[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3519 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3519

  To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching 
 Policy Act of 1977 to establish a grant program to promote efforts to 
  develop, implement, and sustain veterinary services, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 2009

Mr. Smith of Nebraska (for himself, Mr. Boswell, Mr. Baca, Mr. Conaway, 
  Mr. Holden, Mr. Latham, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Luetkemeyer, Mr. Massa, Mr. 
 McIntyre, Mr. Rogers of Alabama, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Schrader, Mr. Walz, 
Mr. Thornberry, Mrs. Lummis, Mr. Neugebauer, Mr. Schock, and Mr. Latta) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                              Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching 
 Policy Act of 1977 to establish a grant program to promote efforts to 
  develop, implement, and sustain veterinary services, 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 ``Veterinarian Services Investment 
Act''.

SEC. 2. VETERINARY SERVICES GRANT PROGRAM.

    The National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 
Act of 1977 is amended by inserting after section 1415A (7 U.S.C. 
3151a) the following new section:

``SEC. 1415B. VETERINARY SERVICES GRANT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Establishment of Program.--
            ``(1) Competitive grants.--The Secretary shall carry out a 
        program to make competitive grants to qualified entities 
        described in paragraph (2) for the purpose of developing, 
        implementing, and sustaining veterinary services.
            ``(2) Eligibility requirements.--To be eligible for a grant 
        under this subsection, a qualified entity must carry out 
        programs or activities that the Secretary determines will--
                    ``(A) substantially relieve veterinary shortage 
                situations;
                    ``(B) support or facilitate private veterinary 
                practices engaged in public health activities; or
                    ``(C) support or facilitate practices of 
                veterinarians who are participating in or have 
                successfully completed a service requirement under 
                section 1415A.
    ``(b) Award Processes and Preferences.--
            ``(1) Application, evaluation, and input processes.--In 
        administrating the grant program under this section, the 
        Secretary shall use an appropriate application and evaluation 
        process and seek the input of interested person.
            ``(2) Grant preferences.--In selecting qualified entities 
        to receive a grant under this section, the Secretary shall give 
        a preference to qualified entities that--
                    ``(A) document coordination between or with--
                            ``(i) a State, national, allied, or 
                        regional veterinary organization, a specialty 
                        board, or veterinary medical association 
                        recognized by the American Veterinary Medical 
                        Association;
                            ``(ii) the applicable accredited veterinary 
                        education institution, or accredited department 
                        of veterinary science, or department of 
                        comparative medicine; or
                            ``(iii) the applicable State veterinarian 
                        or animal health official (or its equivalent); 
                        and
                    ``(B) will use the grant funds to help to meet 
                veterinary workforce or food protection needs.
            ``(3) Additional preferences.--When awarding grants under 
        this section, the Secretary may develop additional preferences 
        by taking into account the amount of funds available for grants 
        as well as the purposes for which the grant funds will be used.
            ``(4) Applicability of other provisions.--Sections 1413B, 
        1462(a), 1469(a)(3), and 1469(c) shall apply to the 
        administration of the grant program under this section.
    ``(c) Cost-Sharing Requirements.--
            ``(1) Recipient share.--A grant recipient shall provide 
        matching non-Federal funds, either in cash or in-kind support, 
        in an amount equal to not less than 50 percent of the Federal 
        funds provided in a grant under this section.
            ``(2) Waiver.--The Secretary may establish, by regulation, 
        conditions under which the cost-sharing requirements of 
        paragraph (1) may be reduced or waived.
    ``(d) Use of Grant To Relieve Veterinary Shortage Situations and 
Support Veterinary Services.--Funds provided by grants under this 
section may be used for the following purposes to relieve veterinary 
shortage situations and support veterinary services:
            ``(1) Grants to promote recruitment, placement, and 
        retention of veterinarians, veterinary technicians, students of 
        veterinary medicine, and students of veterinary technology.
            ``(2) Grants to assist veterinarians with establishing or 
        expanding practices for the purpose of equipping veterinary 
        offices, sharing in the overhead costs of such practices, or to 
        the establishment of mobile veterinary facilities where at 
        least a portion of such facilities will address education or 
        extension needs.
            ``(3) Financial assistance for veterinary students, 
        veterinary interns, externs, fellows, and residents, and 
        veterinary technician students to attend training programs in 
        food safety or food animal medicine to cover expenses other 
        than tuition.
            ``(4) Programs establishing or expanding accredited 
        veterinary education programs, veterinary residency and 
        fellowship programs or veterinary internship and externship 
        programs in coordination with accredited colleges of veterinary 
        medicine.
            ``(5) Programs for tele-veterinary medicine where such 
        practices shall at least in part contribute to veterinary 
        extension, education, or research.
            ``(6) Support the ability of the office or position of a 
        State veterinarian or animal health official to coordinate 
        veterinary services and food protection issues described in the 
        preceding paragraphs.
            ``(7) Assessments of veterinarian shortage situations and 
        preparation of applications for designation as a shortage 
        situation.
            ``(8) Programs in continuing education and extension, 
        including distance-based education, for veterinarians, 
        veterinary technicians, and other health professionals needed 
        to strengthen veterinary programs and enhance food safety.
            ``(9) Faculty recruitment and retention programs at 
        accredited colleges of veterinary medicine.
            ``(10) Programs, in coordination with universities or local 
        educational agencies, to encourage students in secondary 
        schools to pursue a career in veterinary medicine or science 
        professions.
    ``(e) Prohibition on Use of Grant Funds for Construction.--Funds 
made available for grants under this section shall not be used for the 
construction of a new building or facility or the acquisition, 
expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an existing building of 
facility, including site grading and improvement and architect fees.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Veterinarian shortage situation.--The term 
        `veterinarian shortage situation' means a veterinarian shortage 
        situation determined by the Secretary under section 1415A(b).
            ``(2) Qualified entity.--The term `qualified entity' means 
        the following:
                    ``(A) A for-profit or nonprofit entity located in 
                the United States that operates a veterinary clinic 
                providing veterinary services--
                            ``(i) in a rural area, as defined in 
                        section 1393(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code 
                        of 1986; or
                            ``(ii) in response to a veterinarian 
                        shortage situation.
                    ``(B) A State, national, allied, or regional 
                veterinary organization or specialty board recognized 
                by the American Veterinary Medical Association.
                    ``(C) A college or school of veterinary medicine 
                accredited by the American Veterinary Medical 
                Association.
                    ``(D) A university research foundation or 
                veterinary medical foundation.
                    ``(E) A department of veterinary science or 
                department of comparative medicine accredited by the 
                Department of Education.
                    ``(F) A State agricultural experiment station.
                    ``(G) A State, local, or tribal government agency.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are necessary to carry out 
this section for fiscal year 2012 and each fiscal year thereafter.''.
                                 <all>