II 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 746 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 2, 2007 Mr. Allard (for himself, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Harkin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish a competitive grant program to build capacity in veterinary medical education and expand the workforce of veterinarians engaged in public health practice and biomedical research.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act of 2007.

2.

Competitive grants program

(a)

In General

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the Secretary) shall award competitive grants to eligible entities for the purpose of improving public health preparedness through increasing the number of veterinarians in the workforce. (b)

Eligible Entities

To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a), an entity shall— (1)be— (A)a public or other nonprofit school of veterinary medicine accredited by a recognized body or bodies approved for such purpose by the Department of Education; (B)a public or nonprofit, department of comparative medicine, department of veterinary science, school of public health, or school of medicine that is accredited by a recognized body or bodies approved for such purpose by the Department of Education and that offers graduate training for veterinarians in a public health practice area as determined by the Secretary; or (C)a public or nonprofit entity that conducts recognized residency training programs for veterinarians that are approved by a veterinary specialty organization that is recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association and that offers postgraduate training for veterinarians in a public health practice area as determined by the Secretary; and (2)prepare and submit to the Secretary an application, at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. (c)

Consideration of Applications

The Secretary shall establish procedures to ensure that applications under subsection (b)(2) are rigorously reviewed and that grants are competitively awarded based on— (1)the ability of the applicant to increase the number of veterinarians who are trained in specified public health practice areas as determined by the Secretary; (2)the ability of the applicant to increase capacity in research on high priority disease agents; or (3)any other consideration the Secretary determines necessary. (d)

Preference

In awarding grants under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall give preference to applicants that demonstrate a comprehensive approach by involving more than one school of veterinary medicine, department of comparative medicine, department of veterinary science, school of public health, school of medicine, or residency training program that offers postgraduate training for veterinarians in a public health practice area as determined by the Secretary. (e)

Use of Funds

Amounts received under a grant under this subsection shall be used by a grantee to increase the number of veterinarians in the workforce through— (1)paying the costs associated with construction, the acquisition of equipment, and other capital costs relating to the expansion of existing schools of veterinary medicine, departments of comparative medicine, departments of veterinary science, or entities offering residency training programs; or (2)paying the capital costs associated with the expansion of academic programs that offer postgraduate training for veterinarians or concurrent training for veterinary students in specific areas of specialization. (f)

Definition

In this section, the term public health practice includes bioterrorism and emergency preparedness, environmental health, food safety and food security, regulatory medicine, diagnostic laboratory medicine, and biomedical research. (g)

Authorization of Appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, and $1,264,000,000 for the 9-fiscal-year period beginning with fiscal year 2008. Amounts appropriated under this subsection shall remain available until expended.