Senate earmarks funds to ease debt relief program

Washington

-- A currently non-functional federal program aimed at helping veterinarians who work in underserved areas repay their students loans may soon have the funding and rules necessary to be put into practice.

A $5 million appropriation was earmarked for the National Veterinary Medical Service Act (NVMSA) on the Senate's July 17 agricultural appropriations bill.

The NVMSA was enacted in December 2003 and is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, since the USDA has yet to write rules for the program, it's been non-functional and the Bush Administration has not requesting any funding for the NVMSA.

When the farm bill was passed in May 2008, it included a provision that requires the USDA to write rules for the program within one year.

The program would reward veterinarians who choose to work in rural or underserved area by offering loan repayment assistance.