Sponsors (5)
This bill directs modest multi‑year federal funding and coordination to protect fruit and berry crops—helping growers and rural communities and boosting research capacity—while incurring modest taxpayer cost and risks of increased pesticide use, administrative burden, and narrower research priorities.
Fruit and berry growers (raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, strawberry, cherry) and their rural communities receive federal grant-funded research and mitigation efforts that reduce crop losses and help stabilize or increase farm incomes.
Provides predictable, multi-year federal funding and APHIS-coordinated planning that strengthens monitoring, control programs, and government capacity to respond to spotted wing drosophila threats to fruit production.
Researchers, extension programs, and agricultural science communities gain grant support to develop and deploy improved management strategies and outreach, advancing applied research and extension services.
Efforts to control the pest could expand pesticide use, raising environmental and public health risks for nearby communities and farmworkers.
Labeling the infestation as a major loss and implementing control measures (including pesticides or regulations) could increase production costs for growers and potentially raise prices for consumers.
Direct federal spending to fund the program totals $32.5 million over five years, which increases taxpayer outlays for a narrowly targeted pest program.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Creates an APHIS-administered fund for spotted wing drosophila research and mitigation and authorizes $6.5M/year for five years for grants and cooperative agreements.
Introduced February 9, 2026 by Gary C. Peters · Last progress February 9, 2026
Creates a USDA fund, run by APHIS, to support research and on-the-ground efforts to control spotted wing drosophila (an invasive pest that damages soft fruit) and authorizes $6.5 million per year for five years to support grants and cooperative agreements. The new authority is added to the Plant Protection Act and directs the Administrator to oversee funded projects and award funding to eligible recipients for mitigation and research activities.