[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 1, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25417-25418]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10213]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Notice of Request for Applications for the Veterinary Medicine 
Loan Repayment Program

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is 
announcing the release of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment 
Program (VMLRP) Request for Applications (RFA) at www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp.

DATES: The fiscal year (FY) 2013 Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment 
Program (VMLRP) application package is available at www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp and applications are due by Friday, May 31, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Sherman; National Program Leader, 
Veterinary Science; National Institute of Food and Agriculture; U.S. 
Department of Agriculture; STOP 2240; 1400 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20250-2240; Voice: 202-401-4952; Fax: 202-401-6156; 
Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 1, 2009, the Cooperative State 
Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) became the National 
Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) as mandated by section 7511(f) 
of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA), Public Law 
110-246. Accordingly, the authority to administer the VMLRP transferred 
from CSREES to NIFA.

Background and Purpose

    In January 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 1997 
(NARETPA). This law established a new Veterinary Medicine Loan 
Repayment Program (7 U.S.C. 3151a) authorizing the Secretary of 
Agriculture 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 for 
CSREES to implement the VMLRP and represented the first time funds had 
been appropriated for this program.
    On March 26, 2013, the President signed into law the Consolidated 
and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (Pub. L. 113-6), which 
appropriated $4,430,000 for the VMLRP.
    Section 7105 of 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

[[Page 25418]]

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. Finally, this section 
requires USDA to promulgate regulations within 270 days of the 
enactment of FCEA (i.e., June 18, 2008). The Secretary delegated the 
authority to carry out this program to NIFA.
    The final rule was published in the Federal Register on April 19, 
2010. 75 FR 20239-20248. Based on comments received during the 60-day 
comment period upon publication of the interim rule on July 9, 2009, 74 
FR 32788-32798, NIFA reconsidered the policy regarding individuals who 
consolidated their veterinary school loans with other educational loans 
(e.g. undergraduate) and their eligibility to apply for the VMLRP. NIFA 
will allow these individuals to apply for and receive a VMLRP award; 
however, only the eligible portion of the consolidation will be repaid 
by the VMLRP. Furthermore, applicants with consolidated loans will be 
asked to provide a complete history of their student loans from the 
National Student Loan Database System (NSLDS), a central database for 
student aid operated by the U.S. Department of Education. The NSLDS Web 
site can be found at www.nslds.ed.gov. Individuals who consolidated 
their DVM loans with non-educational loans or loans belonging to an 
individual other than the applicant, such as a spouse or child, will 
continue to be ineligible for the VMLRP.
    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 announced its second funding 
opportunity and received 159 applications from which NIFA issued 78 
VMLRP awards totaling $7,506,000. In FY 2012, VMLRP announced its third 
funding opportunity and received 139 applications from which NIFA 
issued 46 VMLRP awards totaling $4,519,212. Consequently, up to 
$4,000,000 is available to support this program in FY 2013. Funding for 
future years will be based on annual appropriations and balances, if 
any, remaining from prior years. The eligibility criteria for 
applicants and the application forms and associated instructions needed 
to apply for a VMLRP award can be viewed and downloaded from the VMLRP 
Web site at http://www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 24th day of April 2013.
Meryl Broussard,
Deputy Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2013-10213 Filed 4-30-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P