Congressman Biggs Leads Letter to USDA to Protect Arizonans against New World Screwworm

WASHINGTON, D.C. - This week, Congressman Andy Biggs (AZ-05) led a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, expressing support for her department's response to the New World screwworm and highlighting Arizona's unique ability to support long-term prevention, surveillance, and response efforts.

Following USDA's announcement of the first confirmed New World screwworm detection on Wednesday, June 3, four additional cases have been confirmed in New Mexico and Texas. These revelations have caused great concern among Americans, who fear an outbreak would threaten cattle, sheep, goats, horses, wildlife, and pets while imposing substantial economic costs on producers and consumers. As the letter recognizes, USDA has demonstrated a willingness to act early, coordinate across agencies, and deploy available resources to protect American agriculture - rather than waiting for a crisis to emerge.

"I'm grateful for USDA's proactive response to address the New World screwworm threat at our southern border,"said Congressman Biggs."These decisive federal actions will certainly help protect America's food supply and livestock industry. As the administration carries out its strategy, Arizona stands ready to support USDA's long-term response. With our border access, transportation networks, livestock expertise, and university-led research, Arizona is well positioned to help prevent an outbreak, protect producers, and strengthen regional stability before this pest can take hold on American soil."

One Arizona infrastructure pivotal to this national effort would be the Douglas sterile fly facility site, which remains a strategically valuable location for future production capacity and strengthens the state's ability to support containment actions.

Joining Congressman Biggs on the letter to USDA are Congressmen Abraham Hamadeh (AZ-08), Eli Crane (AZ-02), Paul Gosar (AZ-09), and Juan Ciscomani (AZ-04).

Read the letter here.

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