[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 99 (Friday, July 16, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1398]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. MICHAEL N. CASTLE

                              of delaware

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 12, 2004

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4766) making 
     appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and 
     Drug Administration, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 2005, and for other purposes:

  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to commend Chairman Bonilla 
and Ranking Member Kaptur for including a strong commitment of funding 
in this bill for the implementation of the Low Path Avian Influenza 
program at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). This 
$23 million in funding will allow APHIS to promptly address the 
repeated and diverse outbreaks of avian influenza that have occurred in 
several states including my state of Delaware.
  This additional funding is necessary to respond to the many needs 
confronting this vital industry including: Expanded monitoring of avian 
influenza, increased surveillance of the live-bird markets and 
distributors, advanced research on and implementation of fast and 
economical tests, and confirmed identification and tracking of avian 
influenza sources.
  The presence of avian influenza presents an immediate threat to the 
U.S. poultry industry. It constitutes a significant danger to the 
national economy and potential serious burden on interstate and foreign 
commerce.
  As you know, in early February, two flocks of chickens in Delaware 
were confirmed as having H7N2 low pathogenic avian influenza, and 
roughly 83,000 birds were promptly depopulated. Isolated avian 
influenza infections were then identified among chickens in both New 
Jersey and Pennsylvania. Later in the month, officials determined that 
a flock of 7,000 broilers in Southeast portion of Chairman Bonilla's 
home state of Texas tested positive for a highly pathogenic H5N2 avian 
influenza. The most recent case came when a flock of chickens in 
Pocomoke City, Maryland, tested positive for the H7 avian flu, which 
led to more than 300,000 birds and chicks being depopulated on three 
farms. The infections discovered this year follow past outbreaks of low 
pathogen flu in Virginia, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

  The USDA response to the outbreaks occurring this year has been 
prompt and the assistance provided to the state Departments of 
Agriculture and the poultry industry has been instrumental in helping 
to identify, contain and eradicate the avian influenza outbreak--but 
there is still much that needs to be done. Even before the recent 
infections, the Administration recognized the expanding need to 
implement a comprehensive strategy to battle avian influenza by 
including $12.7 million in funding in the APHIS FY'05 budget request 
for the Low Pathogen Avian Influenza (LPAI) program and recently 
transferring $13.7 million in FY'04 funds into the program.
  This builds on the close to $1 million provided in FY'04 that is 
scheduled for implementation at the end of this month. I believe it is 
critical that APHIS receives the proper amount of funding to maximize 
the resources at its disposal to strongly address this serious problem. 
Low Path AI is capable of mutating into highly pathogenic forms. The 
occurrence of HPAI in Texas led Secretary Veneman to declare an 
Extraordinary Emergency earlier this month. A healthy and vital poultry 
industry is a major contributor to the recovering economy of this 
country, and the finding of AI, particularly the highly destructive 
High Path AI, represents a major threat in this regard.
  Moreover, the multi-billion dollar poultry export industry is put at 
risk by the avian flu discoveries. Many of our trading partners 
continue to impose import bans on U.S. poultry products. While some of 
these importers have set restrictions on products from specified 
states, others have taken the more drastic step of banning importation 
of poultry products from our entire country. We need to give our trade 
negotiators the necessary support in the form of these AI surveillance 
and control efforts, to allow them to negotiate with our foreign 
trading partners and convince them to re-open these markets.
  Again, I commend Chairman Bonilla and Ranking Member Kaptur for 
providing APHIS with the critical resources it needs to address this 
threat to our poultry industry.




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