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| Advocacy > Federal > Legislative activities > AVMA 110th Congress Legislative Agenda |
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| AVMA 110th Congress Legislative Agenda |
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The American Veterinary Medical Association's Governmental Relations Division advocates the Association's policies and positions on federal legislative
and regulatory issues that influence animal and human health
and advance the veterinary medical profession
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| The Legislative Advisory Committee assisted the Executive Board in setting an aggressive agenda for the First Session of the 110th Congress: |
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2007 Reauthorization of the Farm Bill – The "Farm Bill" is an omnibus multiyear authorizing law that deals with major farm and food legislation. The most recent omnibus farm bill, the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-171), expires in 2007. While the heart of every omnibus farm bill is farm income and commodity price support, the farm bill typically includes titles on agriculture trade and foreign food aid, conservation and environment, forestry, domestic food assistance (primarily food stamps), agricultural credit, rural development, agricultural research and education, and forestry programs. In addition, the farm bill often contains such provisions as farm marketing, energy, food safety, and animal health and welfare. The AVMA has identified the farm bill reauthorization as a major piece of legislation that will impact the veterinary profession, animal health and welfare, and agriculture research programs.
110th Congress: Active Pursuit
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree |
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Humane Methods of Slaughter Act Amendment – This amendment would update the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act to include all species slaughtered for commercial use under federal inspection. In 1978, Congress passed the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act to insure that all federally inspected slaughter facilities adopt humane handling and slaughtering practices. This Act mandates humane slaughter for cows, pigs, sheep, and other livestock slaughtered at federally inspected facilities, but does not include birds, rabbits and other commercially slaughtered species. The AVMA is working closely with the National Association of Federal Veterinarians (NAFV) and other groups to amend the Act to include all species slaughtered for commercial use under federal inspection.
110th Congress: Active Pursuit of Passage
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree |
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Legislation to Address the Issue of Unwanted/Retired Horses – The AVMA has been actively pursuing defeat of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. If Congress decides that horses and other equids are prohibited from being processed for human consumption, it is estimated that each year an additional 90,000-115,000 unwanted U.S. horses would need to find an alternative method of care, or disposal if the horse is euthanized. A congressional ban on slaughter of horses will only lead to a crisis situation if the ramifications of such actions are not addressed. The AVMA is actively pursuing legislation that will deal with these ramifications. This legislation is necessary to insure the humane care and treatment of these unwanted horses, and would be developed with input from the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP). The legislation would address the following: Euthanasia concerns; standards for horse retirement centers; proper disposal of healthy animal carcasses; proper disposal of diseased animal carcasses; education for the proper care of horses and disposition options.
110th Congress: Active Pursuit of Passage
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree |
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H.R. 503/S. 311 The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act – This legislation amends the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption. The AVMA is actively pursuing defeat because the legislation does not adequately address the following issues: disposition of affected horses, animal welfare/standards of care for retirement and rescue facilities, costs related to the care of the horses, and environmental concerns related to horse carcass disposal.
110th Congress: Active Pursuit of Defeat
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree |
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Captive Primate Safety Act – The Captive Primate Safety Act would amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to treat nonhuman primates as prohibited wildlife species. This legislation would make it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase via interstate or foreign commerce any prohibited wildlife species. The legislation does not apply to persons or agencies licensed or registered, and inspected by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or any other Federal agency with respect to that species; State colleges, universities, or agencies, state–licensed wildlife rehabilitators, or state-licensed veterinarians; Accredited wildlife sanctuaries that care for prohibited wildlife species (with restrictions) or have custody of the animal solely for the purpose of expeditiously transporting the animal to a person or agency described above with respect to that species.
110th Congress: Support
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree |
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H.R. 1947: Haley's Act, Addressing the Welfare of Big Cats – Haley's Act promotes public safety and improves the welfare of captive big cats. This bill would require the USDA to include in standards that govern the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of animals by dealers, research facilities, and exhibitors a minimum requirement to provide for public safety. This legislation would also prohibit a licensed exhibitor or dealer from allowing direct contact between a big cat and a member of the public, with an exception for zoos.
110th Congress Status: Support
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree |
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H.R. 891: The Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007 – The Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007 amends the Dog and Cat Protection Act of 2000 to ensure that domestic dog and cat fur is prohibited from being imported, exported, manufactured, sold, or advertised in the United States and to require the labeling of all fur products under the Fur Products Labeling Act. This legislation further defines Dog and Cat to be any species commonly known as domestic dog including raccoon dog and any species commonly known as domestic cat respectively.
110th Congress: Support
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree |
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H.R. 249: To Restore the Prohibition on the Commercial Sale of Wild Free-Roaming Horses & Burros – This legislation restores the prohibition on commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros by amending the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to prohibit the sale or transfer for commercial product processing of any free-roaming horse or burro on U.S. public lands and repeal provisions permitting the sale of certain excess animals or their remains, and excluding from criminal fine or imprisonment a person who processes or permits the processing of such animals' remains.
110th Congress: Nonsupport
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree |
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S. 714/H.R. 1280: Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2007 – Amends the Animal Welfare Act to list permissible sources of dogs and cats used by research facilities to include dogs and cats obtained: from a licensed dealer; from a publicly owned and operated pound or shelter that meets specified requirements; by donation from a person who bred and raised the dog or cat; or owned it for not less than one year; or from a research facility licensed by the Secretary of Agriculture.
110th Congress: Nonsupport
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree |
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S. 394/H.R. 661: The Downed Animal Protection Act of 2007 – This act would amend the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act to ensure the humane slaughter of nonambulatory livestock. It states that it is U.S. policy that all nonambulatory livestock in interstate and foreign commerce be immediately and humanely euthanized when such livestock become nonambulatory.
110th Congress: Nonsupport
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree |
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H.R. 1726: The Farm Animal Stewardship Purchasing Act – The Farm Animal Stewardship Purchasing Act would prohibit the federal government from purchasing any product derived from a covered animal used or intended for use as food or fiber, or to produce food or fiber unless the animal is raised under federally mandated standards.
110th Congress: Nonsupport
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree |
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H.R. 137/S. 261: Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007 – The Animal Fighting Prohibition Act of 2007 would amend title 18, United States Code, to strengthen prohibitions against animal fighting. The legislation would set penalties of a fine under the code, three years' imprisonment, or both for violations of this Act. In April 2007, the Animal fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act was passed by both Houses of Congress. The bill was signed by President Bush on May 3, 2007 and is now Public Law 110-22.
110th Congress: Support
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree |
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- National Veterinary Medical Service Act
- National Animal Health Laboratory Network
- Office of Minor Use and Minor Species within the FDA-CVM
- Section 1433 Formula Funds for Animal Health and Disease Research Program
- Foreign Animal Disease Laboratory
- Johne's Disease Control and Research Programs
- Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank
- National Research Initiative- Coordinated Agricultural Project
- National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System
- National Animal Identification System
- USDA-APHIS-VS Aquaculture Program
110th Congress: Active Pursuit
Contact: Dr. Mark Lutschaunig
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S. 285: CAFO Tax Credit Act – This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a credit to certain concentrated animal feeding operations for the cost of complying with environmental protection regulations.
110th Congress: Active Pursuit
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree
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Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank – The Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) is the primary source of scientifically based recommendations for withdrawal intervals after extra-label drug use. FARAD also is the primary source of residue mitigation information when food animals are exposed to environmental contaminants. FARAD is without federal funding for FY2007. Funding for FY2008 is unknown at this time.
FARAD will shut down all public access on May 15, 2007, and with remaining funds, maintain the existing databank for an additional 6-9 months. Without permanent multi-year funding ($2.5M/yr for 3-5 years), FARAD will discontinue all activities early in 2008. The AVMA is seeking a permanent solution to insure that FARAD will be a viable program in the future.
110th Congress: Active Pursuit
Contact: Dr. Mark Lutschaunig
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Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (P.L. 109-308) – This legislation amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Assistance Act to ensure that state and local emergency preparedness operational plans address the needs of individuals with household pets and service animals following a major disaster or emergency. The bill was passed in October 2006. The AVMA is currently working with the stakeholders to implement the legislation.
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree |
| Read the bill |
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S. 549/H.R. 962 Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2007 – The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2007 would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to purportedly preserve the effectiveness of medically important antibiotics used in the treatment of human and animal disease. The purported purpose of the bills "is to preserve the effectiveness of medically important antibiotics used in the treatment of human and animal diseases by phasing out use of certain antibiotics for nontherapeutic purposes in food-producing animals."
110th Congress: Active Pursuit of Defeat
Contact: Dr. Mark Lutschaunig
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Proactive education on compounding – Veterinarians are preeminent among the many stakeholders in the complex compounding issue simply because there are not enough U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs to adequately treat the wide diversity of pets and other non-food animals that veterinarians must treat. A compounded drug is a medication that has been created by combining or altering ingredients for an individual patient in response to a licensed practitioner's prescription. Compounding can be as simple as changing the dosage form of an FDA approved drug or adding a flavoring agent for ease of administration. However, sometimes bulk (raw) pharmaceutical ingredients must be used to compound because FDA approved drugs are either unavailable or medically inappropriate for the specific patient. The current controversy in compounding centers around compounding from bulk pharmaceutical ingredients.
Contact: Dr. Mark Lutschaunig |
| View the Veterinary Compounding brochure |
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S. 540/H.R. 924 Domestic Pet Turtle Market Access Act of 2007 – This legislation requires the Food and Drug Administration to permit the sale of baby turtles (<10.2 centimeters) as long as the seller uses proven methods to effectively treat salmonella.
110th Congress: Nonsupport
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree
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H.R. 741 Lyme and Tick-borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2007 – The Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2007 provides for the expansion of Federal efforts concerning the prevention, education, treatment, and research activities related to Lyme and other Tick-borne diseases, including the establishment of a Tick-Borne Diseases Advisory Committee.
110th Congress: Support
Contact: Dr. Mark Lutschaunig
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CREATE-21 Creating Research, Extension and Teaching Excellence for the 21st Century – CREATE-21 would combine Agriculture Research Service (ARS), Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), the Economic Research Service (ERS), and the United States Forest Service (USFS) into a single super-agency reporting directly to the Secretary of Agriculture. By consolidating ARS, CSREES, ERS, and USFS current independent agency structures into an entirely new intramural research, extension, and education organization that comprises the personnel, funding, functions, and program managers of the agencies, program duplication will be eliminated, integration of both the intramural and extramural programs will be required and budgetary and operating inefficiencies will be reduced. This new entity would be known as the National Institutes for Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
110th Congress: Support
Contact: Dr. Mark Lutschaunig
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Small Business Health Plan Legislation – The escalating cost of health care is straining the ability of small businesses, including veterinary hospitals, to continue offering this benefit to
employees while remaining profitable. Small business health plan legislation would allow nationwide business associations to offer more affordable health insurance plans to their member businesses.
110th Congress: Active Pursuit
Contact: Dr. Mark Lutschaunig
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Health Savings Accounts – Health Savings Accounts are high-deductible health insurance plans that allow the insured to build equity in an account for future use on health expenditures (tax free) or other priorities (taxable), thereby lowering business health care expenditures and creating financial incentives for the insured to remain healthy.
110th Congress: Active Pursuit
Contact: Dr. Mark Lutschaunig
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Alternative Minimum Tax – The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) was originally designed to limit the amount of tax sheltering that high-income taxpayers could pursue and to assure that filers paid taxes. The current AMT, however, has strayed far from those original goals because the AMT was never pegged to inflation. Under current law, the tax will affect over 23 million taxpayers in 2007—many of them solidly middle-class—and mainly for reasons that have little or nothing to do with what most people would consider tax sheltering. The AVMA is supporting legislation that would reform the AMT to stop the dramatic increase in taxes paid by the middle income, including veterinarians.
110th Congress: Support
Contact: Dr. Mark Lutschaunig
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H.R. 46: Small Business Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2007 – The Small Business Tax Fairness and Simplification Act would provide tax incentives for small businesses.
110th Congress: Support
Contact: Dr. Mark Lutschaunig
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Non-Economic Damages – Seeking legislation that would prevent plaintiff animal owners from recovering non-economic damages in the event of animal loss or injury.
110th Congress: Active Pursuit
Contact: Dr. Angela Demaree
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H.R. 603: Rural Economic Development and Opportunities Act of 2007 – This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employer to claim a work opportunity tax credit during the next five years for the hiring of employees who live in a rural area and perform services for the employer in a rural area.
110th Congress: Support
Contact: Dr. Mark Lutschaunig
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S. 1047: Generating Opportunity by Forgiving Educational Debt for Service Act of 2007 – This legislation would amend section 108(f) of the Internal Revenue Service Code of 1986 to eliminate income and social security taxes on loan repayments to federal government employees. Of course, this increases total loan repayment quantities, thereby maximizing such incentives. Federal veterinarians participating in the National Veterinary Medical Service Act (NVMSA) loan repayment program would directly benefit from the passage of this bill. In addition, the GRD will lobby for amending the bill to extend tax exemption to federal loan repayments to private sector employees in anticipation of the eventual initiation of NVMSA's private sector mission.
110th Congress: Support
Contact: Dr. Mark Lutschaunig |
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Centers of Emphasis in Food Systems Veterinary Medicine – The Association of American Veterinary Colleges (AAVMC) is actively pursuing the inclusion of language in the 2007 FARM bill reauthorization that would create and fund through grants, Centers of Emphasis in food systems veterinary medicine. Each Center would focus on a different food animal species and no more than one or two Centers would focus on the same species. By focusing resources, veterinary colleges could develop one or more world-class teaching, research, and clinical centers as a leading center of emphasis in food systems veterinary medicine. Experts would be centralized in appropriate Centers of Emphasis to create leading-edge critical mass of expertise. Funding authorization would be $5,000,000 per year for five years, awarded on a competitive basis to veterinary colleges.
110th Congress: Support
Contact: Dr. Mark Lutschaunig |
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Active Pursuit of Passage –The bill or regulatory action will be placed on the AVMA legislative agenda for the current session of Congress and that a high priority application of AVMA human resources will be expended to pass the bill or adopt the regulation.
Active Pursuit of Defeat – The bill or regulation will be placed on the AVMA legislative agenda for the current session of Congress and that a high priority application of AVMA human resources will be expended to stop the bill from becoming law or the regulation becoming adopted.
Support – The AVMA supports the bill or regulation; however, it is not a high priority and is not listed on the AVMA legislative agenda for the current session of Congress. A low priority application of AVMA human resources should be expended on the bill or regulation. However, if asked, the AVMA is on record for supporting the bill or regulation.
Non-Support – The AVMA does not support the bill or regulation as written, it is not a high priority, and it is not listed on the AVMA legislative agenda for the current session of Congress. A low priority application of AVMA human resources should be expended on the bill or regulation. However, if asked, the AVMA is on record of not supporting the bill or regulation. If applicable and appropriate, the AVMA may identify areas of the bill or regulation that would need to be changed for support of the bill or regulation to be a consideration.
No Action – The AVMA makes no recommendation on the bill or regulation and the AVMA does not have a position on the bill or regulation. |
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| AVMA-GRD contact information |
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American Veterinary Medical Association
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