Baldwin Measure to Protect Public Health Passes House

Press Release

The House, on Tuesday, passed legislation authored by Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) that confronts public health threats by investing in the public health veterinary workforce. The Veterinary Public Health Amendments Act (H.R. 525) will help meet the dramatically rising need for more doctors trained to identify, diagnose, control, and monitor diseases transmitted from animals to humans.

"Public health veterinarians are our frontline of defense against diseases transmitted from animals to humans. Their role was never clearer than during the 2009 H1N1 virus outbreak," Congresswoman Baldwin explained. In recent years, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Monkeypox, West Nile Virus, Lyme disease, Avian Flu, and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease) and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), as well as the H1N1 flu, have had a significant impact on public health; and veterinarians have played a vital role in protecting the public from these diseases.

"Public health veterinarians inspect our slaughterhouses, prevent a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak from devastating our economy and agriculture industry, and protect our citizens against the threat of bio-terrorism. It's vitally important that our veterinary workforce expand to meet rising health threats," Baldwin said.

A February 2009 report to Congress by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) reveals a worsening shortage of large-animal veterinarians that the American Veterinary Medical Association calls a "threat to national security." In the next 20 years, experts predict a shortage of 15,000 veterinarians.

H.R. 525 will help expand the veterinary public health workforce by offering loan repayment for veterinarians who commit to teaching or working in public health and a new fellowship program for public health veterinarians.

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"The Veterinary Public Health Amendments Act will help ensure that our nation's veterinary public health workforce is sufficient to meet our many pressing needs," said Dr. Daryl Buss, Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison. "At the local level, the Act's loan repayment provisions will be enormously important to those students at our UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine who aspire to careers in veterinary public health. I appreciate Congresswoman Baldwin's awareness of the issues and importance of veterinary public health, and her hard work and leadership, over many years, in successfully bringing this legislation through the committee," Dr. Buss said.

"The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) applauds Congresswoman Baldwin for working so hard to get this legislation passed, because it will help fight a shortage of veterinarians in the public health workforce. I urge Congress to follow her leadership and take action as soon as possible," said Dr. Larry Kornegay, president of the AVMA.

"The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) is excited about this important legislation, which will open opportunities to U.S. colleges of veterinary Medicine to more effectively serve the health and welfare of our nation--by protecting the food supply, preventing the transmission of zoonotic diseases to people, securing our nation's defense, and promoting the physical and mental well being of households through the health of their pets," said AAVMC Executive Director Marguerite Pappaioanou, DVM, Ph.D.

Dr. Willie Reed, AAVMC president and dean of Purdue University's School of Veterinary Medicine said, "The AAVMC is thankful to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, especially Chairman Upton, Ranking Member Waxman, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, and Congressmen Frank Pallone and Phil Gringrey, for their work on this legislation and for recognizing that veterinarians are critical members of our nation's health team."

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