Legislative Updates: 114th Congress
Rep. Deutch Introduces Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act
Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-21) joined Congresswoman Slaughter (NY-25) to co-introduce the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (H.R. 1552). This legislation would require the makers of antibiotics used in food-producing animals to prove that the drug does not pose a risk to human health.
In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration found that 80 percent of all antibiotics in the United States were sold for use on food animals, rather than being used for human health. The use of antibiotics in food-producing animals has the potential to contribute to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. This legislation is a common-sense solution to preventing a national health crisis by phasing out the use of medically important antibiotics in healthy food-producing animals, while allowing their use for treatment of sick animals. A copy of the Preservation of Antibiotics of Medical Treatment Act of 2015 is available here. |