WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tony Gonzales (TX-23) voted to advance the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.

 

“Texas is America’s agricultural powerhouse—our farmers and ranchers feed, fuel, and clothe the nation. From supporting pest and predator management to ensuring our food supply is protected to investing in rural broadband and critical nutrition programs, the agriculture budget House Appropriators worked together on is a win for communities across South and West Texas and the entire Lone Star State. I’ve partnered with USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins to support Texas’ livestock industry, and recently, we announced a new facility in South Texas to protect cattle from the screwworm. This bill builds upon those efforts and much more. I look forward to moving this important legislation to the House floor for final passage,” said Congressman Tony Gonzales. 

 

Last week, Congressman Gonzales joined USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins in South Texas to launch an $8.5 million sterile New World screwworm (NWS) fly dispersal facility in South Texas and announced a five-pronged plan to enhance the USDA’s ability to detect, control, and eliminate this pest. Per the USDA, the facility in South Texas is expected to be ready within six months. Through Congressman Gonzales’ seat on the House Appropriations Committee, he doubled the initial funding for screwworm eradication efforts in the agriculture budget from $5.5 million to $10 million.

 

In May, Congressman Gonzales introduced the bipartisan Strengthening Tactics to Obstruct the Population of Screwworms (STOP Screwworms) Act alongside Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz to support funding for a sterile fly production facility in the United States. The bill was endorsed by the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Livestock Marketing Association, American Livestock Markets and Dealers Association, Texas Farm Bureau, Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society, and Livestock Marketing Association of Texas.

 

Priorities for South and West Texas Farmers and Ranchers Secured by Congressman Gonzales:

• Advocated for increased funding for screwworm eradication efforts (increased from $5.5 million to $10 million) 
• Lifts the prohibition on M-44 devices
• Increased funding for cattle fever tick research and feral hog control
• Supports initiatives to reimburse landowners along the southern border for property damages related to migrant trespassing.

Champions U.S. farmers, agriculture, and rural communities by:

• Continuing critical investments in agriculture research, rural broadband, and animal and plant health programs.
• Providing funds to ensure the safety of food, drugs, and medical devices.
• Ensuring low-income Americans have access to nutrition programs.
• Reining in harmful regulations proposed during the Biden administration that dictate how poultry and livestock producers raise and market their animals.
• Increasing resources for the Food Safety and Inspection Service to fund frontline meat and poultry inspectors and bolster support for state inspection programs.
• Providing a rider to block any revised energy standards for newly constructed homes financed by USDA that would increase costs for rural, lower-income households that was proposed during the Biden administration.

Supports U.S. national security and border protections by:

• Addressing foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land by improving the tracking system of foreign-owned land
• Directing the USDA to provide transparency into research funding spent collaborating with foreign governments, including China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
• Continuing a program to increase inspection of foreign drug manufacturing facilities in China and India.
• Providing adequate funding for land-grant universities to conduct agricultural research to ensure American producers can compete with China.

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