[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5253 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5253

To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to 
  prioritize emerging tick-borne livestock diseases research, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 5, 2026

Mr. Schmitt (for himself, Mr. Justice, and Mr. Marshall) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to 
  prioritize emerging tick-borne livestock diseases research, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tick-Borne Livestock Disease 
Research Prioritization Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) ticks that parasitize livestock, including invasive 
        species such as the Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis 
        longicornis), have been detected in an increasing number of 
        States and counties in the United States and are recognized by 
        the Department of Agriculture and veterinary experts as a 
        growing threat to livestock health and productivity;
            (2) tick-borne diseases of livestock, including bovine 
        anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and bovine theileriosis caused by the 
        emerging Theileria orientalis Ikeda genotype, can cause severe 
        anemia, reduced weight gain, reproductive losses, and death in 
        cattle, leading to substantial economic losses for beef and 
        dairy producers;
            (3) for several of those diseases, particularly those 
        associated with the invasive Asian longhorned tick, there are 
        no approved effective vaccines or treatments in the United 
        States, and diagnostic and surveillance capacity is still 
        developing, leading to the risk of underdetection and delayed 
        response to outbreaks;
            (4) veterinarians, State departments of agriculture, and 
        livestock producers play critical roles in recognizing, testing 
        for, and responding to tick-borne livestock diseases and rely 
        on current, research-based guidance and extension support to 
        protect herd health and support a safe, stable food supply; and
            (5) strengthening research and extension activities focused 
        on tick-borne livestock diseases within existing high-priority 
        authorities of the Department of Agriculture is expected to 
        improve early detection and control, help reduce economic 
        losses from those diseases, and support the long-term 
        resilience of United States livestock production.

SEC. 3. EMERGING TICK-BORNE LIVESTOCK DISEASES RESEARCH PRIORITIZATION.

    Section 1672(d) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade 
Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925(d)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(21) Emerging tick-borne livestock diseases.--Research 
        and extension grants may be made under this section for the 
        purposes of improving the prevention, diagnosis, and management 
        of emerging tick-borne diseases in livestock, including 
        anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and bovine theileriosis caused by 
        Theileria orientalis Ikeda transmitted by the invasive Asian 
        longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis), through--
                    ``(A) research to develop and evaluate vaccines, 
                therapeutics, enhanced surveillance methods, and 
                integrated tick management strategies; and
                    ``(B) extension and education activities to support 
                veterinarians, State departments of agriculture, and 
                livestock producers in the recognition, testing, and 
                prevention of those diseases.''.
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