The push to stop a dangerous livestock pest is gaining traction in Congress. The “STOP Screwworms Act” was introduced by Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales and Texas Senator John Cornyn. It has bipartisan backing as more lawmakers line up behind the plan to keep the New World screwworm from reaching the U.S.  Ethan Lane, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at NCBA, applauds the effort.

“This is exactly what we needed in this conversation in Washington, particularly with everything going on right now with reconciliation, and all of these different big, beautiful bills happening in Washington. This is an important single piece of legislation that really highlights exactly what’s needed from Congress to combat this threat.”

The legislation would fund a new sterile fly facility in the U.S., which ranchers say is urgently needed. Right now, the country relies on a single facility in Panama to release sterile flies that prevent screwworms from reproducing, but that system is having trouble keeping up, and ranchers fear the pest is getting too close to the U.S. border.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association are urging lawmakers to act quickly. They say that if they don’t act soon, the window to stop a devastating outbreak could close.