Press Releases

Today, House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson (PA-15) was joined by 79 bipartisan House colleagues sending a letter encouraging Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to utilize authorities provided by the Animal Health Protection Act (AHPA) to build and operate a domestic sterile fly facility as part of USDA’s broader efforts to combat and eradicate New World Screwworm (NWS).

"As you know, NWS is a devastating pest that causes serious and often deadly damage to livestock, wildlife, pets, and in rare cases, humans. While NWS has been eradicated from the United States for decades, recent detections in Mexico have raised significant concerns about the health and safety of our domestic livestock herd and the financial viability of our farmers and ranchers. When looking solely at the historical impact of NWS in Texas, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) estimates1 that a contemporary outbreak would cost producers $732 million per year and the Texas economy a loss of $1.8 billion. Extrapolating those results to the states within the historic range of NWS pre-eradication, a contemporary outbreak of NWS could cost producers $4.3 billion per year and cause a total economic loss of more than $10.6 billion. This does not account for the possible expansion of NWS beyond the historic range."

"Our producers cannot afford a NWS outbreak that decimates herds, causes financial losses, increases grocery prices, and threatens overall food security. Timing is of the essence – work on a domestic NWS sterile fly facility must begin immediately to ensure there is a location in the United States that can account for the transfer, irradiation, and dispersal of sterile flies. It will cost our producers and USDA far more to eradicate NWS in the U.S. than preventing its reentry. That is why we respectfully request you initiate an immediate transfer of funds to begin construction on a domestic NWS sterile fly facility."

"Our country has fought NWS before, and we must do so again – our producers livelihoods depend on it. We appreciate your consideration of this matter and your continued leadership for American agriculture."

Click here to read the full letter.