118 S322 IS: Spotted Wing Abatement Trust Act of 2023 U.S. Senate 2023-02-09 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

II118th CONGRESS1st SessionS. 322IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESFebruary 9, 2023Mr. Peters (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Braun, and Mr. Merkley) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and ForestryA BILLTo amend the Plant Protection Act to establish a fund for spotted wing drosophila research and mitigation.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Spotted Wing Abatement Trust Act of 2023 or the SWAT Act of 2023.

2.

Findings

Congress finds that—(1)the spotted wing drosophila, an invasive species from East Asia, has caused significant damage to many valuable fruit crops in the United States, including raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, plums, and cherries; and(2)the Department of Agriculture estimates that spotted wing drosophila account for a combined 20 percent revenue loss across strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, and cherry crops, based on reported yield losses due to that species.

3.

Spotted wing drosophila research and mitigation

Subtitle A of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7711 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

420A.

Spotted wing drosophila research and mitigation

(a)

In general

The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (referred to in this section as the Administrator) shall establish a fund within the Department of Agriculture to fund research relating to, and activities to mitigate the negative effects of, spotted wing drosophila.(b)

Administration of fund

The Administrator shall—(1)determine eligible recipients to enter into cooperative agreements with, or award grants to, using amounts in the fund established under subsection (a); and (2)oversee the activities carried out using amounts in that fund.(c)

Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated for the fund established under subsection (a) $6,500,000 for the fiscal year in which the Spotted Wing Abatement Trust Act of 2023 is enacted and each of the 4 fiscal years thereafter.

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