Chairman Mann Leads Subcommittee Hearing on Safeguarding U.S. Agriculture, Disease Prevention in Animal Health
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Tracey Mann (KS-01), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry, led a subcommittee hearing entitled “Safeguarding U.S. Agriculture: The Role of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN).” During the hearing, the Chairman underscored the vital role the National Animal Health Laboratory Network plays in mitigating foreign animal diseases like the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, African Swine Fever, and New World Screwworm.
Chairman Mann also emphasized the role institutions like the Kansas Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the National Bio and Argo-Defense Facility play in preventing animal diseases from spreading and highlighted the devastating impact the New World Screwworm would have on cattle producers in the Big First District and across the country if it reaches U.S. borders. The Chairman ended his questioning touting investments the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made into animal health research, strengthening the nation’s food supply chain and better positioning the United States to focus on disease prevention rather than outbreak control.
Excerpts:
[Opening Statement as Prepared]: "Good morning and thank you all for joining us at today’s hearing. I am excited to chair this hearing of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry, where we will focus on the important work of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, or NAHLN. As a fifth-generation Kansas farm kid I grew up riding pens and doctoring cattle at my family’s preconditioning feedlot and I intimately understand the vital role that animal health plays in all livestock and poultry operations.
The National Animal Health Laboratory Network is a critical piece of our ability to respond to and mitigate foreign animal diseases. Originally comprised of 12 laboratories when created in 2002, the NAHLN network has grown to include over 60 State and university laboratories, including the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Manhattan, Kansas.
These labs are strategically placed across the United States to support animal agriculture by developing and increasing the capabilities and capacities to support early detection, rapid response, and appropriate recovery from high-consequence animal diseases. Put simply, they are our first line of defense.
These labs do not operate in a vacuum. The NAHLN network is successful because of partnerships between Federal, State, and university-associated animal health laboratories and experts. This partnership is critical to response efforts when foreign animal diseases are detected, such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, New World Screwworm, African Swine Fever, and so many more.
Today, you will hear from a panel of experts who work at NAHLN laboratories. These experts will be able to share pertinent information about the critical work they do – whether it be tracking the New World Screwworm outbreak in Mexico, identifying the move of hi-path into dairy cattle in Texas, working with the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas, or crucial swine testing in Iowa.
This hearing could not come at a better time to highlight the work of the NAHLN laboratories and talk about the need for additional resources. As of two weeks ago, funding for NAHLN – as well as funding for the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program and National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank – was substantially increased in the One Big Beautiful Bill.
The One Big Beautiful Bill included $233 million per year for the three-legged stool, with $10 million per year directed towards the NAHLN laboratories, which is on top of existing discretionary funding. This funding will increase diagnostic capabilities, improve research, assist in disease surveillance, and strengthen our overall capacity as a nation to prevent, detect, and mitigate foreign animal diseases. I am proud of the work this Committee did to shore up our animal health resources and protect the herds and flocks that bring so much value to our producers and national security.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about the work they do, day in and day out, in their roles with the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. I am excited to hear about how the increased funding will help their operation of these laboratories, which foreign animal diseases they see as the most consequential, and how we as Congress can be good partners to them. Again, thank you all for being here."
[On NBAF and NAHLN combatting foreign animal disease]: “The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas, is a state-of-the-art facility that will help protect the nation’s agriculture, farmers, and consumers against the threat and potential impacts of serious foreign animal diseases. NBAF has biosafety level 2, 3, and 4 laboratories, allowing them to study and diagnose the most consequential animal pathogens. NBAF plays a critical role in our animal disease preparedness and management and is an important partner to the NAHLN system. Dr. Retallick, how does the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory collaborate with NBAF, and how will each of your operations supplement one another?”
Retallick: “We are excited to have NBAF as our neighbor in Manhattan, KS. NBAF has multiple missions, one of those is research and one of those is service, which is the NAHLN lab that was discussed. And so the NAHLN being a network, our interaction with them through the NAHLN and confirmatory testing is going to be the same as all the NAHLN laboratories for that. The other thing you might see us assist in NBAF is training the future technicians for them. Often entry level will come in, we will train, and they may go to work in NBAF. Ultimately, the collaboration will be very similar among all of the state laboratories, with NBAF being our parent lab and our confirmatory testing place.”
[On New World Screwworm]: “The detection of New World Screwworm in Mexico is a huge threat to our domestic cattle producers. USDA estimates that a contemporary outbreak in Texas alone could cost producers $732 million per year. If you expand those results to the states within the historic range of New World Screwworm pre-eradication, a contemporary outbreak would cost producers as much as $4.3 billion per year and cause a total economic loss of over $10 billion. These are not losses our producers, or our economy, can afford. Again for you Dr. Retallick, surveillance and testing capacity was critical to eradicating this pest back in the 1960s. How are the NAHLN laboratories involved in preventing the spread of screwworm, and what role would they play if the pest were to reach our shores?”
Retallick: As I stated earlier the NAHLN labs, many of them are in universities and state departments of ag, which have specialists. Each specialist is highly trained to recognize diseases and new disease threats. At KVDL, like many of the other labs in the network, we have parasitologists and pathologists who have already gone through training to recognize this. So, we will recognize through there. The NAHLN is also discussing it in their weekly calls, updating us and providing training. And in addition, with the caseload that comes through these diagnostic laboratories in the states, we see all sorts of things and animals for disposal, allowing us a large caseload to surveil coming in through routine testing.”
[On One Big Beautiful Bill Act]: “Two weeks ago the One Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law. We were able to secure historic investments to modernize the farm safety net, promote ag products overseas, increase research, and important to this hearing, shore up our animal health tools. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the NAHLN system will receive $10 million annually through fiscal year 2030 on top of existing discretionary funding. At a time when foreign animal diseases are threatening our producers on all fronts, how will this investment help your lab to prepare for and respond to an outbreak?”
Main: “Thank you. It would be a tremendous help, I would say, from providing a base of capacity and capability which is principally driven by our people. And that additional funding will enable I think, across the laboratory to really help with, I would say, maintaining adequate preparedness, via the people in the laboratory.
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