SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Veterinary
Medical Service Act’’.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM
REGARDING VETERINARY MEDICINE.
The National Agricultural Research, Extension, and
Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) is
amended by inserting after section 1415 the following new
section:
‘‘SEC. 1415A. VETERINARY MEDICINE LOAN REPAYMENT.
‘‘(a) PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) SERVICE IN SHORTAGE SITUATIONS.—The
Secretary shall carry out a program of entering into
agreements with veterinarians under which the vet-
erinarians agree to provide, for a period of time as
determined by the Secretary and specified in the
agreement, veterinary services in veterinarian short-
age situations. For each year of such service under
an agreement under this paragraph, the Secretary
shall pay an amount, as determined by the Secretary
and specified in the agreement, of the principal and
interest of qualifying educational loans of the veteri-
narians.
‘‘(2) SERVICE
TO
FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT
IN
EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may
enter into agreements of one year duration with
veterinarians who have agreements pursuant to
paragraph (1) for such veterinarians to provide
services to the Federal Government in emer-
gency situations, as determined by the Sec-
retary, under terms and conditions specified in
the agreement. Pursuant to an agreement
under this paragraph, the Secretary shall pay
an amount, in addition to the amount paid pur-
suant to the agreement in paragraph (1), as de-
termined by the Secretary and specified in the
agreement, of the principal and interest of
qualifying educational loans of the veterinar-
ians.
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—Agreements en-
tered into under this paragraph shall include
the following:
‘‘(i) A veterinarian shall not be re-
quired to serve more than 60 working days
per year of the agreement.
‘‘(ii) A veterinarian who provides serv-
ice pursuant to the agreement shall receive
a salary commensurate with the duties and
shall be reimbursed for travel and per diem
expenses as appropriate for the duration of
the service.
‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF VETERINARIAN SHORTAGE
SITUATIONS.—In determining ‘veterinarian shortage situ-
ations’ the Secretary may consider the following:
‘‘(1) Urban or rural areas that the Secretary
determines have a shortage of veterinarians.
‘‘(2) Areas of veterinary practice that the Sec-
retary determines have a shortage of veterinarians,
such as public health, epidemiology, and food safety.
‘‘(3) Areas of veterinary need in the Federal
Government.
‘‘(4) Other factors that the Secretary considers
to be relevant.
‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may carry
out this program directly or enter into agreements
with another Federal agency or other service pro-
vider to assist in the administration of this program.
‘‘(2) BREACH REMEDIES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Agreements with pro-
gram participants shall provide remedies for
any breach of an agreement by a participant,
including repayment or partial repayment of fi-
nancial assistance received, with interest.
‘‘(B) AMOUNTS
RECOVERED.—Funds re-
covered under this subsection shall be credited
to the account available to carry out this sec-
tion and shall remain available until expended.
‘‘(3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may grant a
waiver of the repayment obligation for breach of
contract in the event of extreme hardship or extreme
need, as determined by the Secretary.
‘‘(4) AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall develop
regulations to determine the amount of loan repay-
ment for a year of service by a veterinarian. In mak-
ing the determination, the Secretary shall consider
the extent to which such determination—
‘‘(A) affects the ability of the Secretary to
maximize the number of agreements that can
be provided under the Veterinary Medicine
Loan Repayment Program from the amounts
appropriated for such agreements; and
‘‘(B) provides an incentive to serve in vet-
erinary service shortage areas with the greatest
need.
‘‘(5) QUALIFYING EDUCATIONAL LOANS.—Loan
repayments provided under this section may consist
of payments on behalf of participating individuals of
the principal and interest on government and com-
mercial loans received by the individual for attend-
ance of the individual at an accredited college of vet-
erinary medicine resulting in a degree of Doctor of
Veterinary Medicine or the equivalent, which loans
were made for—
‘‘(A) tuition expenses;
‘‘(B) all other reasonable educational ex-
penses, including fees, books, and laboratory ex-
penses, incurred by the individual; or
‘‘(C) reasonable living expenses as deter-
mined by the Secretary.
‘‘(6) REPAYMENT
SCHEDULE.—The Secretary
may enter into an agreement with the holder of any
loan for which payments are made under this section
to establish a schedule for the making of such pay-
ments.
‘‘(7) TAX
LIABILITY.—In addition to edu-
cational loan repayments, the Secretary shall make
such additional payments to participants as the Sec-
retary determines to be appropriate for the purpose
of providing reimbursements to participants for indi-
vidual tax liability resulting from participation in
this program.
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated for carrying out this sec-
tion such sums as may be necessary and such sums shall
remain available to the Secretary for the purposes of this
section until expended.’’.
Passed the House of Representatives November 17,
2003.
Attest:
Clerk.