OVMA Leadership Visits Capitol Hill
Veterinarians, veterinary students, and state VMA leaders converged on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, leading up to the AVMA Convention in mid-July to advocate for two issues in veterinary medicine: recruiting and retaining veterinarians in rural communities and underserved areas across the country and addressing illicit xylazine while maintaining veterinary access to this important animal drug.
Oregon was represented among the 360 individuals who participated in the AVMA Legislative Fly-In. This included veterinarians Doug McInnis (Delegate, Klamath Falls), Dr. Jill Parker (Delegate, Philomath), and Charles Hurty (OVMA Immediate Past President, Newport), plus third year veterinary students Cassidy Parker and Wyatt Vallejo from the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine; they represented SAVMA. Pictured L to R: Wyatt Vallejo, Dr. Charles Hurty, Dr. Jill Parker, Cassidy Parker & Dr. Doug McInnis
The veterinary advocates visited congressional offices to build legislative momentum and urge passage of the AVMA endorsed Rural Veterinary Workforce Act (HR. 2398 / S 1163) and the Combatting Illicit Xylazine Act (H.R. 1266 / S. 545).
Rural Veterinary Medicine
Participants in the VMLRP receive up to $120,000 toward student loan debt in exchange for three years of service in a USDA designated veterinary shortage area. Ten Oregon counties have been designated by USDA in fiscal year 2025: Baker, Crook, Douglas, Grant, Jackson, Jefferson, Josephine, Malheur, Union and Wallowa.
Currently, all USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture programs, which administers the VMLRP, are paused and under review.
Should the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act pass in Congress, federal taxes the USDA currently is required to pay on behalf of VMLRP recipients would be removed. This would bring the program in alignment with similar programs in human medicine and where recipients are exempt from federal taxation on the money received.
This would free up approximately 39% of already appropriated dollars for the program and allow more food animal and public health veterinarians to practice in the areas most in need.
Illicit Xylazine
Illicit Xylazine is being used unlawfully and is often mixed with fentanyl and other narcotics, with the combination posing health and safety risks for humans. States have created a patchwork of laws and regulations to address this concern.
The DEA also is in the process of making xylazine a controlled drug, but doing so without a statutory change would limit how veterinarians can use the drug and increase the risk of necessary distribution.
The bill’s federal provisions would equip law enforcement with additional tools to combat xylazine trafficking while maintaining the veterinarian’s ability to legitimately use the drug.
In recent years the OVMA has successfully persuaded the Oregon Board of Pharmacy to not adopt a rule under consideration that would have added xylazine to the controlled drug list in Oregon.
If the Combatting Illicit Xylazine Act were to be approved and enacted federally, the drug would be designated as a Schedule III controlled substance, and the OBOP would be required to adopt an administrative rule to reflect this change in status. This means that Oregon veterinarians would be required to use and manage xylazine as a Schedule III drug. (States can further restrict federal law but cannot lessen what the federal law calls for.)