Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act
This bill authorizes the Indian Health Service to provide and fund public health veterinary services for Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations to prevent and control diseases passed between animals and people (like rabies), including vaccination, spay/neuter, surveillance, diagnosis, and related activities. It lets HHS deploy Public Health Service veterinary officers, coordinate with CDC and USDA, requires biennial reporting to Congress, mandates a USDA study on delivering oral rabies vaccines in U.S. Arctic regions, and adds the Indian Health Service to the federal One Health coordination framework.
Key Points
- 1Authorizes funding and delivery of "public health veterinary services" (vaccination, spay/neuter, surveillance, epidemiology, diagnosis, control and prevention) to Tribal communities through the Indian Health Service or tribal self‑determination agreements.
- 2Allows deployment of Commissioned Corps veterinary public health officers and coordination of activities with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Agriculture; requires a biennial report to Congress on use of funds and disease surveillance.
- 3Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to complete a one‑year feasibility study on delivering oral rabies vaccines to wildlife in Arctic areas that affect Tribal members, and adds the Indian Health Service to the federal One Health framework.
This bill directs the Indian Health Service (IHS) to provide public health veterinary services for Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations to help prevent and control zoonotic diseases (diseases that can move between animals and people), with an emphasis on areas where those disease risks are endemic. It authorizes IHS to spend funds directly or through tribal self‑determination contracts, allows deployment of veterinary public health officers from the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and requires coordination with CDC and the Department of Agriculture. The bill also requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture (APHIS/Wildlife Services) to study the feasibility and effectiveness of using oral rabies vaccines in Arctic wildlife reservoirs and expands inclusion of the IHS in the federal One Health framework (which coordinates human, animal, and environmental health). If implemented and funded, the bill would strengthen tribal access to veterinary public‑health activities such as vaccination, surveillance, diagnostics, and spay/neuter programs, improve interagency coordination on zoonotic threats (including rabies), and produce a targeted study to guide oral rabies vaccine use in Arctic regions.
Key Points
- 1Adds a new Section 224 to the Indian Health Care Improvement Act defining and authorizing "public health veterinary services" (spay/neuter, diagnoses, surveillance, epidemiology, control, prevention, elimination, vaccination, and related services to reduce zoonotic disease or antimicrobial resistance).
- 2Authorizes the Secretary of HHS, through IHS, to expend funds (directly or via Indian Self‑Determination and Education Assistance Act agreements) to provide those veterinary public health services in Service areas where zoonotic disease risk is endemic.
- 3Permits assignment or deployment of veterinary public health officers from the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps to IHS Service areas and requires coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Secretary of Agriculture on activities.
- 4Requires a biennial report to relevant Senate and House committees on fund use, officer deployments, disease surveillance data, and related services provided under the new authority.
- 5Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to complete, within 1 year, a feasibility study (via APHIS Wildlife Services) on delivering oral rabies vaccines to wildlife reservoir species in Arctic U.S. regions that are connected to transmission to Tribal members; the study must evaluate vaccine efficacy and recommend ways to improve delivery.