Leaders to testify at House hearing tomorrow

Washington - 1/22/08 - The House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health want several key officials to discuss implementation of the Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act.

The University of Georgia's veterinary college Dean Sheila Allen, DVM, Dr. Marguerite Pappaioanou, head of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), Dr. Ron DeHaven, head of the American Veterinary Medical Association and Dr. Alan Kelly, a professor of pathology and dean emeritus of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine plan to testify during a hearing tomorrow.

The Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act establishes a competitive grants program designed to build capacity in veterinary medical education and expand the workforce of veterinarians engaged in public-health practice and biomedical research.

"This is a huge deal," AAVMC spokesman Dr. Michael Chaddock says. "We've been waiting for the bill to pass so that our colleges can increase their capacity, which is what the country desperately needs today. It's a giant step forward that the House is having this hearing. We hope this will move the bill in front of the full committee and the full House."