Sponsors (52)
The bill dedicates significant federal funding and an organized USDA program to reduce screwworm risk for livestock, trading off a $300 million taxpayer cost and potential local environmental and coverage inequity concerns.
Farmers and livestock producers in at-risk states will face a lower risk of screwworm infestations because USDA-funded sterile-fly releases will be built and operated to suppress outbreaks.
Farmers, rural communities, and producers will benefit from $300 million in dedicated funding to build and operate suppression facilities, enabling a rapid, sustained response instead of ad hoc emergency spending.
State governments and agricultural stakeholders will gain clearer information and accountability because USDA must produce annual public reports analyzing threat levels and program effectiveness to inform state responses.
Taxpayers will fund the $300 million appropriation, which could reduce resources available for other federal or state priorities.
Rural communities and nearby residents may face environmental or non‑target species risks from construction and sterile‑fly dispersal operations associated with new facilities.
States not designated as eligible areas — and the farmers in them — may receive less immediate protection if risk assessments omit at-risk zones, creating uneven coverage.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Directs USDA to build modular sterile‑screwworm rearing/dispersal facilities, requires reporting, and authorizes $300 million.
Official title: To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a New World screwworm fly rearing facility, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 14, 2025 by Tony Gonzales · Last progress May 14, 2025
Requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build and operate one or more modular facilities that rear sterile New World screwworm flies and disperse them to areas at risk, with construction to start within 180 days of enactment. The bill authorizes $300 million (available until expended) and requires an initial report within one year and annual public reports to Congressional agriculture committees evaluating the threat and USDA actions. The action is added to the Animal Health Protection Act and is intended to prevent establishment or spread of New World screwworms by deploying sterile-insect technique capacity in states the Secretary of Agriculture identifies as at risk.