Obama Signs Law on Sleep Apnea Regulation

President Obama signed into law a congressional act allowing the Transportation Department to regulate sleep apnea testing and treatment for commercial motor vehicle drivers as long as the regulation is the product of a formal rulemaking process.

Obama signed the one-page law Oct. 15. The Senate passed the bill Oct. 4, and the House of Representatives did so in September.

American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves urged Obama to sign the act shortly after it passed the Senate. Other supporters of the legislation included the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the Teamsters union.

The law does not order DOT to regulate sleep apnea. It says, instead, if the department is to issue a requirement on that subject, it must be done “pursuant to a rulemaking proceeding.”