Congress starts fast out of the gate in 2014
Success of Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act in Senate could build momentum for more positive results.
Veterinarians launched 2014 with a political win, but there’s more to do. The U.S. Senate passed S. 1171, the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act, which allows veterinarians in mobile practices to transport and use controlled substances. This addresses a critical need for large animal veterinarians covering a wide territory, in applications ranging from anesthesia to pain management to euthanasia. Of course, this bill also will protect mobile companion animal health services.
What’s left is the U.S. House of Representatives and its version of the mobility bill, H.R. 1528. Veterinarians and animal health interests must keep up the pressure as it takes both houses of Congress for the legislation to become law. Veterinarian House members Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) and Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) are leading the charge, but they need outreach and support from the greater veterinary community.