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Amends 42 U.S.C. 300hh–37(b) to insert the Director of the Indian Health Service into the list of officials referenced alongside the Secretary of the Interior.
Inserts a new section (224, "Public health veterinary services") into Title II of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act after section 223 (25 U.S.C. 1621v), authorizing the Secretary (acting through the Service) to expend funds for public health veterinary services, deploy veterinary public health officers from the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service, coordinate with the CDC and the Secretary of Agriculture, and require a biennial report to specified congressional committees.
Inserts a new section (section 224, "Public health veterinary services") after existing section 223 (25 U.S.C. 1621v) in Title II of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, adding definitions, an authorization to expend funds for public health veterinary services (including pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act), authority to assign/deploy veterinary public health officers from the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service, coordination requirements with the Director of the CDC and the Secretary of Agriculture, and a biennial reporting requirement to specified Congressional committees.
Authorizes the Indian Health Service to provide and fund public health veterinary services for Tribal communities using a One Health approach that links human, animal, and environmental health. Requires coordination with federal partners, allows assignment of Commissioned Corps veterinary public health officers, mandates a biennial report to Congress, orders a one-year feasibility study on oral rabies vaccine delivery to Arctic wildlife, and adds the IHS Director to an existing pandemic/response official list.
Congress finds that the Indian Health Service of the Department of Health and Human Services is uniquely suited to empower Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations to address zoonotic disease threats in the communities they serve.
Congress finds that this empowerment is to occur by providing public health veterinary services through a One Health approach that recognizes the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.
Creates a definition for “public health veterinary services” and lists included activities: spaying and neutering of domestic animals; diagnoses; surveillance; epidemiology; control; prevention; elimination; vaccination; and any other related service or activity that reduces the risk of zoonotic disease transmission or antimicrobial resistance in humans, food, or animals.
Defines “zoonotic disease” as a disease or infection that may be transmitted naturally from vertebrate animals to humans, or from humans to vertebrate animals.
Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Service, to expend funds (directly or pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act) for public health veterinary services to prevent and control zoonotic disease infection and transmission in Service areas where the risk in humans and wildlife is endemic.
Primary beneficiaries are Indian Tribes and Tribal communities, who will gain federal authorization and a clearer federal role in veterinary public health to detect and respond to diseases that move between animals and people. IHS and its staff will take on new program responsibilities and coordination duties with CDC and USDA; assignment of Commissioned Corps veterinary public health officers will expand federal veterinary capacity available to Tribal areas. The required biennial reports increase congressional oversight and program transparency. The USDA feasibility study targets Arctic wildlife rabies control, which may lead to concrete recommendations and changes in on-the-ground vaccine delivery that benefit Tribal members in U.S. Arctic regions (including Alaska Native communities). Implementation will likely require funding, operational capacity, and interagency collaboration; absent new appropriations, IHS may need to reallocate existing resources. Overall public health capacity in Tribal areas should improve for zoonotic disease prevention, surveillance, and response, but outcomes depend on funding levels, staffing, and effective coordination among federal agencies and Tribal partners.
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Received in the House.
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
Introduced February 18, 2025 by Lisa Murkowski · Last progress December 15, 2025
Held at the desk.
Received in the House.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S8687; text: CR S8687)