Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 117.djvu/2034

 PUBLIC LAW 108–161—DEC. 6, 2003

117 STAT. 2015

‘‘(i) A veterinarian shall not be required to serve more than 60 working days per year of the agreement. ‘‘(ii) A veterinarian who provides service pursuant to the agreement shall receive a salary commensurate with the duties and shall be reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses as appropriate for the duration of the service. ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF VETERINARIAN SHORTAGE SITUATIONS.— In determining ‘veterinarian shortage situations’ the Secretary may consider the following: ‘‘(1) Urban or rural areas that the Secretary determines have a shortage of veterinarians. ‘‘(2) Areas of veterinary practice that the Secretary determines have a shortage of veterinarians, such as public health, epidemiology, and food safety. ‘‘(3) Areas of veterinary need in the Federal Government. ‘‘(4) Other factors that the Secretary considers to be relevant. ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.— ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may carry out this program directly or enter into agreements with another Federal agency or other service provider to assist in the administration of this program. ‘‘(2) BREACH REMEDIES.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Agreements with program participants shall provide remedies for any breach of an agreement by a participant, including repayment or partial repayment of financial assistance received, with interest. ‘‘(B) AMOUNTS RECOVERED.—Funds recovered under this subsection shall be credited to the account available to carry out this section and shall remain available until expended. ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may grant a waiver of the repayment obligation for breach of contract in the event of extreme hardship or extreme need, as determined by the Secretary. ‘‘(4) AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall develop regulations to determine the amount of loan repayment for a year of service by a veterinarian. In making the determination, the Secretary shall consider the extent to which such determination— ‘‘(A) affects the ability of the Secretary to maximize the number of agreements that can be provided under the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program from the amounts appropriated for such agreements; and ‘‘(B) provides an incentive to serve in veterinary service shortage areas with the greatest need. ‘‘(5) QUALIFYING EDUCATIONAL LOANS.—Loan repayments provided under this section may consist of payments on behalf of participating individuals of the principal and interest on government and commercial loans received by the individual for attendance of the individual at an accredited college of veterinary medicine resulting in a degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine or the equivalent, which loans were made for— ‘‘(A) tuition expenses; ‘‘(B) all other reasonable educational expenses, including fees, books, and laboratory expenses, incurred by the individual; or

VerDate 11-MAY-2000

10:15 Aug 27, 2004

Jkt 019194

PO 00000

Frm 00967

Fmt 6580

Sfmt 6581

Regulations.

D:\STATUTES\2003\19194PT2.001

APPS10

PsN: 19194PT2

�