[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 118 (Friday, July 31, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TEXAS H. CON. RES. 120

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. K. MICHAEL CONAWAY

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 31, 2009

  Mr. CONAWAY. Madam Speaker, at the request of the Secretary of State 
of the State of Texas, I am officially entering House Concurrent 
Resolution 120, as passed by the 81st Legislature, Regular Session, 
2009 of the State of Texas, into the Congressional Record.

                      House Concurrent Resolution

       Whereas, South Texas is on the front line of the battle 
     against the fever tick, a pest that threatens to inflict 
     catastrophic losses on the beef industry should it continue 
     to spread beyond a permanent quarantine zone established 
     along the Rio Grande in 1943; and
       Whereas, Historically, the fever tick ranged across the 
     entire southeastern United States, reaching as far north as 
     Maryland and Pennsylvania; the tick can carry and transmit a 
     parasite that causes cattle tick fever, which kills up to 90 
     percent of infected cattle; in 1893, the Texas Animal Health 
     Commission was founded to fight this scourge, and in 1907 the 
     United States Department of Agriculture established the 
     National Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program; by then, the 
     tick had already caused direct and indirect economic losses 
     estimated to equal more than $1 billion in today's dollars; 
     and
       Whereas, The eradication program had successfully contained 
     the fever tick to an 852-square-mile quarantine zone by 1943; 
     the tick was never eliminated in Mexico, however, and 
     personnel from the USDA Tick Force have maintained a high 
     level of vigilance to fight continuous reintroduction; after 
     the pest was detected beyond the zone in 2007, five temporary 
     preventive quarantine areas were established, covering more 
     than one million acres in Starr, Zapata, Jim Hogg, Maverick, 
     Dimmit, and Webb Counties; and
       Whereas, In March 2008, the Texas Department of 
     Agriculture requested some $13 million to fight the spread 
     of fever ticks; the USDA released $5.2 million, and in 
     January 2009 it committed another $4.9 million in 
     emergency funds, but sustained funding over the long term 
     is essential; moreover, the National Fever Tick 
     Eradication Strategic Plan, developed and approved by the 
     USDA in 2006, has never been implemented and funded, and 
     Dr. Bob Hillman, the state veterinarian and executive 
     director of the Texas Animal Health Commission, has warned 
     that fever ticks are a national livestock threat that 
     requires an all-out assault; and
       Whereas, The fever tick has gained substantial ground in 
     this state, but the Texas Department of Agriculture, the 
     Texas Animal Health Commission, and the USDA Tick Force 
     continue working diligently with cattle owners to save a key 
     component of the Lone Star State's agricultural economy and 
     prevent the battlefront from extending to other states; if 
     the fever tick is not contained, the cost to the cattle 
     industry could easily approach $1 billion a year and lead to 
     rising food costs for consumers: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas 
     hereby memorialize the Congress of the United States to make 
     eradication of the fever tick in South Texas a priority and 
     continue to provide appropriate funding and resources for 
     this effort; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Texas secretary of state forward 
     official copies of this resolution to the president of the 
     United States, to the speaker of the house of representatives 
     and the president of the senate of the United States 
     Congress, and to all members of the Texas delegation to 
     Congress with the request that this resolution H.C.R. No. 120 
     be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a 
     memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.

                                              Guillen Gonzalez

                                             Toureilles Leibowitz,
                                                   King of Zavala.
     David Dewhurst,
       President of the Senate.
     Joe Straus,
       Speaker of the House.
     Robert Haney,
       Chief Clerk of the House.
       I certify that H.C.R. No. 120 was adopted by the Senate on 
     May 27, 2009, by a viva-voce vote.
                                                       Patsy Spau,
                                          Secretary of the Senate.
       APPROVED: June 19, 2009. Rick Perry, Governor.

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