[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 27, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S4404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ALLARD (for himself, Mr. Smith, Mr. Lott, and Mr. Durbin):
  S. 914. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act 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; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, April 27, 2005, marks an important day for 
health care, especially personnel involved in public health 
specialties, because it is the day that I introduced the Veterinary 
Workforce Expansion Act, VWEA. This bill will create a new competitive 
grant program in the Department of Health and Human Services for 
capital improvements to the Nation's veterinary medical colleges.
  Many Americans do not realize that veterinarians are essential for 
early detection and response to unusual disease events that could be 
linked to newly emerging infectious diseases such as monkeypox, SARS, 
and West Nile Virus, just to name a few. The training and education 
that veterinarians receive prepares them to address the concerns of 
bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases, most of which are 
transmitted from animals to man. In fact, 80 percent of biothreat 
agents of concern fall into this category. I believe veterinarians 
should be our first-responders when it comes to these threats. I know 
that they are uniquely qualified to address these issues because I have 
received this training myself. I received my DVM from Colorado State 
University and have kept my license current every year since I closed 
my clinic and ran for elected office.
  Veterinarians are a unique national resource, as they are the only 
health professionals trained in multi-species comparative medicine. As 
a result of this training, the veterinary profession is able to provide 
an extraordinary link between agriculture and human medicine. The uses 
made of this link have been extensive, with multiple benefits to 
society.
  Currently, approximately 20 percent, 15,000, of all veterinarians in 
the United States are I engaged in either private population-health 
practice with a significant food animal component or public practice in 
one of its various forms. The need for new graduates entering the field 
is imperative to preparing the country for the threats of agroterrorism 
and bioterrorism. If new graduates do not enter these fields, 
government, nongovernmental organizations, industry, and agribusiness 
will employ lesser qualified individuals to fill their needs.
  There is a critical shortage of veterinarians working in public 
health areas. The Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, U.S. Public Health Service, veterinary 
academia, National Research Council, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
are unified in reporting that the shortage of veterinarians in the 
workforce will only continue to worsen. Combined with a rapidly growing 
population and increased human to animal interaction, there is an 
urgent need to adequately prepare the Nation's veterinary colleges so 
they may educate the workforce of the future.
  The VWEA would allow credentialed schools of veterinary medicine to 
compete for Federal grant funding under the Department of Health and 
Human Services. These grants would be for capital costs associated with 
expanding the existing schools of veterinary medicine or their academic 
programs in the areas of public health practice. This new grant program 
will be authorized for 10 fiscal years. At that point, it is my hope 
and goal that the veterinary medical colleges will be adequately 
prepared to educate the veterinary workforce for the future.
  For more than 100 years, veterinary medical colleges have effectively 
delivered a core educational program that has enabled veterinarians to 
adapt and respond to evolving societal needs. Being a veterinarian 
myself, I want to continue this tradition by expanding existing 
veterinary colleges. I hope that you will join me in my efforts to 
protect the Nation's public health by providing much-needed support for 
veterinary medical education.
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