The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“TEXAS H. CON. RES. 120” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2154 on July 31, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TEXAS H. CON. RES. 120
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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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