[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 73 (Friday, April 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 22209]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-08764]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Notice of Request for Applications for the Veterinary Medicine
Loan Repayment Program
AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is
announcing the release of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment
Program (VMLRP) request for applications. General information regarding
the VMLRP can be obtained at: www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp.
The Request for Applications (RFA) can be obtained at: http://nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-request-applications-rfa.
DATES: Applications are due May 20, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Danielle Tack, Program Coordinator,
Institute of Food Production and Sustainability, National Institute of
Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC
20024; telephone: (202) 401-6802; fax: (202) 720-6486; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Purpose
In January 2003, the National Veterinary Medical Service Act
(NVMSA) was passed into law adding section 1415A to the National
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1997
(NARETPA). This law established a new Veterinary Medicine Loan
Repayment Program (7 U.S.C. 3151a) authorizing the Secretary of
Agriculture to carry out a program of entering into agreements with
veterinarians under which they agree to provide veterinary services in
veterinarian shortage situations.
Section 7105 of FCEA amended section 1415A to revise the
determination of veterinarian shortage situations to consider (1)
geographical areas that the Secretary determines have a shortage of
veterinarians; and (2) areas of veterinary practice that the Secretary
determines have a shortage of veterinarians, such as food animal
medicine, public health, epidemiology, and food safety. This section
also added that priority should be given to agreements with
veterinarians for the practice of food animal medicine in veterinarian
shortage situations.
NARETPA section 1415A requires the Secretary, when determining the
amount of repayment for a year of service by a veterinarian to consider
the ability of USDA to maximize the number of agreements from the
amounts appropriated and to provide an incentive to serve in veterinary
service shortage areas with the greatest need. This section also
provides that loan repayments may consist of payments of the principal
and interest on government and commercial loans received by the
individual for the attendance of the individual at an accredited
college of veterinary medicine resulting in a degree of Doctor of
Veterinary Medicine or the equivalent. This program is not authorized
to provide repayments for any government or commercial loans incurred
during the pursuit of another degree, such as an associate or bachelor
degree. Loans eligible for repayment include educational loans made for
one or more of the following: Loans for tuition expenses; other
reasonable educational expenses, including fees, books, and laboratory
expenses, incurred by the individual; and reasonable living expenses as
determined by the Secretary. In addition, the Secretary is directed to
make such additional payments to participants as the Secretary
determines appropriate for the purpose of providing reimbursements to
participants for individual tax liability resulting from participation
in this program. Finally, this section requires USDA to promulgate
regulations within 270 days of the enactment of FCEA (i.e., June 18,
2008). The Secretary delegated the authority to carry out this program
to NIFA. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on April
19, 2010 [75 FR 20239-20248] allowing eligible veterinarians to
competitively apply for and receive a VMLRP award.
From FY 2010 through FY 2015, NIFA received 996 applications from
which 340 VMLRP awards were offered. Additional information by funding
year can be found at http://nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-reports-and-statistics.
On December 18, 2015, the President signed into law the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2016 (Pub. L. 114-113), which appropriated
$5,000,000 for the VMLRP. Funding for future years will be based on
annual appropriations and balances, if any, remaining from prior years.
The eligibility criteria for applicants and the application forms
and associated instructions needed to apply for a VMLRP award can be
viewed and downloaded from the VMLRP Web site at: http://nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-applicants.
Done in Washington, DC, this 6th day of April, 2016.
Sonny Ramaswamy,
Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2016-08764 Filed 4-14-16; 8:45 am]
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