are unemployed and can't find jobs. How in the world can the Democrats in this Congress hold a vote on this bill?"

The House approved the bill 239-to-185.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would cost $200 million over the next five years and maybe another $500 million after that.