[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 105 (Tuesday, July 8, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H5834-H5836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                VETERINARY MEDICINE MOBILITY ACT OF 2014

  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1528) to amend the Controlled Substances Act to allow a 
veterinarian to transport and dispense controlled substances in the 
usual course of veterinary practice outside of the registered location, 
as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1528

       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 ``Veterinary Medicine Mobility 
     Act of 2014''.

     SEC. 2. TRANSPORT AND DISPENSING OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES IN 
                   THE USUAL COURSE OF VETERINARY PRACTICE.

       Section 302(e) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
     822(e)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``(e)'' and inserting ``(e)(1)''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a registrant who is a 
     veterinarian shall not be 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 the registrant's registered principal place 
     of business or professional practice, so long as the site of 
     transporting and dispensing is located in a State where the 
     veterinarian is licensed to practice veterinary medicine and 
     is not a principal place of business or professional 
     practice.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?

[[Page H5835]]

  There was no objection.
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to include an exchange of 
letters between the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee 
on the Judiciary.

                                         House of Representatives,


                                   Committee on the Judiciary,

                                   Washington, DC, April 28, 2014.
     Hon. Fred Upton,
     Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Upton, On April 3, 2014, the Committee on 
     Energy and Commerce ordered reported H.R. 1528, the 
     ``Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2013.'' As you know, 
     the Committee on the Judiciary was given an additional 
     referral on this measure upon introduction. As a result of 
     your having consulted with the Judiciary Committee concerning 
     provisions of the bill that fall within our Rule X 
     jurisdiction, I too agree to discharge the Committee on the 
     Judiciary from further consideration of H.R. 1528.
       The Judiciary Committee takes this action with our mutual 
     understanding that, by foregoing consideration of H.R. 1528 
     at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over the 
     subject matter contained in this or similar legislation, and 
     that our committee will be appropriately consulted and 
     involved as the bill or similar legislation moves forward. 
     Our committee also reserves the right to seek appointment of 
     an appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate 
     conference involving this or similar legislation, and 
     requests your support for any such request.
       Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter 
     confirming this understanding with respect to H.R. 1528, and 
     would ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this 
     matter be included in the Congressional Record during 
     consideration of the legislation on the House floor.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Bob Goodlatte,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                             Committee on Energy and Commerce,

                                   Washington, DC, April 29, 2014.
     Hon. Bob Goodlatte,
     Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Goodlatte, Thank you for your letter 
     regarding H.R. 1528, the ``Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act 
     of 2013.'' As you noted, the Committee on the Judiciary was 
     given an additional referral on this measure upon 
     introduction.
       I appreciate your willingness to forgo action on H.R. 1528, 
     and I agree that your decision is not a waiver of any of the 
     Committee on the Judiciary's jurisdiction over the subject 
     matter contained in this or similar legislation, and that the 
     Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as the 
     bill or similar legislation moves forward. In addition, I 
     understand the Committee reserves the right to seek 
     appointment of an appropriate number of conferees to any 
     House-Senate conference involving this or similar 
     legislation, and you will have my support for any such 
     request.
       I will include a copy of your letter and this response in 
     the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 1528 on 
     the House floor.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Fred Upton,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1528, the Veterinary 
Medicine Mobility Act of 2014, introduced by Representative Kurt 
Schrader of Oregon.
  This is a commonsense bill that is supported by the veterinary 
community and will bring clarity to the sometimes conflicting guidance 
from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEA, relative to the 
Controlled Substances Act and the ability of a licensed veterinarian to 
transport and dispense controlled substances in the usual course of 
veterinary practice outside of the registered location. Simply put, the 
bill allows veterinarians to legally carry and dispense controlled 
substances in the field.
  This bill has a direct impact on my district--home of the University 
of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine, New Bolton Center. 
Vets are often required to provide ambulatory services in the field, 
especially in rural areas and for the care of large animals such as 
cows or horses. Sometimes it is not feasible for owners to bring the 
animals to a hospital or a clinic like New Bolton Center, and so vets 
provide essential house call visits.
  Clarification of the law is necessary to allow vets to transport, 
administer, and dispense controlled substances outside of their 
registered location whether to provide pain management, anesthesia, or 
euthanasia. Passage of this important legislation will allow 
veterinarians the complete ability to provide care to their animal 
patients beyond their clinics. This will protect the health and welfare 
of the Nation's animals, ensure public safety, and safeguard the 
Nation's food supply.
  A companion bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent on January 8, 
2014. H.R. 1528 includes 185 cosponsors and is supported by the 
American Veterinary Medical Association, the ASPCA, the American Animal 
Hospital Association, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, 
and a veterinary coalition coordinated by the AVMA of over 110 
organizations.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this important bipartisan 
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 1528, the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act.
  This bipartisan legislation will permit veterinarians to treat 
animals in the most appropriate setting. This is particularly important 
for veterinarians when responding to emergencies, treating livestock 
and wildlife, or working in rural areas.
  H.R. 1528 amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow veterinarians 
to legally carry and administer controlled substances in States in 
which they are licensed so they can provide care at the location of the 
animal patient.
  The Senate unanimously passed a companion bill, and I am pleased the 
House is voting on this important legislation. Veterinarians must be 
able to legally provide complete veterinary care in a way that best 
protects animal welfare and public safety.
  I would like to thank the sponsors, both Representative Kurt Schrader 
and Ted Yoho. I would also like to acknowledge the leadership of 
Chairman Upton, Chairman Pitts, Ranking Member Waxman, Ranking Member 
Pallone, and the work of the committee's staff in advancing this bill 
through the Energy and Commerce Committee and bringing it to the floor 
today.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1528, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Yoho), who is a veterinarian himself.
  Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in full support of H.R. 1528, the 
Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act.
  I want to thank my colleagues--Chairman Upton, Chairman Goodlatte, 
and Mr. Pitts--for helping to bring this important measure to the 
floor, and a special thank you to my friend and fellow vet, Kurt 
Schrader. I also want to thank the Senate for unanimously passing this 
important piece of legislation out of that Chamber.
  I spent over 30 years in the veterinary profession, and the passage 
of this bill will allow for the continued use of drugs necessary to 
perform the work we do for our four-legged patients. The animals I have 
helped on ranches and in the field have no voice of their own, and they 
require a certain degree of service that only veterinarians can 
provide.
  Vets must have the ability to treat animals on-site and in the field. 
Limit that ability and you hurt a profession, you cripple ranchers 
across the country, and, most of all, you unfairly restrict lifesaving 
treatments for the animals, the patients, who need them the most. 
Imagine what it would be if the cattle ranchers were required to bring 
their cattle in or the horse owners to bring their horse to the vet 
every time they needed services. It directly affects their patient and 
their livelihood.
  My friends, take it from me, I have practiced veterinary medicine in 
the field. If anything, we need more vets in the field, not less. This 
bill simply allows those in our profession to continue to do the 
lifesaving work that we were trained to do on the animals that so badly 
require it.
  Join me in voting for this commonsense measure.
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may 
consume to my colleague from Oregon, Congressman Schrader.
  Mr. SCHRADER. Mr. Speaker, this really was a truly bipartisan, 
bicameral effort, including, as you have already heard, an impressive 
coalition ranging from the American Farm Bureau and the ASPCA down to 
all 50 State veterinary medical associations.
  It is nice, I think the public should be reminded, that while we have 
great differences in this body on many issues, there are also a lot of 
issues we agree on. I think this first 6 months

[[Page H5836]]

has been a very productive session for this Congress, and this 
particular bill I think is noteworthy.
  It is a little bit of a shame we are actually here in the early 
stages of the Drug Enforcement Agency's efforts to control the 
distribution and abuse of controlled substances. They issued a very 
blanket type of rule that, unfortunately, scooped up veterinary 
medicine and animals. We have been able to avoid this issue for many, 
many years. It is one of those where for the last 100-150 years 
veterinarians have gone out to the farms and ranches--nowadays, even 
within the cities, going home to home with mobile veterinary clinics--
making sure those patients got the care with the appropriate medication 
that they deserve to be treated humanely.
  DEA, in its exuberance, unfortunately, was unwilling to grant a 
waiver, a commonsense waiver, administratively, and forced Congressman 
Yoho and myself to go to a statutory change--lots of taxpayer money, 
lots of time by the committees. But it, unfortunately, is necessary. 
The good news I think for America is that common sense does prevail a 
lot of times in this great Congress. As alluded to, they have over 185 
cosponsors of this legislation, the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act, 
allowing veterinarians simply to do what they have done before, which 
is carry controlled substances safely to treat, dispense, and protect 
their patients in the field.
  I think America would wonder why we are here. I think America is glad 
we are here, making sure that their pets, their livestock, get the care 
and treatment they need so they can have safe food and fiber and take 
care of the pets that they love and live with on a daily basis.
  I am not going to go into the bill itself. I think Mr. Pitts did an 
excellent job of outlining things, as did Mr. Green.
  I want to make sure I recognize a few folks that have been critical 
in the role here getting this to the floor. First and foremost, my good 
friend and colleague, Ted Yoho from Florida, and his right-hand man, 
Larry Calhoun, did a yeoman's job making sure this was a good 
bipartisan effort; Chairman Goodlatte and his staff for their 
unwavering support throughout the process; Chairman Lucas and Ranking 
Member Peterson were invaluable--as a matter of fact, I think we had 
all but four members of the Agriculture Committee sign on, Republican, 
Democrat, city, rural; this is a great bill--Senators Moran and King 
for their efforts on the Senate side; Chairman Upton and Ranking Member 
Waxman on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
  And finally, I extend my personal gratitude and a very special thank 
you to Dr. Ashley Morgan at the American Veterinary Medical Association 
for her tireless efforts through several years' worth of time to make 
sure that this bill actually got to the floor and got the vote that our 
animal friends actually deserve and, frankly, on behalf of all 
veterinarians in this great country.
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close.
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we have no other speakers, and 
we are prepared to close.
  I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to ask all of the Members to 
support this commonsense bill that is on behalf of the life and safety 
of our animal patients and the safety of our food supply.
  I urge bipartisan support, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1528, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________