$50 million to assist Texas citrus industry
Cuellar, whose district includes a portion of the Rio Grande Valley — the top citrus-producing area in Texas, understands the importance of the $11.2 billion citrus industry in the United States and how it has been affected by huanglongbing, also known as citrus-greening disease, which is lethal to citrus plants, carried by an insect known as the Asian citrus psyllid.
“These $50 million in federal funds are the highest funding level for citrus pest efforts in an appropriations bill and allow us a fighting chance to save the citrus industry in Texas, as well as the livelihoods of citrus growers all across the Rio Grande Valley,” Cuellar said. “We must do everything we can to protect citrus in Texas. I thank my fellow South Texas colleagues for their help in securing these funds into the FY16 agriculture appropriations bill.”
As part of these $50 million, Congressman Cuellar helped allocate $6.5 million into the bill for the Huanglongbing Multi-Agency Coordination, a task force specifically targeting the citrus greening crisis. He also secured $43.5 million in federal funds for the Citrus Health Response Program, which is a national program critical to combating citrus diseases. Federal funds are used in partnership with other state agriculture departments and citrus industry groups to research, survey and combat both the pest and the disease.
Source: progresstimes.net
