69–006 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 115–190 

VETERANS EXPANDED TRUCKING OPPORTUNITIES ACT 

OF 2017 

JUNE 23, 2017.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. SHUSTER, from the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 2547] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 

was referred the bill (H.R. 2547) 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, having considered the same, report favorably 

thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as 

amended do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose of Legislation ............................................................................................. 2 

Background and Need for Legislation .................................................................... 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 3 

Legislative History and Consideration .................................................................. 3 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 3 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ...................................................... 3 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .......................................................... 3 

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 4 

Advisory of Earmarks .............................................................................................. 4 

Duplication of Federal Programs ............................................................................ 5 

Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings ..................................................................... 5 

Federal Mandate Statement ................................................................................... 5 

Preemption Clarification ......................................................................................... 5 

Advisory Committee Statement .............................................................................. 5 

Applicability of Legislative Branch ........................................................................ 5 

Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation ............................................................ 5 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 6 


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The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

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. 

PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION

H.R. 2547 expands the number of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical professionals who may qualify under an alternative process to perform physical examinations on eligible veterans and issue medical certificates required for operation of a 

commercial motor vehicle, and for other purposes. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act; P.L. 

114–94) created an alternative process only for VA doctors of medicine and doctors of osteopathy to qualify to perform physical examinations on eligible veterans and then issue the medical certificates 

required for such veterans to operate a commercial motor vehicle. 

H.R. 2547 expands eligibility for the alternative process under 

the FAST Act to all VA medical professionals, including advanced 

practical nurses, doctors of chiropractic, physician assistants, and 

other medical professionals, provided that they are authorized by 


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the state in which they are licensed, certified, or registered to perform physical examinations, and that they meet other requirements. 

This bill ensures that the list of eligible medical professionals 

within the VA matches the list of eligible medical professionals 

that can become certified under the traditional Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration process. 

HEARINGS

No hearings were held on H.R. 2547. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND CONSIDERATION

On May 18, 2017, Congressman Rob Woodall (R–GA) and Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D–CA) introduced H.R. 2547. 

On May 24, 2017, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure met in open session to consider H.R. 2547. Congressman 

Sam Graves (R–MO) offered an amendment to make a technical 

correction to the bill, which was adopted by a voice vote. The Committee ordered the bill, as amended, reported favorably to the 

House by a voice vote with a quorum present. 

COMMITTEE VOTES

Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires each committee report to include the total number of 

votes cast for and against on each record vote on a motion to report 

and on any amendment offered to the measure or matter, and the 

names of those members voting for and against. There were no recorded votes taken in connection with consideration of H.R. 2547. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee’s oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in this report. 

NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES

Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 has been timely 

submitted prior to the filing of the report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is included in this report. 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the 

enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2547 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 


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U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, June 21, 2017. 

Hon. BILL SHUSTER, 

Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2547, the Veterans Expanded Trucking Opportunities Act of 2017. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Ann E. Futrell. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 2547—Veterans Expanded Trucking Opportunities Act of 2017 

H.R. 2547 would expand the types of medical professionals at the 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) who could certify that veterans meet the physical standards required to operate commercial 

motor vehicles. Currently at VA facilities only physicians may perform the physical examinations and issue the medical certificates 

required for commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). H.R. 2547 would 

allow advanced practical nurses, chiropractors, physician assistants, and other qualified medical professionals to perform those duties. 

According to the Department of Transportation, physicians at VA 

have provided roughly 13,000 medical exams related to CDLs over 

the past two years. CBO expects that expanding the number of 

staff at VA who could issue the medical certificates would not lead 

to additional costs related to exams. Therefore, CBO estimates that 

implementing H.R. 2547 would cost less than $500,000 over the 

2018–2022 period to prepare regulations; any such spending would 

be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates 

that enacting H.R. 2547 would not increase net direct spending or 

on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

H.R. 2547 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Ann E. Futrell. The 

estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 

Director for Budget Analysis. 

PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives, the performance goal 

and objective of this legislation is to ease the transition for our veterans who are reentering civilian life. 

ADVISORY OF EARMARKS

Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 

Representatives, the Committee is required to include a list of conVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Jun 24, 2017 Jkt 069006 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR190.XXX HR190

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gressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits 

as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives. No provision in the bill includes an 

earmark, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit under clause 

9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI. 

DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision of H.R. 

2547 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another federal program, a program that was included in any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public 

Law 111–139, or a program related to a program identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 

DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTED RULE MAKINGS

Pursuant to section 3(i) of H. Res. 5, 115th Cong. (2017), the 

Committee finds that enacting H.R. 2547 does not direct the completion of a specific rule making within the meaning of section 551 

of title 5, United States Code. 

FEDERAL MANDATE STATEMENT

The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 

pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(Public Law 104–4). 

PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION

Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the 

report of any Committee on a bill or joint resolution to include a 

statement on the extent to which the bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, or tribal law. The Committee states 

that H.R. 2547 does not preempt any state, local, or tribal law. 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this legislation. 

APPLICABILITY OF LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the 

terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or 

accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 104–1). 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title 

Section 1 is the short title of the bill, which is the ‘‘Veterans Expanded Trucking Opportunities Act of 2017’’. 


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Section 2. Medical certificate for veterans operating commercial 

motor vehicles 

Section 2 enables all VA medical professionals, including advanced practice nurses, doctors of chiropractic, and physician assistants, who are eligible to receive a medical examiner certification under the traditional Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration process, to become certified under an alternative process. 

This alternative process was established under the FAST Act and 

could only be used by doctors of medicine and doctors of osteopathy 

at the VA to become qualified to perform physical examinations on 

eligible veterans and issue the medical certificates required for 

such veterans to operate a commercial motor vehicle. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

FAST ACT 

* * * * * * * 

DIVISION A—SURFACE 

TRANSPORTATION 

* * * * * * * 

TITLE V—MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY 

* * * * * * * 

Subtitle D—Commercial Motor Vehicle 

Drivers 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 5403. MEDICAL CERTIFICATION OF VETERANS FOR COMMERCIAL 

DRIVER’S LICENSES. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a øphysician-approved veteran 

operator,¿ veteran operator approved by a qualified examiner, the 

øqualified physician¿ qualified examiner of such operator may, subject to the requirements of subsection (b), perform a medical examination and provide a medical certificate for purposes of compliance 

with the requirements of section 31149 of title 49, United States 

Code. 

(b) CERTIFICATION.—The certification described under subsection 

(a) shall include— 

(1) assurances that øthe physician¿ the examiner performing 

the medical examination meets the requirements of a øqualified physician¿ qualified examiner under this section; and 


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(2) certification that the physical condition of the operator is 

adequate to enable such operator to operate a commercial 

motor vehicle safely. 

(c) NATIONAL REGISTRY OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS.—The Secretary, 

in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall develop a process for øqualified physicians¿ qualified examiners to 

perform a medical examination and provide a medical certificate 

under subsection (a) and include øsuch physicians¿ such examiners 

on the national registry of medical examiners established under 

section 31149(d) of title 49, United States Code. 

(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following definitions apply: 

(1) øPHYSICIAN-APPROVED VETERAN OPERATOR¿ VETERAN OPERATOR APPROVED BY A QUALIFIED EXAMINER.—The term ‘‘øphysician-approved veteran operator¿ veteran operator approved by 

a qualified examiner’’ means an operator of a commercial 

motor vehicle who— 

(A) is a veteran who is enrolled in the health care system established under section 1705(a) of title 38, United 

States Code; and 

(B) is required to have a current valid medical certificate 

pursuant to section 31149 of title 49, United States Code. 

ø(2) QUALIFIED PHYSICIAN.—The term ‘‘qualified physician’’ 

means a physician who— 

ø(A) is employed in the Department of Veterans Affairs; 

ø(B) is familiar with the standards for, and physical requirements of, an operator certified pursuant to section 

31149 of title 49, United States Code; and 

ø(C) has never, with respect to such section, been found 

to have acted fraudulently, including by fraudulently 

awarding a medical certificate.¿ 

(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. 

(3) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the meaning given 

the term in section 101 of title 38, United States Code. 

(e) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

construed to change any statutory penalty associated with fraud or 

abuse. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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