Washington, D.C. – Today, the National Turkey Federation (NTF) praised the introduction of the Foreign Animal Disease Prevention, Surveillance, and Rapid Response Act of 2023 in the U.S. Senate, a bipartisan piece of legislation being co-led by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). The bill aims to amend the Animal Health Protection Act to reauthorize critical animal disease prevention and management programs. The full bill text can be found here.

“The National Turkey Federation applauds the timely introduction of this bill, which will safeguard animal health tools the turkey industry relies on to prevent and combat animal diseases such as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI),” said Leslee Oden, Senior VP of Legislative Affairs at the National Turkey Federation. “NTF thanks Sens. Cornyn, Ernst and Klobuchar for spearheading these efforts and hopes Congress will act swiftly in passing this critical piece of legislation in the 2023 Farm Bill.”

This bipartisan bill also was introduced in the House by Representatives Don Bacon (R-NE), Jim Costa (D-CA), Angie Craig (D-MN), Rep. Don Davis (D-NC) and Ronny Jackson (R-TX) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Full text of the companion bill can be found here.

Background:
The Foreign Animal Disease Prevention, Surveillance, and Rapid Response Act of 2023 would reauthorize a three-tiered animal disease program, initially established in the 2018 Farm Bill, that allocates mandatory funds to ensure the sufficient development and timely deployment of all measures necessary to prevent, identify and mitigate the potential catastrophic impacts that an animal disease outbreak would have on our country’s food security, export markets and overall economic stability.

The three-tiers include:

  • The National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPrep), which allows APHIS to collaborate with farmers, ranchers and animal health companies to develop programs that help prevent and eliminate the most serious animal disease threats.
  • The National Animal Disease Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank (Vaccine Bank), which helps fund the stockpiling of vaccines and diagnostic tests that may be needed to prevent or control disease outbreaks.
  • The National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Laboratory Network, which is comprised of more than 60 federal, state and university veterinary diagnostic labs. The NAHMS network has been critical in the effort to rapidly detect and diagnose HPAI cases.

About the National Turkey Federation

The National Turkey Federation (NTF) is the national advocate for America’s turkey farmers and producers, raising awareness for its members’ products while strengthening their ability to profitably and safely deliver wholesome, high-quality and nutritious food to consumers worldwide. NTF is the sole national trade association exclusively representing the turkey industry; its members account for more than 95 percent of all U.S. turkey production.