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H.R. 8473 119th Congress House

Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act

Official title: To provide public health veterinary services to Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations for rabies prevention, and for other purposes.

Introduced: April 23, 2026 Introduced by: Nicholas J. Begich III Republican · Alaska See on congress.gov
Native Americans Animal and plant healthArctic and polar regionsCongressional oversightHealth promotion and preventive care
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Immunology and vaccinationIndian social and development programsInfectious and parasitic diseasesVeterinary medicine and animal diseases
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 Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jun 9, 2026
Subcommittee Hearings Held
Jun 3, 2026
Referred to the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs.
Apr 23, 2026
Introduced in House
Apr 23, 2026
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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What's happening now June 9, 2026

Subcommittee Hearings Held

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act

This bill expands support for public health veterinary services (e.g., disease surveillance or vaccination) in tribal communities to address zoonotic infectious diseases (i.e., diseases that spread between humans and animals).

Specifically, the bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Indian Health Service (IHS), to expend funds for public health veterinary services to prevent and control zoonotic disease infection and transmission in IHS areas where the risk for disease occurrence in humans and wildlife is endemic.

HHS may assign or deploy veterinary public health officers from the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps to IHS areas.

Additionally, HHS must submit a biennial report to Congress on the use of funds, the assignment and deployment of veterinary public health officers from the USPHS Commissioned Corps, data related to the monitoring and disease surveillance of zoonotic diseases, and related services.

The bill also includes the IHS as a coordinating agency in the National One Health Framework. (This framework addresses zoonotic diseases and advances public health preparedness in the United States.)

The bill requires the Department of Agriculture to conduct a feasibility study on the delivery of oral rabies vaccines to wildlife reservoir species that are connected to the transmission of rabies to tribal members living in Arctic regions of the United States. The study must (1) evaluate the efficacy of the oral rabies vaccines, and (2) make recommendations to improve the delivery of these vaccines.

 Related & companion bills 1
  • S 620 Identical bill Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 4
 Lobbying activity 2

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

Bodies those filers lobbied

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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 8473: Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-8473/
MLA
"H.R. 8473: Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-8473/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 8473, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-8473/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 8473: Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-8473/)
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