U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) led 17 of their colleagues in calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to take further immediate action to contain and respond to the outbreak of New World Screwworm (NWS) in the United States.
“We write with great concern regarding the current outbreak of New World Screwworm (NWS) within the United States and the growing threat this pest poses to livestock producers, farm workers, companion animals, wildlife, and rural economies across the country,” wrote the Senators. “Since June 3, 2026, the United States Department of Agriculture has confirmed at least seven cases of New World Screwworm in Texas and New Mexico. Due to the scale of the animal health threat that New World Screwworm poses to the United States, we urge the USDA to take further immediate action to contain and respond to this emergency.”
“We are aware that the USDA has engaged in preliminary efforts to contain this outbreak, including enhanced surveillance, sterile fly releases, coordination with animal health officials in Texas and New Mexico, and the confirmation that the U.S. food supply remains safe,” the Senators continued. “These actions are critical first steps, but the evolving situation demands additional actions to ensure that the United States is adequately responding to the significance of this threat.”
Along with Sens. Luján, Heinrich, Slotkin, and Klobuchar, the letter was signed by Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Alex Padilla (D-CA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mark Warner (D-VA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Dick Durbin (D-IL).
In May of 2025, prior to the current outbreak reaching the United States, Sens. Luján and Heinrich introduced the bipartisan Strengthening Tactics to Obstruct the Population of Screwworms (STOP Screwworms) Act to combat the spread of the New World screwworm. This week, Senator Luján questioned Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on USDA’s response to the New World screwworm that has now been detected in Lea County, New Mexico.
The full letter is available here and below.