To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a loan repayment program to encourage the provision of veterinary services in shortage and emergency situations.

November 13 (legislative day, NOVEMBER 12), 2003

Mr. COCHRAN (for himself, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. ENSIGN, and Mr. CRAPO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a loan repayment program to encourage the provision of veterinary services in shortage and emergency situations.

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 `National Veterinary Medical Service Act'.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FOR VETERINARY MEDICINE.

The National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 is amended by inserting after section 1415 (7 U.S.C. 3151) the following:

`SEC. 1415A. VETERINARY MEDICINE LOAN REPAYMENT.

`(a) DEFINITIONS.

`In this section:

`(A) QUALIFYING EDUCATIONAL LOAN- The term `qualifying educational loan' means a government or commercial loan incurred by an individual to pay for attendance at an accredited college of veterinary medicine resulting in a degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine or the equivalent, including--

`(i) tuition expenses;

`(ii) other reasonable educational expenses, including fees, books, and laboratory expenses; and

`(iii) reasonable living expenses, as determined by the Secretary.

`(B) VETERINARIAN SHORTAGE SITUATION-

`(i) IN GENERAL- The term `veterinarian shortage situation' shall have the meaning that the Secretary shall prescribe.

`(ii) CONSIDERATIONS- In determining what constitutes a veterinarian shortage situation, the Secretary may consider--

`(I) urban or rural areas that the Secretary determines have a shortage of veterinarians;----------

`(II) areas of veterinary practice that the Secretary determines have a shortage of veterinarians, such as public health, epidemiology, and food safety;

`(III) areas of veterinary need in the Federal Government; and

`(IV) other factors that the Secretary considers to be relevant.

`(b) PROGRAM-

`(1) SERVICE IN VETERINARIAN SHORTAGE SITUATIONS-

`(A) IN GENERAL- Subject to the availability of funds under subsection (d), the Secretary shall carry out a program to enter into agreements with veterinarians under which a veterinarian agrees to provide, for a period of time determined by the Secretary and specified in the agreement, veterinary services in veterinarian shortage situations.

`(B) ANNUAL LOAN REPAYMENT- For each year of service under an agreement under this paragraph, the Secretary shall pay an amount, determined by the Secretary and specified in the agreement, of the principal, interest, and related expenses of the qualifying educational loans of the veterinarian.

`(2) SERVICE TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS- The Secretary may enter into a 1-year agreement with a veterinarian who has entered into an agreement under paragraph (1) for the veterinarian to provide service to the Federal Government in an emergency situation, as determined by the Secretary, under terms and conditions specified in the agreement.

`(C) ADDITIONAL ANNUAL LOAN REPAYMENT-

`(i) IN GENERAL- Under an agreement under this paragraph, the Secretary shall pay an amount, as determined by the Secretary and specified in the agreement, of the principal, interest, and related expenses of the qualifying educational loans of the veterinarian.

`(ii) AMOUNT IN ADDITION- An amount paid under clause (i) shall be in addition to the amount paid under the agreement under paragraph (1).

`(D) REQUIREMENTS- An agreement under this paragraph shall provide that--

`(i) a veterinarian shall not be required to serve more than 60 working days per year of the agreement; and

`(ii) a veterinarian who provides service in accordance with the agreement--

`(I) shall receive a salary commensurate with the duties performed; and

`(II) shall be reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses as appropriate for the duration of the service.

`(c) ADMINISTRATION-

`(1) AUTHORITY- The Secretary may carry out the program under subsection (b) directly or through an agreement with another Federal agency or service provider.

`(2) BREACH REMEDIES-

`(A) IN GENERAL- An agreement under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) shall provide remedies for a breach of the agreement by the veterinarian, including repayment or partial repayment of financial assistance received, with interest.

`(B) AMOUNTS RECOVERED- Funds recovered under this subsection--

`(i) shall be credited to the account available to carry out this section; and

`(ii) shall be available to carry out this section without further appropriation until expended.

`(C) WAIVER- If the Secretary determines that a veterinarian has breached an agreement due to extreme hardship or extreme need, the Secretary may grant a waiver of the repayment obligation for breach of contract.

`(4) REPAYMENT SCHEDULE- The Secretary may enter into an agreement with the holder of a qualifying educational loan for which payments are made under this section to establish a schedule for the making of payments.

`(5) TAX LIABILITY- In addition to educational loan repayments, the Secretary shall make such additional payments to a participating veterinarian as the Secretary determines to be appropriate to reimburse the veterinarian for tax liability resulting from participation in the program under this section.

`(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section, to remain available until expended.'.

END