DOGE-Driven Cuts Spur $1B Push to Fight Screwworm Outbreak
TL;DR
After Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency cut USDA funding for screwworm control, the Trump administration ordered at least $1 billion to combat an outbreak spreading into Texas and New Mexico, including plans for a Texas facility to release hundreds of millions of sterile flies by 2027. Critics say the DOGE-driven cuts undermined surveillance and staffing, paused foreign facilities, and will cost taxpayers while beef prices rise.
Topics:nationpolitics#elon-musk#foreign-aid#politics#public-health#trump-administration#us-department-of-agriculture
- ‘Elon Musk Should Have to Pay For This’: Trump Admin Says It Needs $1 Billion to Combat Screwworm Common Dreams
- New World screwworm: Ranchers’ views from both sides of the border Farm Progress
- No fat to trim: Texas beef industry profits eaten away by new threat — the screwworm The Texas Tribune
- Pa. issues quarantine order after New World screwworm cases confirmed in U.S. WGAL
- Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team deploys to Hill Country for New World screwworm response Texas A&M Stories
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