Peterson, Costa Welcome Funding for Farm Bill Animal Pest and Disease Programs, Progress on Vaccine Bank

WASHINGTON (January 16, 2020) – Following an announcement from USDA on the award of $10.2 million in funding for animal pest and disease prevention and management efforts and the request for vaccine bank Foot and Mouth Disease proposals, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson of Minnesota, and House Agriculture Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman Jim Costa of California issued the following statement. Both Peterson and Costa led bipartisan efforts to include of mandatory, long-term funding for these programs to ensure the U.S. has tools to address disease risks including African Swine Fever, Avian Influenza, Virulent Newcastle Disease, and Food and Mouth Disease.

“In the last Farm Bill, we fought hard to establish and fund the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP) and the new National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank as well as reauthorize the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. As our committee oversees Farm Bill implementation, we are pleased to see USDA moving forward on all three of these programs. These important tools will help prevent and respond to animal pests and diseases, help keep animals healthy and ensure markets stay open. We look forward to seeing these programs address an even wider range of prevention and mitigation activities in future years.”