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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4365 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>

                                                       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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterinary Services to Improve 
Public Health in Rural Communities Act''.

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) human, animal, and environmental health are 
        interdependent in Native communities, Alaska Native villages, 
        and on Indian reservations, and holistic approaches to the 
        well-being of all individuals will lead to improved health 
        outcomes and enhanced resilience;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) uncontrolled animal populations and a lack of 
        veterinary care in Native communities, Alaska Native villages, 
        and on Indian reservations increase the risk of parasites and 
        zoonotic diseases, dog bites, food insecurity, and mental 
        health issues among Alaska Natives and American 
        Indians;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) dog bites and other injuries are common in 
        rural areas in the State of Alaska, with the Norton Sound 
        Health Corporation reporting an average of 87 bites per year in 
        the Bering Strait region between 2016 and 2023, and the Yukon-
        Kuskokwim Health Corporation reporting an average of 98 bites 
        per year in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region between 2008 and 
        2017;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Alaska Native children have the highest 
        incidence of hospitalization for dog bites in the Indian Health 
        Service system;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) in 2021, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, 
        experienced co-occurring outbreaks of rabies and canine 
        distemper;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) canine distemper is almost 100 percent fatal 
        in marine mammals, which the people of the Native Villages of 
        Savoonga and Gambell rely on heavily as a food 
        source;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) rabies is enzootic in arctic and red fox 
        populations in the northern and western coastal regions of the 
        State of Alaska;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) wildlife outbreaks occur cyclically, and there 
        have been increased human exposures to rabid animals between 
        2020 and 2023;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) rabies transmission is a significant threat in 
        Alaska Native communities and villages; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) as of 2024, the Indian Health Service does 
        not employ or use public health veterinarians to combat 
        zoonotic disease outbreaks or to generally advance public 
        health preparedness for Native communities, Alaska Native 
        villages, or Indian reservations, including by providing spay 
        and neuter services and vaccinations for animals.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
the Indian Health Service of the Department of Health and Human 
Services is uniquely suited to empower Indian Tribes and Tribal 
organizations to address zoonotic disease threats in the communities 
they serve by providing public health veterinary services through a One 
Health approach that recognizes the interconnection between people, 
animals, plants, and their shared environment.</DELETED>

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the Indian Health Service of the 
Department of Health and Human Services is uniquely suited to empower 
Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations to address zoonotic disease 
threats in the communities they serve by providing public health 
veterinary services through a One Health approach that recognizes the 
interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared 
environment.

SEC. 3. PUBLIC HEALTH VETERINARY SERVICES.

    Title II of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act is amended by 
inserting after section 223 (25 U.S.C. 1621v) the following:

``SEC. 224. PUBLIC HEALTH VETERINARY SERVICES.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Public health veterinary services.--The term `public 
        health veterinary services' includes any of the following:
                    ``(A) spaying and neutering services for domestic 
                animals;
                    ``(B) diagnoses;
                    ``(C) surveillance;
                    ``(D) epidemiology;
                    ``(E) control;
                    ``(F) prevention;
                    ``(G) elimination;
                    ``(H) vaccination; and
                    ``(I) any other related service or activity that 
                reduces the risk of zoonotic disease transmission or 
                antimicrobial resistance in humans, food, or animals.
            ``(2) Zoonotic disease.--The term `zoonotic disease' means 
        a disease or infection that may be transmitted naturally from 
        vertebrate animals to humans, or from humans to vertebrate 
        animals.
    ``(b) Authorization for Veterinary Services.--The Secretary, acting 
through the Service, may expend funds, directly or pursuant to the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 
et seq.), for public health veterinary services to prevent and control 
of zoonotic disease infection and transmission in Service areas where 
the risk for disease occurrence in humans and wildlife is endemic.
<DELETED>    ``(c) Public Health Officers.--In providing public health 
veterinary services under subsection (b), the Secretary shall deploy 
veterinary public health officers from the Commissioned Corps of the 
Public Health Service to Service areas.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(d) Coordination.--The Secretary, acting through the 
Service, shall carry out this section in coordination with--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) the Director of the Centers for Disease 
        Control and Prevention; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) the Secretary of Agriculture.</DELETED>
    ``(c) Public Health Officers; Coordination.--In providing public 
health veterinary services under subsection (b), the Secretary may--
            ``(1) assign or deploy veterinary public health officers 
        from the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service to 
        Service areas; and
            ``(2) coordinate and implement activities with--
                    ``(A) the Director of the Centers for Disease 
                Control and Prevention; and
                    ``(B) the Secretary of Agriculture.
    ``(e)(d) Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Indian Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, the Committee on Natural Resources 
of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce of the House of Representatives a biennial report on the use 
of funds, the assignment and deployment of veterinary public health 
officers from the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service, data 
related to the monitoring and disease surveillance of zoonotic 
diseases, and related services provided under this section.''.

SEC. 4. APHIS WILDLIFE SERVICES STUDY ON ORAL RABIES VACCINES IN ARCTIC 
              REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct a feasibility study--
            (1) on the delivery of oral rabies vaccines to wildlife 
        reservoir species that are directly or indirectly connected to 
        the transmission of rabies to Tribal members living in Arctic 
        regions of the United States; and
            (2) that--
                    (A) evaluates the efficacy of the vaccines 
                described in paragraph (1); and
                    (B) makes recommendations to improve the delivery 
                of those vaccines.

SEC. 5. ONE HEALTH FRAMEWORK.

    Section 2235(b) of the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, 
Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh-37(b)) is 
amended by striking ``and the Secretary of the Interior'' and inserting 
``, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Director of the Indian 
Health Service''.
                                                       Calendar No. 563

118th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 4365

                          [Report No. 118-248]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                           November 18, 2024

                        Reported with amendments
```