Federal agencies must coordinate on livestock pest threat
H.R. 7466 — SAFE CATTLE Act · Filed by Ronny Jackson (R-TX) · 11 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 10, 2026 · Hearing held
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill requires the Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior to coordinate on preventing and eradicating New World screwworm—a parasitic pest that infests livestock and wildlife—on federal lands. The two agencies must develop joint surveillance protocols, response procedures, and science-based eradication strategies, and report annually to Congress on progress until the pest is contained south of Panama.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is establishing interagency coordination and reporting on New World screwworm eradication on federal lands. It is a straightforward public-health and agricultural-protection measure with no hidden mechanisms or narrow beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- Mandatory annual reporting creates ongoing congressional oversight of federal pest-control efforts, potentially exposing gaps in interagency coordination or resource allocation.
- The bill's focus on 'covered lands' (federal property) may create a coordination gap for screwworm control on private agricultural land, which is not explicitly addressed.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
livestock producers and agricultural enterprises; food supply chain operators; agricultural insurance providers