Senators introduce amendment to strip HISA change from federal spending bill

On Monday, federal lawmakers inserted a one-paragraph amendment into an omnibus spending bill in an attempt to cement the constitutionality of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and allow the organization to take over drug testing and medication enforcement in most U.S. racing jurisdictions.

On Tuesday, two U.S. senators announced they are trying to strip that amendment from the spending bill.

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said they have filed an amendment that would remove all mention of HISA from the omnibus bill, which is expected to be taken up by the House and Senate on Friday.

If they are successful, HISA will remain in legal limbo because of a ruling a month ago by a U.S. court of appeals that ruled HISA is unconstitutional. At issue is the relationship between HISA, a private, nonprofit company, and the Federal Trade Commission.

According to an article by DRF’s Matt Hegarty, the three-judge panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that HISA is “facially unconstitutional” because, “the Authority, rather than the FTC, has been given final say over the HISA’s programs.” The decision said that the relationship violated constitutional principles preventing the federal government from assigning regulatory power to a private company.

Lawmakers attempted to allay the court’s concern Monday by inserting a paragraph into the spending bill that says in part the FTC “may abrogate, add to, and modify the rules of the Authority.” The Grassley-Manchin amendment would remove that paragraph from the bill, keeping HISA’s legal status uncertain.