The Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2014 (; ) is a United States public law that amends the

Controlled Substances Act The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is the statute establishing federal government of the United States, federal drug policy of the United States, U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of ...

to clarify that

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

s are not required to have separate registrations to dispense

controlled substances A controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession and use is regulated by a government, such as illicitly used drugs or prescription medications that are designated by law. Some treaties, notably the Single ...

outside of their principal place of business, such as when treating animals on a

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

. The bill was introduced into the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

during the

113th United States Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Presidency of Barack Obama, Barack Obama's presiden ...

. It was signed into law on August 1, 2014 by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

Background

According to the

American Veterinary Medical Association The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is an American not-for-profit association founded in 1863 that represents more than 105,000 veterinarians. The AVMA provides information resources, continuing education opportunities, publicat ...

, veterinarians need to take controlled substances that are "vital medications that can provide pain management, anesthesia or euthanasia" to sites other than their offices in order to treat animals on location. Some veterinarians received letters from the

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit Illegal drug trade, drug trafficking a ...

stating that when they traveled with these drugs, they were violating the law.

Provisions of the bill

''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the

Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...

, a

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

source.'' The Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2014 would amend the

to prohibit a veterinarian who is registered to manufacture or distribute controlled substances from being required to have a separate registration in order to transport and dispense controlled substances in the usual course of veterinary practice at a site other than such veterinarian's principal place of business or professional practice, as long as the dispensing site is located in a state where the veterinarian is licensed to practice.

Congressional Budget Office report

''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the

Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. I ...

, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on April 3, 2014. This is a

source.'' Current law requires persons who distribute controlled substances to register with the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

; a separate registration is required for each principal place of business or professional practice. H.R. 1528 would clarify that veterinarians are not required to have separate registrations to dispense controlled substances outside of their principal place of business—when treating animals on a

, for example—if the use of these substances is required in the usual course of veterinary practice in a state where the veterinarian is licensed to practice. The

(CBO) expects that implementing H.R. 1528 would not change the number of registrations by veterinarians or significantly affect spending by the Department of Justice. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore,

pay-as-you-go Pay as you go or PAYG may refer to: Finance * Pay-as-you-go tax, or pay-as-you-earn tax * Pay-as-you-go pension plan * PAYGO, the practice in the US of financing expenditures with current funds rather than borrowing * PAUG, a structured financial ...

procedures do not apply. H.R. 1528 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA''(pdf)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-1995-title2/html/USCODE-1995-title2-chap25.htm (text)] restricts the federal government of the United States, federal imposition of unfunded mandate ...

and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.

Procedural history

The Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2014 was introduced into the

on April 12, 2013 by Kurt Schrader, Rep. Kurt Schrader (D, OR-5). It was coauthored by Rep.

Ted Yoho Theodore Scott Yoho ( ; born April 13, 1955) is an American politician, veterinarian, and businessman, who served as the U.S. representative from from 2013 until 2021. He is a member of the Republican Party. In the 2012 Republican primary el ...

(R-FL); Schrader and Yoho are both veterinarians. The bill was referred to the

United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committee (United States Congress), standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name chang ...

, the

United States House Committee on the Judiciary The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, f ...

, the

United States House Energy Subcommittee on Health The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health is a subcommittee within the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Committee on Energy and Commerce. Jurisdiction The House Subcommittee on Health has general ju ...

, and the

United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations The Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance is a subcommittee within the House Judiciary Committee. It was previously known as the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. Jurisdiction The Federal Criminal Code, th ...

. The bill was reported (amended) on May 20, 2014 alongsid
House Report 113-457 part 1
The House voted on July 8, 2014 to pass the bill in a

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...

. The Senate voted on July 16, 2014 to pass the bill with

unanimous consent In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a propo ...

. President

signed the bill into law on August 1, 2014.

Debate and discussion

The

lobbied in favor of the bill, arguing that "the CSA must be amended so that our nation's animals do not suffer unnecessarily." The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association (HSVMA) supported the bill, arguing that the Drug Enforcement Agency's decision to interpret the Controlled Substances Act as prohibiting veterinarians from traveling with controlled substances was a "critical problem." According to the HSVMA, veterinarians who "perform much-needed mobile veterinary services and house-calls including at-home euthanasia, mobile spay/neuter clinics, on-site care on rural ranches and other agricultural facilities, rescue and relocation of wild animals, disaster response, triage in cruelty cases, and disease control and abatement response" need to be able to travel with the controlled substances they use in those tasks. The

Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) represents colleges and schools of veterinary medicine in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It advocates for issues related to veterinary medical education, oversees the ...

(AAVMC) was also in favor of the legislation, arguing that "it is imperative veterinarians be able to legally transport controlled substances to the location of the animal patient, not only for animal health and welfare, but for public safety." The bill was supported by "over 130 organizations, including all 50 state veterinary medical associations."

References

External links

Library of Congress - Thomas H.R. 1528beta.congress.gov H.R. 1528GovTrack.us H.R. 1528OpenCongress.org H.R. 1528Congressional Budget Office's report on H.R. 1528House Report 113-457 part 1 on H.R. 1528
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2014 (H.R. 1528 113th Congress) United States federal agriculture legislation United States federal controlled substances legislation Acts of the 113th United States Congress Controlled Substances Act Veterinary medicine in the United States