[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 213 (Thursday, November 3, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68126-68127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-28508]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

RIN 0524-AA43


Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders Regarding the Veterinary 
Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP)

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of request for stakeholder input.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is 
soliciting stakeholder input on the administration of the Veterinary 
Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) authorized under section 1415A 
of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 
Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3151a). The purpose of this program is for the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to enter into agreements with 
veterinarians under which the veterinarians agree to provide, for a 
specific period of time as identified in the agreement, veterinary 
services in veterinarian shortage situations. As part of the 
stakeholder input process, NIFA is inviting comments regarding the 
current procedures and processes in place for the VMLRP. Input 
collected will be used to modify and improve processes for subsequent 
calls of shortage situation nominations and request for applications.

DATES: Written comments are invited from interested individuals and 
organizations. All comments must be received by close of business on 
December 5, 2011, to be considered.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NIFA-2012-0001, by 
any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Email: [email protected]. Include NIFA-2012-0001 in the subject 
line of the message.
    Fax: (202) 720-6486.
    Mail: Paper, disk or CD-ROM submissions should be submitted to 
VMLRP, Policy and Oversight Division, National Institute of Food and 
Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture; STOP 2299, 1400

[[Page 68127]]

Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-2299.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: VMLRP; Policy and Oversight Division, 
National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Room 2308, Waterfront Centre, 800 9th Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20024.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and NIFA-2012-0001. All comments received will be posted without change 
to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Lockhart, Senior Policy 
Specialist; National Institute of Food and Agriculture; U.S. Department 
of Agriculture; STOP 2299; 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20250-2299; Voice: (202) 570-7410; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background and Purpose

    The VMLRP helps qualified veterinarians offset a significant 
portion of the debt incurred in pursuit of their veterinary medicine 
degrees in return for their service in certain high-priority veterinary 
shortage situations. NIFA will enter into educational loan repayment 
agreements with veterinarians who agree to provide veterinary services 
in veterinarian shortage situations for a determined period of time. 
NIFA may repay up to $25,000 of a veterinarian's student loan debt per 
year if the veterinarian commits to at least three years to provide 
veterinary services in a designated veterinary shortage area. Loan 
repayment benefits are limited to payments of the principal and 
interest on government and commercial loans received for the attendance 
at an accredited college of veterinary medicine that result in a degree 
of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine or the equivalent.
    In December 2003, the National Veterinary Medical Service Act 
(NVMSA) was passed into law adding section 1415A to the National 
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 
(NARETPA). This law established a new Veterinary Medicine Loan 
Repayment Program (7 U.S.C. 3151a) authorizing the Secretary of 
Agriculture (secretary) to carry out a program of entering into 
agreements with veterinarians under which they agree to provide 
veterinary services in veterinarian shortage situations. In November 
2005, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, 
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 (Pub. L. 109-97), 
appropriated $495,000 to implement the VMLRP and represented the first 
time funds had been appropriated for this program. In February 2007, 
the Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007 (Pub. L. 110-5), 
appropriated an additional $495,000 for support of the program, and in 
December 2007, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (Pub. L. 110-
161), appropriated an additional $868,875 for support of this program, 
and in March 2009, the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (Pub. L. 111-8) 
was enacted, providing an additional $2,950,000, for the VMLRP, and in 
October 2009, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 (Pub. 
L. 111-80) appropriated another $4,800,000 for the VMLRP. On April 15, 
2011, the President signed into law, Pub. L. 112-10, Department of 
Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011, which after 
a .2% rescission, appropriated an additional $4,790,400 for the VMLRP.
    On October 1, 2009, CSREES became the NIFA as mandated by the Food, 
Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, section 7511(f). Accordingly, the 
authority to administer the VMLRP transferred from CSREES to NIFA.
    In FY 2010, VMLRP announced its first funding opportunity and 
received 260 applications from which NIFA issued 53 VMLRP awards 
totaling $5,186,000. In FY 2011, VMLRP opened its second funding 
opportunity and received 159 applications from which NIFA has made 80 
VMLRP award offers totaling $7,708,000. Each award offer is contingent 
upon submission of a signed contract, thereby executing the service 
agreement between the veterinarian and NIFA. Funding for future years 
is based on annual appropriations and balances, if any, remaining from 
prior years.
    Section 7105 of the FCEA amended section 1415A to revise the 
determination of veterinarian shortage situations to consider (1) 
Geographical areas that the Secretary determines have a shortage of 
veterinarians; and (2) areas of veterinary practice that the Secretary 
determines have a shortage of veterinarians, such as food animal 
medicine, public health, epidemiology, and food safety. This section 
also added that priority should be given to agreements with 
veterinarians for the practice of food animal medicine in veterinarian 
shortage situations.
    NARETPA section 1415A requires the Secretary, when determining the 
amount of repayment for a year of service by a veterinarian, to 
consider the ability of USDA to maximize the number of agreements from 
the amounts appropriated and to provide an incentive to serve in 
veterinary service shortage areas with the greatest need. This section 
also provides that loan repayments may consist of payments of the 
principal and interest on government and commercial loans received by 
the individual for the attendance of the individual at an accredited 
college of veterinary medicine resulting in a degree of Doctor of 
Veterinary Medicine or the equivalent. This program is not authorized 
to provide repayments for any government or commercial loans incurred 
during the pursuit of another degree, such as an associate or bachelor 
degree. Loans eligible for repayment include educational loans made for 
one or more of the following: Loans for tuition expenses; other 
reasonable educational expenses, including fees, books, and laboratory 
expenses, incurred by the individual; and reasonable living expenses as 
determined by the Secretary. In addition, the Secretary is directed to 
make such additional payments to participants as the Secretary 
determines appropriate for the purpose of providing reimbursements to 
participants for individual tax liability resulting from participation 
in this program. The Secretary delegated the authority to carry out 
this program to NIFA.
    NIFA is inviting stakeholder comments to use in improving the 
administration of the VMLRP. Written comments and suggestions on issues 
may be submitted to the NIFA Docket Clerk at the address above.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of October 2011.
Chavonda Jacobs-Young,
Acting Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2011-28508 Filed 11-2-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P