To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to establish a grant program to promote efforts to develop, implement, and sustain veterinary services, and for other purposes.

Summary: Veterinarian Services Investment Act - Amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to carry out a matching grant program with qualified entities to develop, implement, and sustain veterinary services.

Requires a qualifying entity to carry out programs that: (1) relieve veterinarian shortage situations; (2) support private veterinary practices engaged in public health activities; or (3) support practices of veterinarians who are participating in or have successfully completed a specified service requirement.

Sets forth grant preference provisions.

Makes such grants available for: (1) assistance for establishing or expanding veterinary practices or establishing mobile veterinary facilities; (2) veterinarian, technician, and student recruitment; (3) grants to attend training programs in food safety or food animal medicine; (4) grants to establish or expand accredited education, internship, residency, and fellowship programs; (5) grants to assess veterinarian shortage situations; and (6) grants for continuing education and extension, including tele-veterinary medicine and other distance-based education.

Prohibits the use of grant funds for construction.

Subjects grants for establishing or expanding veterinary practices to: (1) an agreement between the Secretary and the recipient that includes a required term of service; and (2) remedies for breach of agreement, including repayment or partial repayment of grant funds.

Defines "qualified entity" as a: (1) for-profit or nonprofit entity in the United States that operates a rural veterinary clinic in response to a veterinarian shortage situation; (2) state, national, allied, or regional veterinary organization or specialty board recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association; (3) college or school of veterinary medicine accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association; (4) university research foundation or veterinary medical foundation; (5) department of veterinary science or department of comparative medicine accredited by the Department of Education; (6) state agricultural experiment station; or (7) state, local, or tribal government agency.

Authorizes appropriations beginning with FY2012.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterinarian Services Investment 
Act''.

SEC. 2. VETERINARY SERVICES GRANT PROGRAM.

    The National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 
Act of 1977 is amended by inserting after section 1415A (7 U.S.C. 
3151a) the following new section:

``SEC. 1415B. VETERINARY SERVICES GRANT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Establishment of Program.--
            ``(1) Competitive grants.--The Secretary shall carry out a 
        program to make competitive grants to qualified entities that 
        engage in activities described in paragraph (2) for the purpose 
        of developing, implementing, and sustaining veterinary 
        services.
            ``(2) Eligibility requirements.--To be eligible for a grant 
        under this subsection, a qualified entity must carry out 
        programs or activities that the Secretary determines will--
                    ``(A) substantially relieve veterinarian shortage 
                situations;
                    ``(B) support or facilitate private veterinary 
                practices engaged in public health activities; or
                    ``(C) support or facilitate practices of 
                veterinarians who are participating in or have 
                successfully completed a service requirement under 
                section 1415A(a)(2).
    ``(b) Award Processes and Preferences.--
            ``(1) Application, evaluation, and input processes.--In 
        administrating the grant program under this section, the 
        Secretary shall use an appropriate application and evaluation 
        process and seek the input of interested persons.
            ``(2) Grant preferences.--In the case of grants to be used 
        for any of the purposes described in paragraphs (2) through (6) 
        of subsection (c), the Secretary shall give a preference to the 
        selection of qualified entities that document coordination 
        between or with other qualified entities regarding the 
        applicable purpose.
            ``(3) Additional preferences.--When awarding grants under 
        this section, the Secretary may develop additional preferences 
        by taking into account the amount of funds available for grants 
        as well as the purposes for which the grant funds will be used.
            ``(4) Applicability of other provisions.--Sections 1413B, 
        1462(a), 1469(a)(3), 1469(c), and 1470 shall apply to the 
        administration of the grant program under this section.
    ``(c) Use of Grants to Relieve Veterinarian Shortage Situations and 
Support Veterinary Services.--Funds provided by grants under this 
section may be used for the following purposes to relieve veterinarian 
shortage situations and support veterinary services:
            ``(1) Grants to assist veterinarians with establishing or 
        expanding practices for the purpose of equipping veterinary 
        offices, sharing in the reasonable overhead costs of such 
        practices (as determined by the Secretary), or establishing 
        mobile veterinary facilities where at least a portion of such 
        facilities will address education or extension needs.
            ``(2) Grants to promote recruitment (including programs in 
        secondary schools), placement, and retention of veterinarians, 
        veterinary technicians, students of veterinary medicine, and 
        students of veterinary technology.
            ``(3) Grants for veterinary students, veterinary interns, 
        externs, fellows, and residents, and veterinary technician 
        students to cover expenses (other than the types of expenses 
        listed in 1415A(c)(5)) to attend training programs in food 
        safety or food animal medicine.
            ``(4) Grants establishing or expanding accredited 
        veterinary education programs (including faculty recruitment 
        and retention), veterinary residency and fellowship programs, 
        or veterinary internship and externship programs in 
        coordination with accredited colleges of veterinary medicine.
            ``(5) Grants for the assessment of veterinarian shortage 
        situations and preparation of applications for designation as a 
        shortage situation.
            ``(6) Grants in continuing education and extension, 
        including tele-veterinary medicine and other distance-based 
        education, for veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and other 
        health professionals needed to strengthen veterinary programs 
        and enhance food safety.
    ``(d) Special Requirements for Certain Grants.--
            ``(1) Terms of service requirements.--Grants provided under 
        this section for the purpose specified in subsection (c)(1) 
        shall be subject to an agreement between the Secretary and the 
        grant recipient that includes a required term of service for 
        the recipient, as established by the Secretary. In establishing 
        such terms, the Secretary shall consider only--
                    ``(A) the amount of the grant awarded; and
                    ``(B) the specific purpose of the grant.
            ``(2) Breach remedies.--An agreement under paragraph (1) 
        shall provide remedies for any breach of the agreement by the 
        grant recipient, including repayment or partial repayment of 
        the grant funds, with interest. The Secretary may waive the 
        repayment obligation in the event of extreme hardship or 
        extreme need, as determined by the Secretary.
            ``(3) Treatment of amounts recovered.--Funds recovered 
        under paragraph (2) shall be credited to the account available 
        to carry out this section and shall remain available until 
        expended.
    ``(e) Cost-Sharing Requirements.--
            ``(1) Recipient share.--A grant recipient shall provide 
        matching non-Federal funds, either in cash or in-kind support, 
        in an amount equal to not less than 50 percent of the Federal 
        funds provided in a grant under this section.
            ``(2) Waiver.--The Secretary may establish, by regulation, 
        conditions under which the cost-sharing requirements of 
        paragraph (1) may be reduced or waived.
    ``(f) Prohibition on Use of Grant Funds for Construction.--Funds 
made available for grants under this section shall not be used for the 
construction of a new building or facility or the acquisition, 
expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an existing building of 
facility, including site grading and improvement and architect fees.
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Veterinarian shortage situation.--The term 
        `veterinarian shortage situation' means a veterinarian shortage 
        situation determined by the Secretary under section 1415A(b).
            ``(2) Qualified entity.--The term `qualified entity' means 
        the following:
                    ``(A) A for-profit or nonprofit entity located in 
                the United States that operates a veterinary clinic 
                providing veterinary services--
                            ``(i) in a rural area, as defined in 
                        section 1393(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code 
                        of 1986; and
                            ``(ii) in response to a veterinarian 
                        shortage situation.
                    ``(B) A State, national, allied, or regional 
                veterinary organization or specialty board recognized 
                by the American Veterinary Medical Association.
                    ``(C) A college or school of veterinary medicine 
                accredited by the American Veterinary Medical 
                Association.
                    ``(D) A university research foundation or 
                veterinary medical foundation.
                    ``(E) A department of veterinary science or 
                department of comparative medicine accredited by the 
                Department of Education.
                    ``(F) A State agricultural experiment station.
                    ``(G) A State, local, or tribal government agency.
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are necessary to carry out 
this section for fiscal year 2012 and each fiscal year thereafter. 
Amounts appropriated pursuant to this authorization of appropriations 
shall remain available to the Secretary for the purposes of this 
section until expended.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 15, 2010.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.