Rep. Costa Secures Federal Funding For Pest Detection Programs

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) announced today that $831,000 in federal funding was secured for California Agriculture Commissioners and Sealers Association's Pest Detection Augmentation Program in the Fiscal Year 2008 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Appropriations bill. The bill was passed on the House floor Thursday night by a vote of 237 to 18.

Following last week's passage on the House floor, the bill will head to the Senate for consideration. Once passed by the Senate, the bill will then head into a Conference Committee where the House and Senate will resolve the differences between their versions. Following conference, the bills will again be sent to the House and Senate for final approval, after which they will be sent to the President for his signature.

"With California's crops at risk from a variety of exotic diseases and pests, detection is the first line of the defense for our Valley's farmers," said Costa. "This funding assists agencies to purchase more traps and detection equipment to prevent major pest outbreaks on our Valley's crops."

The California County Pest Trapping Program is a statewide program, operated by county agricultural commissioners, that maintains a statewide network of insect traps and other detection tools to serve as an early warning system against serious agricultural pests. Traps are placed in high risk areas of the counties throughout the state, near host trees and plants particularly attractive to these pests.