80 FR 25998 - Notice of Request for Applications for the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 87 (May 6, 2015)

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is announcing the release of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP). 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.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25998-25999]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-10287]


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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). 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: The fiscal year (FY) 2015 Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment 
Program (VMLRP) application package will be available at: http://nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-request-applications-rfa. Applications must be 
received by June 22, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Danielle Tack, VMLRP Program Manager, 
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: 

[[Page 25999]]

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.
    On December 16, 2014, the President signed into law the 
Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 
113-235), which appropriated $5,000,000 for the VMLRP.
    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). Based on comments received during the 60-day 
comment period upon publication of the interim rule on July 9, 2009 (74 
FR 32788), NIFA reconsidered the policy regarding individuals who 
consolidated their veterinary school loans with other educational loans 
(e.g., undergraduate) and their eligibility to apply for the VMLRP. 
NIFA will allow these individuals to apply for and receive a VMLRP 
award; however, only the eligible portion of the consolidation will be 
repaid by the VMLRP. Furthermore, applicants with consolidated loans 
will be asked to provide a complete history of their student loans from 
the National Student Loan Database System (NSLDS), a central database 
for student aid operated by the U.S. Department of Education. The NSLDS 
Web site can be found at www.nslds.ed.gov. Individuals who consolidated 
their DVM loans with non-educational loans or loans belonging to an 
individual other than the applicant, such as a spouse or child, will 
continue to be ineligible for the VMLRP.
    In FY 2010, NIFA announced its first funding opportunity for the 
VMLRP. In the five (5) program cycles since, NIFA has received 858 
applications from which 291 VMLRP awards totaling $25,292,341 were 
issued. Consequently, up to $4,428,150 is available to support this 
program in FY 2015. Funding for future years will be based on annual 
appropriations and balances, if any, remaining from prior years. 
General information regarding the VMLRP can be obtained at the VMLRP 
Web site: http://www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp.
    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-request-applications-rfa.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of April, 2015.
Sonny Ramaswamy,
Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2015-10287 Filed 5-5-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-22-P