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Veterinarians and veterinary medical colleges combine to produce the only professionals trained to link animal diseases, environmental issues, human diseases, food-safety, and bioterrorism agents. Six of the seven Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Critical Biological Agents "Category A" diseases are diseases common to both animals and man. Veterinarians engaged in food supply practice, from farm to fork, are involved in the earliest phases of the food production chain and public health. It begins with the veterinarian consulting with producers concerning animal husbandry and environmental impacts; care of the animals; transport to and through the slaughterhouse; and on to the manufacture, shipping, and sale of food; ending up on the consumer's table. These stages require knowledge and recognition of normal food animals, acceptable food animal and environmental production methods, disease diagnoses, proper use of pharmaceuticals and other treatments, proper and humane slaughter procedures, food handling and food-safety. Five hundred new veterinarians will need to enter the profession annually to satisfy projected needs in food animal veterinary practice.

The Envisioning the Future of Veterinary Medical Education report of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges released in 2006 along with the Future Directions for Veterinary Medicine report, issued by the Pew National Veterinary Education Program back in 1988, both call for changes in the education of veterinarians in order to create a process that is responsive to future needs. Both reports, covering a time period of almost 20 years, state that it is not possible for individual colleges to provide the requirements to adequately cover all of veterinary medicine or even a large part of it and that colleges of veterinary medicine should consider developing areas of professional focus in food animal medicine, identified as centers of emphasis.

Each Centers of Emphasis would focus on a different food animal species and no more than one or two Centers would focus on the same species. By focusing resources veterinary colleges could develop one or more world-class teaching, research, and clinical centers as a leading center of emphasis in food systems veterinary medicine. Experts would be centralized in appropriate Centers of Emphasis to create leading-edge critical mass of expertise.

1. IN GENERAL. The Secretary shall make grants to, and enter into contracts with, eligible schools of veterinary medicine described in subsection (c) of this section, for the purpose of assisting the schools in supporting centers of emphasis in food systems veterinary medicine
2. REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS. The Secretary may not make a grant under subsection (a) of this section unless the designated school of veterinary medicine agrees to expend the grant:
   1. to develop a competitive student applicant pool through linkages with other schools of veterinary medicine;
   2. to improve the capacity of such school to train, recruit and retain faculty, including the payment of such stipends and fellowships as the Secretary may deem appropriate in the areas of food animal medicine, food supply bioterrorism prevention, surveillance, food-safety/defense and to enhance environmental quality.
   3. to carry out activities to improve the information resources, curriculum, and clinical education of students of the school, as it relates to food animal veterinary medicine, food supply bioterrorism prevention and surveillance, and food-safety.
   4. to facilitate faculty and student research on health issues affecting food producing animals, food supply bioterrorism prevention, surveillance, food-safety and enhanced environmental quality.
   5. to provide stipends for students to offset the cost of travel, tuition, and other expenses associated with attendance at such designated school; and
   6. for other such purposes as the Secretary determines are appropriate.
3. ELIGIBLE SCHOOLS OF VETERINARY MEDICINE. To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a), a school of veterinary medicine shall
   1. be
      1. a public or other nonprofit school of veterinary medicine; and
      2. accredited by a recognized body or bodies approved for such purpose by the Department of Education; and
   2. prepare and submit to the Secretary an application, at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
4. CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS. The Secretary shall establish procedures to ensure that applications under subsection (c)(2) are rigorously reviewed and that grants are competitively awarded based on
   1. the ability of the applicant to provide a comprehensive educational experience for students with particular emphasis on the species of food animal for which the college is applying that is used for food production to include food animal veterinary medicine, food supply bioterrorism prevention, surveillance, food-safety and improved environmental quality; and
   2. the ability of the applicant to increase capacity in research on the species of food animal for which the college is applying that is used for food production with high priority given to food supply bioterrorism disease agents, food-safety and environmental quality as determined by the Secretary; or
   3. any other consideration the Secretary determines necessary.
5. PREFERENCE FOR CONSORTIUM. In awarding grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give preference to applicants that demonstrate inter-institutional agreements, including residency, tuition, and fees, involving more than one school of veterinary medicine, school of public health, school of agriculture, or other entity that is involved with education and research in food production systems.
6. DURATION OF GRANT. The period during which payments are made under a grant under subsection (a) may not exceed 5 years. Such payments shall be subject to annual approval by the Secretary and to the availability of appropriations for the fiscal year involved to make payments.
7. DEFINITIONS. CONSIDER DEFINITIONS HERE.
8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. For the purpose of making grants under subsection (a) of this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and $20,000,000 for fiscal years 2009 to 2012. Amounts appropriated under this section shall remain available until expended.

HMC: 02/14/07 5:00 PM