House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Chairman Tracey Mann (KS-01) delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing: “Safeguarding U.S. Agriculture: The Role of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN).”
Remarks as prepared:
"Good morning and thank you all for joining us at today’s hearing. I am excited to chair this hearing of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry, where we will focus on the important work of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, or NAHLN. As a fifth-generation Kansas farm kid I grew up riding pens and doctoring cattle at my family’s preconditioning feedlot and I intimately understand the vital role that animal health plays in all livestock and poultry operations.
The National Animal Health Laboratory Network is a critical piece of our ability to respond to and mitigate foreign animal diseases. Originally comprised of 12 laboratories when created in 2002, the NAHLN network has grown to include over 60 State and university laboratories, including the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Manhattan, Kansas.
These labs are strategically placed across the United States to support animal agriculture by developing and increasing the capabilities and capacities to support early detection, rapid response, and appropriate recovery from high-consequence animal diseases. Put simply, they are our first line of defense.
These labs do not operate in a vacuum. The NAHLN network is successful because of partnerships between Federal, State, and university-associated animal health laboratories and experts. This partnership is critical to response efforts when foreign animal diseases are detected, such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, New World Screwworm, African Swine Fever, and so many more.
Today, you will hear from a panel of experts who work at NAHLN laboratories. These experts will be able to share pertinent information about the critical work they do – whether it be tracking the New World Screwworm outbreak in Mexico, identifying the move of hi-path into dairy cattle in Texas, working with the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas, or crucial swine testing in Iowa.
This hearing could not come at a better time to highlight the work of the NAHLN laboratories and talk about the need for additional resources. As of two weeks ago, funding for NAHLN – as well as funding for the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program and National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank – was substantially increased in the One Big Beautiful Bill.
The One Big Beautiful Bill included $233 million per year for the three-legged stool, with $10 million per year directed towards the NAHLN laboratories, which is on top of existing discretionary funding. This funding will increase diagnostic capabilities, improve research, assist in disease surveillance, and strengthen our overall capacity as a nation to prevent, detect, and mitigate foreign animal diseases. I am proud of the work this Committee did to shore up our animal health resources and protect the herds and flocks that bring so much value to our producers and national security.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about the work they do, day in and day out, in their roles with the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. I am excited to hear about how the increased funding will help their operation of these laboratories, which foreign animal diseases they see as the most consequential, and how we as Congress can be good partners to them. Again, thank you all for being here."
