II 

Calendar No. 563 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4365 

[Report No. 118–248] 

To provide public health veterinary services to Indian Tribes and Tribal 

organizations for rabies prevention, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 16, 2024 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. SCHATZ, and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

NOVEMBER 18, 2024 

Reported by Mr. SCHATZ, with amendments 

[Omit the parts struck through and insert the parts printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To provide public health veterinary services to Indian Tribes 

and Tribal organizations for rabies prevention, and for 

other purposes. 

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 Services 

5 to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

3 (1) human, animal, and environmental health 

4 are interdependent in Native communities, Alaska 

5 Native villages, and on Indian reservations, and ho6 listic approaches to the well-being of all individuals 

7 will lead to improved health outcomes and enhanced 

8 resilience; 

9 (2) uncontrolled animal populations and a lack 

10 of veterinary care in Native communities, Alaska 

11 Native villages, and on Indian reservations increase 

12 the risk of parasites and zoonotic diseases, dog bites, 

13 food insecurity, and mental health issues among 

14 Alaska Natives and American Indians; 

15 (3) dog bites and other injuries are common in 

16 rural areas in the State of Alaska, with the Norton 

17 Sound Health Corporation reporting an average of 

18 87 bites per year in the Bering Strait region be19 tween 2016 and 2023, and the Yukon-Kuskokwim 

20 Health Corporation reporting an average of 98 bites 

21 per year in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region be22 tween 2008 and 2017; 

23 (4) Alaska Native children have the highest in24 cidence of hospitalization for dog bites in the Indian 

25 Health Service system; 


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•S 4365 RS

1 (5) in 2021, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, expe2 rienced co-occurring outbreaks of rabies and canine 

3 distemper; 

4 (6) canine distemper is almost 100 percent 

5 fatal in marine mammals, which the people of the 

6 Native Villages of Savoonga and Gambell rely on 

7 heavily as a food source; 

8 (7) rabies is enzootic in arctic and red fox pop9 ulations in the northern and western coastal regions 

10 of the State of Alaska; 

11 (8) wildlife outbreaks occur cyclically, and there 

12 have been increased human exposures to rabid ani13 mals between 2020 and 2023; 

14 (9) rabies transmission is a significant threat in 

15 Alaska Native communities and villages; and 

16 (10) as of 2024, the Indian Health Service does 

17 not employ or use public health veterinarians to 

18 combat zoonotic disease outbreaks or to generally 

19 advance public health preparedness for Native com20 munities, Alaska Native villages, or Indian reserva21 tions, including by providing spay and neuter serv22 ices and vaccinations for animals. 

23 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con24 gress that the Indian Health Service of the Department 

25 of Health and Human Services is uniquely suited to emVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:22 Nov 19, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4365.RS S4365

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1 power Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations to address 

2 zoonotic disease threats in the communities they serve by 

3 providing public health veterinary services through a One 

4 Health approach that recognizes the interconnection be5 tween people, animals, plants, and their shared environ6 ment. 

7 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that the Indian Health Serv9 ice of the Department of Health and Human Services is 

10 uniquely suited to empower Indian Tribes and Tribal orga11 nizations to address zoonotic disease threats in the commu12 nities they serve by providing public health veterinary serv13 ices through a One Health approach that recognizes the 

14 interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their 

15 shared environment. 

16 SEC. 3. PUBLIC HEALTH VETERINARY SERVICES. 

17 Title II of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act 

18 is amended by inserting after section 223 (25 U.S.C. 

19 1621v) the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 224. PUBLIC HEALTH VETERINARY SERVICES. 

21 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) PUBLIC HEALTH VETERINARY SERV23 ICES.—The term ‘public health veterinary services’ 

24 includes any of the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) spaying and neutering services for do2 mestic animals; 

3 ‘‘(B) diagnoses; 

4 ‘‘(C) surveillance; 

5 ‘‘(D) epidemiology; 

6 ‘‘(E) control; 

7 ‘‘(F) prevention; 

8 ‘‘(G) elimination; 

9 ‘‘(H) vaccination; and 

10 ‘‘(I) any other related service or activity 

11 that reduces the risk of zoonotic disease trans12 mission or antimicrobial resistance in humans, 

13 food, or animals. 

14 ‘‘(2) ZOONOTIC DISEASE.—The term ‘zoonotic 

15 disease’ means a disease or infection that may be 

16 transmitted naturally from vertebrate animals to hu17 mans, or from humans to vertebrate animals. 

18 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION FOR VETERINARY SERVICES.— 

19 The Secretary, acting through the Service, may expend 

20 funds, directly or pursuant to the Indian Self-Determina21 tion and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et 

22 seq.), for public health veterinary services to prevent and 

23 control of zoonotic disease infection and transmission in 

24 Service areas where the risk for disease occurrence in hu25 mans and wildlife is endemic. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICERS.—In providing pub2 lic health veterinary services under subsection (b), the Sec3 retary shall deploy veterinary public health officers from 

4 the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service to 

5 Service areas. 

6 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION.—The Secretary, acting through 

7 the Service, shall carry out this section in coordination 

8 with— 

9 ‘‘(1) the Director of the Centers for Disease 

10 Control and Prevention; and 

11 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of Agriculture. 

12 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICERS; COORDINATION.—In 

13 providing public health veterinary services under subsection 

14 (b), the Secretary may— 

15 ‘‘(1) assign or deploy veterinary public health of16 ficers from the Commissioned Corps of the Public 

17 Health Service to Service areas; and 

18 ‘‘(2) coordinate and implement activities with— 

19 ‘‘(A) the Director of the Centers for Disease 

20 Control and Prevention; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Agriculture. 

22 ‘‘(e)(d) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the 

23 Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, the Committee 

24 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, 

25 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of RepVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:22 Nov 19, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4365.RS S4365

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1 resentatives, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

2 of the House of Representatives a biennial report on the 

3 use of funds, the assignment and deployment of veterinary 

4 public health officers from the Commissioned Corps of the 

5 Public Health Service, data related to the monitoring and 

6 disease surveillance of zoonotic diseases, and related serv7 ices provided under this section.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. APHIS WILDLIFE SERVICES STUDY ON ORAL RABIES 

9 VACCINES IN ARCTIC REGIONS OF THE 

10 UNITED STATES. 

11 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct a 

13 feasibility study— 

14 (1) on the delivery of oral rabies vaccines to 

15 wildlife reservoir species that are directly or indi16 rectly connected to the transmission of rabies to 

17 Tribal members living in Arctic regions of the 

18 United States; and 

19 (2) that— 

20 (A) evaluates the efficacy of the vaccines 

21 described in paragraph (1); and 

22 (B) makes recommendations to improve 

23 the delivery of those vaccines. 


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1 SEC. 5. ONE HEALTH FRAMEWORK. 

2 Section 2235(b) of the Prepare for and Respond to 

3 Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics 

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh–37(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘and 

5 the Secretary of the Interior’’ and inserting ‘‘, the Sec6 retary of the Interior, and the Director of the Indian 

7 Health Service’’. 


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Calendar No. 563 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4365 

[Report No. 118–248] 

A BILL 

To provide public health veterinary services to Inprevention, and for other purposes. dian Tribes and Tribal organizations for rabies 

NOVEMBER 18, 2024 

Reported with amendments 


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