I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5186

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish scholarship and loan

repayment programs regarding the provision of veterinary services in

veterinarian shortage areas.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 14, 2000

Mr. PICKERING (for himself and Mr. JOHN) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, and in addition to

the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish scholarship and loan repayment programs regarding the provision of veterinary services in veterinarian shortage areas.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterinary Health En5 hancement Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP AND LOAN RE2 PAYMENT PROGRAMS REGARDING VETERI3 NARY MEDICINE.

4 Subpart III of part D of title III of the Public Health

5 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254l et seq.) is amended by adding

6 at the end the following section:

7 ‘‘SEC. 338M. SCHOLARSHIP AND LOAN REPAYMENT PRO8 GRAMS REGARDING VETERINARY MEDICINE.

9 ‘‘(a) SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.—The Secretary, act10 ing through the Administrator of the Health Resources

11 and Services Administration, shall establish a program of

12 entering into agreements with students under which the

13 Federal Government provides to the students scholarships

14 for attending schools of veterinary medicine in consider15 ation of the students agreeing to provide, for a period of

16 time specified in the agreement, veterinary services in vet17 erinarian shortage areas.

18 ‘‘(b) LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.—The Secretary,

19 acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources

20 and Services Administration, shall carry out a program

21 of entering into agreements with veterinarians under

22 which the veterinarians agree to provide, for a period of

23 time specified in the agreement, veterinary services in vet24 erinarian shortage areas in consideration of the Federal

25 Government agreeing to repay, for each year of such serv-
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1 ice, not more than $35,000 of the principal and interest

2 of the educational loans of the veterinarians.

3 ‘‘(c) VETERINARIAN SHORTAGE AREAS.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec5 tion, the term ‘veterinarian shortage area’’ means

6 any of the following:

7 ‘‘(A) An area in an urban or rural area

8 (which need not conform to the geographic

9 boundaries of a political subdivision and which

10 is a rational area for the delivery of veterinary

11 services) that the Secretary determines has a

12 shortage of veterinarians.

13 ‘‘(B) A population group that the Sec14 retary determines has such a shortage.

15 ‘‘(C) A public or nonprofit private medical

16 facility or other public facility that the Sec17 retary determines has such a shortage.

18 ‘‘(2) STATE PARTICIPATION.—In designating a

19 veterinarian shortage area in a State, the Secretary

20 shall consult with the chief veterinary-medicine offi21 cial of the State and with other appropriate entities

22 in the State, including representatives of schools of

23 veterinary medicine in the State; representatives of

24 State members of professional associations regarding
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1 veterinary medicine; and representatives of large-ani2 mal veterinarians in the State.

3 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may approve

5 an individual for participation in the program under

6 subsection (a) or (b) only if (in addition to the re7 quirements that apply under subsection (e)) the indi8 vidual has been approved by the chief veterinary9 medicine official of the State involved, after such of10 ficial consulted with appropriate entities in the State

11 regarding such approval, including representatives

12 specified in subsection (c)(2).

13 ‘‘(2) STATE INVOLVED.—For purposes of para14 graph (1), the State involved with respect to an indi15 vidual is the State described in subparagraph (A) or

16 (B) (as applicable), as follows:

17 ‘‘(A) In the case of the program under

18 subsection (a), the State in which the individual

19 attends or will attend a school of veterinary

20 medicine with a scholarship under the program.

21 ‘‘(B) In the case of the program under

22 subsection (b), the State that contains the vet23 erinarian shortage area for which the individual

24 will provide veterinary services under the pro25 gram.
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1 ‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.—

2 ‘‘(1) SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.—With respect to

3 the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Pro4 gram established in section 338A, the provisions of

5 this subpart that apply to such program shall, ex6 cept as determined by the Secretary to be incon7 sistent with subsection (a), apply to the program es8 tablished in subsection (a) in the same manner and

9 to the same extent as such provisions apply to the

10 National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program.

11 ‘‘(2) LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.—With re12 spect to the National Health Service Corps Loan

13 Repayment Program established in section 338B,

14 the provisions of this subpart that apply to such pro15 gram shall, except as determined by the Secretary to

16 be inconsistent with subsection (b), apply to the pro17 gram established in subsection (b) in the same man18 ner and to the same extent as such provisions apply

19 to the National Health Service Corps Loan Repay20 ment Program.

21 ‘‘(f) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

22 term ‘school of veterinary medicine’ has the meaning given

23 such term in section 799B.

24 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.—For the pur2 pose of carrying out this section with respect to the

3 program under subsection (a), there are authorized

4 to be appropriated up to $5,000,000 for each of the

5 fiscal years 2001 through 2005.

6 ‘‘(2) LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.—For the

7 purpose of carrying out this section with respect to

8 the program under subsection (b), there are author9 ized to be appropriated up to $5,000,000 for each

10 of the fiscal years 2001 through 2005.’’.

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