[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2547 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2547


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 27, 2017

    Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To expand the Department of Veterans Affairs medical professionals who 
 may qualify to perform physical examinations on eligible veterans and 
issue medical certificates required for operation of a commercial motor 
                    vehicle, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Expanded Trucking 
Opportunities Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. MEDICAL CERTIFICATE FOR VETERANS OPERATING COMMERCIAL MOTOR 
              VEHICLES.

    (a) Qualified Examiners.--Section 5403(d)(2) of the FAST Act (49 
U.S.C. 31149 note; 129 Stat. 1548) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) Qualified examiner.--The term `qualified examiner' 
        means an individual who--
                    ``(A) is employed in the Department of Veterans 
                Affairs as an advanced practice nurse, doctor of 
                chiropractic, doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathy, 
                physician assistant, or other medical professional;
                    ``(B) is licensed, certified, or registered in a 
                State to perform physical examinations;
                    ``(C) is familiar with the standards for, and 
                physical requirements of, an operator required to be 
                medically certified under section 31149 of title 49, 
                United States Code; and
                    ``(D) has never, with respect to such section, been 
                found to have acted fraudulently, including by 
                fraudulently awarding a medical certificate.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 5403 of the FAST Act (49 U.S.C. 
31149 note; 129 Stat. 1548) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``physician-approved veteran 
                operator,'' and inserting ``veteran operator approved 
                by a qualified examiner,''; and
                    (B) by striking ``qualified physician'' and 
                inserting ``qualified examiner'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(1)--
                    (A) by striking ``the physician'' and inserting 
                ``the examiner''; and
                    (B) by striking ``qualified physician'' and 
                inserting ``qualified examiner'';
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by striking ``qualified physicians'' and 
                inserting ``qualified examiners''; and
                    (B) by striking ``such physicians'' and inserting 
                ``such examiners''; and
            (4) in subsection (d)(1)--
                    (A) in the paragraph heading by striking 
                ``Physician-approved veteran operator'' and inserting 
                ``Veteran operator approved by a qualified examiner''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``physician-approved veteran 
                operator'' and inserting ``veteran operator approved by 
                a qualified examiner''.
    (c) Rulemaking.--The amendments made by this section shall be 
incorporated into any rulemaking proceeding related to section 5403 of 
the FAST Act (49 U.S.C. 31149 note; 129 Stat. 1548) that is being 
conducted as of the date of enactment of this Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives June 26, 2017.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.