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Farm Bill 2007Call to action: Contact Senators and House members of Congress about veterinary workforce grants and veterinary loan repayment
In mid-December the Senate passed the 2007 Farm Bill which includes the Veterinary Medicine Workforce Grant Program - Section 11045 and the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment - Section 7003. The House passed its version of the Farm Bill a few months ago which did not include either of those two sections. When Congress reconvenes in mid-January a joint Conference Committee will be established to work out the differences between the House and Senate 2007 Farm Bill versions. It is important for a message of support to be heard before Congress reconvenes because Congressional staffers are already working on a compromise bill. The United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) strongly supports Farm Bill Sections 11045 and 7003 with 2007 Resolutions Numbers 31 and 34 here. These resolutions were passed during the 111th Annual USAHA Meeting in Reno, Nev., in October. In order for the nation to address the shortage of veterinarians, the Veterinary Workforce Grant Program and the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment language must be included in the final 2007 Farm Bill. Increasing the number of trained veterinary professionals, especially large animal practitioners and those going into research, is drastically needed. As an animal health stakeholder you need to let your members of the House and Senate know how essential these two sections of the Farm Bill are to maintain food safety standards, promote public health, protect our citizens from zoonotic disease and provide safeguards against pandemics. Contact your legislator's offices, ask for the agriculture legislative assistant in that office and ask to maintain the Senate wording in the final version of the Farm Bill. To find your legislators, click hereand enter your zip code. Please join the AAEP, AVMA, USAHA and others in taking action to ensure that this important veterinary animal health legislation is included in the 2007 Farm Bill. Date posted: 1/9/08 |
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American Association of Equine Practitioners |
