Fall 2023

Last minute deal averts government shutdown

Pet Night on Capitol Hill

As part of Pet Week, AAVMC was a sponsor of Pet Night on Capitol Hill. The annual event took place on September 20, and gave sponsors a chance to meet and mingle with Congressional staff, members of Congress, and other organizations from the pet industry. The main host for the evening was the Human Animal Bond Research Institute, or HABRI. AAVMC has a seat on the HABRI Board of Directors. More information can be found at: www.petnight.org

Meeting with new NIFA Director

On August 28, Kevin Cain and Dr. Andrew Maccabe met with Dr. Manjit K. Misra, the new Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). NIFA houses several of the key programs that AAVMC advocates for, including the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) and the Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP), as well as the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). AAVMC is looking forward to working with Dr. Misra and continuing the great relationship with USDA/NIFA. Dr. Misra came to USDA from Iowa State University. The announcement for Dr. Misra’s appointment can be found here: https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2023/04/24/usda-announces-new-national-institute-food-and-agriculture-director

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Coalition has been a critical partner for AAVMC over the past few years. Through the coalition, we have been able to meet with key members of Congress and their staff, as well as policymakers at the Department of Education. On September 26, Kevin Cain was able to present to the Coalition about why PSLF is so important not just for our graduates but also for many faculty members at our institutions. The Coalition has helped us collaborate with the Dept. of Education to make the PSLF program work better, and as the original statute intended. AAVMC will continue to work on protecting and strengthening the program. More information about the coalition can be found here: https://pslfcoalition.org/

Advocacy Letters



The AAVMC continues to work closely with a wide array of organizations that share our interests in supporting the advancement of academic veterinary medicine, food security and public health. The letters below reflect some of that recent activity.

• Support letter for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) in the Farm Bill
• Letter to Appropriators about Non Human Primate Research (House) (Senate)
• Statement on Long-Tailed Macaques
• Letter Supporting America Grows Act

AAVMC Government Affairs



Please contact: Kevin Cain, Director for Government Affairs at [email protected] or 202-371-9195 (ext. 117) with any comments, questions and suggestions about our program.

AAVMC Newsletters

The AAVMC is working hard to create a culture of diversity and inclusion in every dimension of academic veterinary medicine. To foster this goal, the photographs and illustrations which are used in our communications programs are aspirational, and do not necessarily reflect the levels of diversity and inclusion that currently exist.

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