Frank Pallone: “Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 525, the Veterinary Public Health Amendments Act of 2011. This is an…”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 525, the Veterinary Public Health Amendments Act of 2011. This is an important, bipartisan bill that we passed on the floor in the last Congress. Veterinary medicine is an important component of our human public health system. From H1N1, to SARS, to food safety, public health veterinarians are critical to our protection of human health. This bill would ensure that veterinary public health professionals are eligible for two important public health workforce programs, but only to the extent that the work of these veterinarians has an impact on human health. I want to commend Representative Baldwin for her leadership on this legislation. She has been working on this for a long time, and I was pleased to work with her. I also want to thank Chairman Pitts, Chairman Upton, and Representative Shimkus for their support; and I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.”