118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4365 

AN ACT 

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, 
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†S 4365 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterinary Services 

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

4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that the Indian Health 

6 Service of the Department of Health and Human Services 

7 is uniquely suited to empower Indian Tribes and Tribal 

8 organizations to address zoonotic disease threats in the 

9 communities they serve by providing public health veteri10 nary services through a One Health approach that recog11 nizes the interconnection between people, animals, plants, 

12 and their shared environment. 

13 SEC. 3. PUBLIC HEALTH VETERINARY SERVICES. 

14 Title II of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act 

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

16 1621v) the following: 

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

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

19 ‘‘(1) PUBLIC HEALTH VETERINARY SERV20 ICES.—The term ‘public health veterinary services’ 

21 includes any of the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) spaying and neutering services for do23 mestic animals; 

24 ‘‘(B) diagnoses; 

25 ‘‘(C) surveillance; 

26 ‘‘(D) epidemiology; 
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†S 4365 ES

1 ‘‘(E) control; 

2 ‘‘(F) prevention; 

3 ‘‘(G) elimination; 

4 ‘‘(H) vaccination; and 

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

6 that reduces the risk of zoonotic disease trans7 mission or antimicrobial resistance in humans, 

8 food, or animals. 

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

10 disease’ means a disease or infection that may be 

11 transmitted naturally from vertebrate animals to hu12 mans, or from humans to vertebrate animals. 

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

14 The Secretary, acting through the Service, may expend 

15 funds, directly or pursuant to the Indian Self-Determina16 tion and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et 

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

18 control of zoonotic disease infection and transmission in 

19 Service areas where the risk for disease occurrence in hu20 mans and wildlife is endemic. 

21 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICERS; COORDINATION.— 

22 In providing public health veterinary services under sub23 section (b), the Secretary may— 
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1 ‘‘(1) assign or deploy veterinary public health 

2 officers from the Commissioned Corps of the Public 

3 Health Service to Service areas; and 

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

5 ‘‘(A) the Director of the Centers for Dis6 ease Control and Prevention; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Agriculture. 

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

9 Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, the Committee 

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

11 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep12 resentatives, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

13 of the House of Representatives a biennial report on the 

14 use of funds, the assignment and deployment of veterinary 

15 public health officers from the Commissioned Corps of the 

16 Public Health Service, data related to the monitoring and 

17 disease surveillance of zoonotic diseases, and related serv18 ices provided under this section.’’. 

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

20 VACCINES IN ARCTIC REGIONS OF THE 

21 UNITED STATES. 

22 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

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

24 feasibility study— 
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1 (1) on the delivery of oral rabies vaccines to 

2 wildlife reservoir species that are directly or indi3 rectly connected to the transmission of rabies to 

4 Tribal members living in Arctic regions of the 

5 United States; and 

6 (2) that— 

7 (A) evaluates the efficacy of the vaccines 

8 described in paragraph (1); and 

9 (B) makes recommendations to improve 

10 the delivery of those vaccines. 

11 SEC. 5. ONE HEALTH FRAMEWORK. 

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

13 Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics 

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

15 the Secretary of the Interior’’ and inserting ‘‘, the Sec16 retary of the Interior, and the Director of the Indian 

17 Health Service’’. 

Passed the Senate December 12, 2024. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4365 

AN ACT 

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