Indy Standard

Senators Todd Young and Joni Ernst, alongside several colleagues, have reached out to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a bid to improve the response to the ongoing avian flu outbreak. The bipartisan letter aims to provide a roadmap for addressing this significant animal health crisis.

The senators highlighted the severity of the situation, noting that "the United States is now entering the fourth year of an outbreak of HPAI that has devastated farms, required the depopulation of more than 136 million birds on commercial poultry operations, and infected a small but growing number of farm workers." They stressed the need for urgent action from the USDA, stating their readiness to collaborate with the department as it leads efforts against what they describe as "the largest animal health outbreak that the department has ever dealt with."

Joining Senators Young and Ernst in this effort are Senators Chuck Grassley, Amy Klobuchar, John Cornyn, Tina Smith, Thom Tillis, Mark R. Warner, Tedd Budd, Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff, Bernie Moreno, Roger Marshall, David McCormick, and Jerry Moran. Additionally, Congressman Randy Feenstra spearheaded a similar initiative in the House of Representatives.

The full text of their proposal is accessible for public viewing.