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

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4365

   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 introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (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;
            (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;
            (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;
            (4) Alaska Native children have the highest incidence of 
        hospitalization for dog bites in the Indian Health Service 
        system;
            (5) in 2021, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, experienced co-
        occurring outbreaks of rabies and canine distemper;
            (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;
            (7) rabies is enzootic in arctic and red fox populations in 
        the northern and western coastal regions of the State of 
        Alaska;
            (8) wildlife outbreaks occur cyclically, and there have 
        been increased human exposures to rabid animals between 2020 
        and 2023;
            (9) rabies transmission is a significant threat in Alaska 
        Native communities and villages; and
            (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.
    (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.

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.
    ``(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.
    ``(d) Coordination.--The Secretary, acting through the Service, 
shall carry out this section in coordination with--
            ``(1) the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention; and
            ``(2) the Secretary of Agriculture.
    ``(e) 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''.
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