Overview
- Senators John Fetterman and Dave McCormick, joined by Ron Wyden and Kirsten Gillibrand, introduced the Spotted Lanternfly Research and Development Act to direct federal research toward the invasive pest.
- The bill would add spotted lanternfly control to NIFA’s list of high-priority research and extension initiatives and authorize competitive federal grants to develop and distribute research-based control tools and outreach.
- The legislation does not create a federal eradication program and is focused on coordinated research, extension and grant-funded tools rather than immediate large-scale removal efforts.
- The spotted lanternfly was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since spread to most Pennsylvania counties and multiple other states, with studies lawmakers cite estimating up to $324 million in annual harm to Pennsylvania’s economy and damage to crops like grapes, apples, peaches and hops.
- If the bill advances it must clear Senate committees and the floor before becoming law, and farmers say additional research funding could expand proven local tactics such as sticky traps, removal of tree-of-heaven and outreach to limit future outbreaks.