U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) recently introduced bipartisan legislation to address a critical shortage of veterinarians in rural communities. The Rural Veterinary Workforce Act would not only provide tax benefits to veterinarians to encourage them to practice in rural communities, but it would also increase the care available to livestock and poultry.
“Quality veterinary care is essential to the agricultural economy and public health in rural communities in Michigan and across the country,” Stabenow said in a release. “But too many communities lack the veterinary services they need. This bipartisan bill will provide incentives to veterinarians to practice in underserved areas, where quality veterinary care is needed to ensure healthy livestock and a safe food supply.”
Veterinarians are critical in agriculture and public health. Unfortunately, rural communities face a chronic shortage of quality veterinary services, and 500 counties across 46 states reported critical shortages last year.
“Veterinarians in rural areas are crucial in maintaining animal health and welfare, and ensuring ranchers and farmers have access to care for their livestock,” Crapo said in a release. “By addressing the overly-burdensome taxes on the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, we can improve access to rural veterinary care while strengthening local economies and protecting the safety of our national food supply.”
In 2003, Congress established the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program. This addressed the shortage by assisting qualifying veterinarians with student loan repayment in exchange for a three-year commitment to practice in underserved communities.
However, the program is currently subject to a significant federal withholding tax, lawmakers point out, which limits available resources and the reach of its benefits. The Rural Veterinary Workforce Act provides an exemption from the federal income withholding tax for payments received under the program and similar state programs, helping give more veterinarians the opportunity to practice in small, rural communities where their services are needed most, the release said. This change would reflect similar exemptions provided to medical doctors and other human health practitioners.
“Increasing veterinary services in high-priority rural areas through the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act would help keep the nation’s livestock healthy and our food supply safe and secure, and protect public health,” Rena Carlson, DVM, AVMA President, said in a release. “The AVMA has been a long-time champion of the proposed legislation. After the legislation received a historic level of support in the previous Congress, we look forward to working with the congressional champions to enact this bill and help rural communities across the country access the many essential services veterinarians provide.”
Stabenow and Crapo led this effort in the 117th Congress, and Representative Adrian Smith introduced companion legislation in the House earlier this year. The bipartisan bill is cosponsored by Senators King (D-Maine), Hyde-Smith (R- Miss.), Smith (D-Minn.), Murkowski (R-Alaska), Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Moran (R-Kan.), Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Boozman (R-Ark.), Feinstein (D-Calif), Collins (R-Maine), Murray (D-Wash.), and Risch (R-Idaho).
“Every American community deserves ready access to veterinarians. Congress can ensure our nation’s livestock and poultry are healthy, our food supply is safe and secure, and public health is protected by passing the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act,” stakeholders wrote in a statement of support found here.
