The U.S. House Appropriations passed the Agriculture Appropriations Bill on Wednesday which included an extra $2 million to fight citrus disease.
The money was requested by U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., who sits on the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, to battle Huanglongbing (HLB), better known as citrus greening.
This is the latest federal effort to battle citrus greening. Back in April, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the opening of $23 million in USDA grants for projects taking on citrus greening. Earlier in the year, the USDA awarded $30 million to fight the disease.
In 2013, the Florida citrus industry -- which generates $9 billion and employs more than 75,000 Floridians -- saw its worst year in almost a quarter century.
Spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, a tiny insect, citrus greening infects trees, leading to deformed and bitter fruit. Eventually, citrus greening kills the tree. One of the few ways to fight the disease is by removing the tree.
“Citrus greening disease poses an existential threat to Florida’s citrus industry and the 76,000 jobs it supports,” Rooney said on Wednesday. “This disease has already caused the loss of 200,000 acres of Florida citrus groves, and it now impacts every grove in our state. If we don’t take action, Florida orange juice will be a thing of the past.
“The funding in this bill will advance critical research to detect, manage, and ultimately find a cure for citrus greening disease,” Rooney added. “This is an important step forward, but I will continue working to increase citrus disease funding and ensure that our tax dollars are spent wisely.”
The Agriculture Appropriations bill totals $20.65 billion in discretionary spending, a decrease of $175 million from last year and $1.1 billion less than what President Barack Obama wanted. With mandated programs included, the total appropriations come to just less than $144 billion.
“Our bill saves taxpayer money by targeting funds to programs that work, while cutting inefficient, wasteful projects,” Rooney insisted. “We’ve also cut through red tape and reined in regulatory overreach onto farms in Florida and across the country.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
