Text: HR00058 Text: HR00060 Text: HR00000 - HR00099 Text: HR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.
1 2 BY WHITAKER
1 3 A Resolution to urge that the President of the United
1 4 States, the United States Department Of Agriculture,
1 5 and the United States Congress take all necessary
1 6 measures to prevent the spread of the soybean rust
1 7 fungus into the United States, including by
1 8 suspending any imports of soybean crops that
1 9 originate in regions where the disease has been found
1 10 to be present.
1 11 WHEREAS, soybean rust is the common name of two
1 12 fungal species phakopsora pachyrhizi and phakopsora
1 13 meibomiae causing devastating yield losses in soybean
1 14 production regions in both the eastern and western
1 15 hemispheres; and
1 16 WHEREAS, the soybean rust fungus is reported in an
1 17 increasing number of countries including numerous
1 18 pacific nations such as Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, and
1 19 Australia, as well as African countries such as South
1 20 Africa and Zimbabwe, South American countries such as
1 21 Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, and even the state of
1 22 Hawaii; and
1 23 WHEREAS, once introduced into a region, the soybean
1 24 rust fungus rapidly spreads by wind-borne spores, and
1 25 is difficult to control because of its similarity with
1 26 other soybean diseases in its early stages and the
1 27 large number of legume hosts that may harbor the
1 28 disease, with 30 species in 17 genera of legumes
1 29 reported to be hosts in nature; and
1 30 WHEREAS, since soybean rust fungus first appeared
2 1 in Paraguay approximately four years ago, the disease
2 2 has spread 1,000 miles into the western soybean
2 3 production regions of Brazil and now is present in 80
2 4 percent of Brazil's soybean production regions; and
2 5 WHEREAS, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
2 6 Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of
2 7 Agriculture has issued an alert concerning the
2 8 disease, declaring that nations where the soybean rust
2 9 fungus is present report yield losses from 10 to 80
2 10 percent; and
2 11 WHEREAS, the soybean rust fungus now threatens to
2 12 travel to the continental United States, up from the
2 13 Central American land bridge into Texas or by island
2 14 hopping from Puerto Rico and Cuba to Florida; and
2 15 WHEREAS, a virulent strain of the soybean rust
2 16 fungus could be carried by any number of sources,
2 17 including crop debris, into the United States and
2 18 particularly into midwest production areas, which
2 19 could result in billions of dollars in losses in crop
2 20 yields, increased food prices for American consumers,
2 21 and reduced profits for American farmers; NOW
2 22 THEREFORE,
2 23 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
2 24 That the Iowa House of Representatives urges and
2 25 requests the President of the United States, the
2 26 United States Department of Agriculture, and the
2 27 United States Congress to take all necessary measures
2 28 to prevent the spread of the soybean rust fungus into
2 29 the United States, including by suspending any imports
2 30 of soybean crops that originate in regions where the
3 1 disease has been found to be present; and
3 2 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this
3 3 Resolution be sent to the President of the United
3 4 States; the Secretary of Agriculture, United States
3 5 Department of Agriculture; and the administrator of
3 6 the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the
3 7 United States Department of Agriculture; and
3 8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this
3 9 Resolution be sent to the President of the Senate of
3 10 the United States; the Speaker of the House of
3 11 Representatives of the United States; the Chair of the
3 12 United States Senate Committee on Agriculture,
3 13 Nutrition, and Forestry; and the Chair of the United
3 14 States House of Representatives Committee on
3 15 Agriculture; and
3 16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this
3 17 Resolution be sent to Iowa's congressional delegation.
3 18 LSB 3516HH 80
3 19 da/pj/5.1
Text: HR00058 Text: HR00060 Text: HR00000 - HR00099 Text: HR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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