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HR8473119th CongressWALLET

Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act

Sponsored By: Representative Begich, Nicholas J. [R-AK-At Large]

In Committee

Summary

This bill would create a _public health veterinary services program within the Indian Health Service_ to prevent and control zoonotic disease threats in Tribal communities. It centers work on a One Health approach that links people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.

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  • Tribal communities and families would gain public health veterinary services such as spaying and neutering, vaccination, diagnosis, surveillance, epidemiology, control, and other activities aimed at lowering zoonotic disease risk and antimicrobial resistance.
  • The Indian Health Service would be able to fund and deliver these services directly or through the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, and the Secretary could assign veterinary public health officers from the Commissioned Corps to IHS service areas. The bill also adds the Director of the Indian Health Service to the One Health Framework officials list.
  • Federal coordination would increase with required work alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Agriculture. The Department of Agriculture's APHIS Wildlife Services must complete a feasibility study within one year on delivering oral rabies vaccine to Arctic wildlife reservoirs, evaluate vaccine efficacy, and make recommendations.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Veterinary public health for Tribal communities

If enacted, this bill would create a Public Health Veterinary Services program inside the Indian Health Service. The program would pay for spaying and neutering, vaccinations, disease testing, surveillance, and other services that reduce animal-to-human disease in IHS Service areas where risk is endemic. HHS, through IHS, could spend funds directly or under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act and could send veterinary public health officers from the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps to these areas. IHS would coordinate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Agriculture and must report to specified House and Senate committees every two years on fund use, officer deployment, and surveillance data.

Add Director of Indian Health Service to One Health

If enacted, the bill would amend the One Health coordination framework to add the Director of the Indian Health Service to the list of participating officials. This would expand interagency representation and could improve coordination to prevent and respond to zoonotic disease threats affecting Tribal communities.

Rabies vaccine study for Arctic Tribes

If enacted, the Secretary of Agriculture would be required to complete a feasibility study within one year on delivering oral rabies vaccines to wildlife linked to rabies transmission to Tribal members in Arctic regions. The study would evaluate how well those vaccines work and would make recommendations to improve vaccine delivery to lower rabies risk for those Tribal communities.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Begich, Nicholas J. [R-AK-At Large]

AK • R

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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