Featured Articles:
Commission Delays Enforcement of the Red Flags Until August 1
By Gina Luke, Assistant Director of the GRD
After months of effort to delay enforcement and to exclude veterinarians entirely from the Red Flags Rule, the AVMA secured a victory for its members when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced late on April 30 that it would not enforce the measure until August 1.
"Given the ongoing debate about whether Congress wrote this provision too broadly, delaying enforcement of the Red Flags Rule will allow industries and associations to share guidance with their members, provide low-risk entities an opportunity to use the template in developing their programs, and give Congress time to consider the issue further," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz... More »
Tracking the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Virus
By Dr. Christine Hoang, Assistant Director, Scientific Activities Division
Updated: Friday, May 8, 2009 at 12:00 p.m. EST
Historically, influenza viruses have followed a naming convention that includes the type, location, isolate number and year. Generally, the specific animal species affected is included as well. Thus, following the traditional naming convention, this virus should be named something along the lines of A/California/04/2009.
Although there has been no evidence of pork or pork product consumption associated with any of the cases, the misnomer has caused undue alarm and concern. While some are still referring to the virus erroneously as the "swine flu," many others, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and... More »
Senate & House Hold Hearings on H1N1 Virus
By Kirk Breuninger, GRD Extern
The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a hearing on Wednesday, April 29, to review the federal government's response to the current flu outbreak. Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CN) praised the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for their aggressive approach to limiting the spread of the disease and for disseminating timely and accurate information to the public.
Lieberman, along with Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and John McCain (R-AZ), questioned Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and acting CDC Deputy Director for Science and Public Health Programs Anne Schuchat about the need to close... More »
CODEX Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs
By Melissa Austin, GRD Extern
International fair trade practices are rarely at the forefront of veterinarians' minds. Stephen Vaughn, the U.S. delegate, and Charles Pixley, the USDA/FSIS alternate delegate to the CODEX alimentarius commission, would argue that international fair trade practices are relevant to veterinary medicine. Vaughn recently said, "Every time a veterinarian or producer administers an animal drug to a food-producing animal, the residues from those drugs distribute to the edible tissues (meat, milk, eggs, and honey). Those human foods are provided to U.S. citizens and exported to countries around the world. International standards are established to provide globally accepted maximum residues levels (MRL) for... More »
Opportunities:
AVMAPAC Competition Continues
The AVMA's Political Action Committee's (AVMAPAC) fundraising campaign continues! Victorious states and schools will win $1000 contributions to their scholarship funds. The financial clock began ticking on July 1, 2o08 and will run through June 30, 2009. Any and all donations to the PAC during that time period will be attributed to the donor's home state and graduate school of record. The contest rankings can be seen in the right sidebar of this month's AVMA Advocate. A formal announcement of the scholarships and accompanying accolades will be made at the AVMA Annual Convention in Seattle in July. Small schools and states should fear not – the winners will be determined based on total contributions and on per capita contributions. Learn more about AVMAPAC: AVMA Members or Non-Members
Join us on Facebook
Join the hundreds of supporters of the Congressional Advocacy Network (AVMA-CAN) – including hundreds of people not affiliated with the veterinary profession – on the popular social networking site Facebook! AVMA-CAN now has a Facebook page. The page is used to help grow the network and amplify AVMA's advocacy efforts. Action alerts and information on pending legislation can be found there. The page is open to all Facebook users, so we encourage you, your family and friends to join our group to help advance the profession of veterinary medicine. Find AVMA-CAN's Facebook page here.
|
= AVMA/SAVMA Members Only
PAC Stats
