Beagle Brigade Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia.

I am proud to rise in support of the Beagle Brigade Act, which is a bipartisan, bicameral bill, the companion of which I led in this Chamber with my colleagues Representatives Drew Ferguson, Dan Kildee, and Adrian Smith.

The Senate version, which we consider today, was offered and advanced through the Senate by Senator Warnock from Georgia and Senator Ernst from Iowa.

The bill provides authorization for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Detector Dog Training Center, which is located in Newnan, Georgia, and is vital to the protection of American agriculture and helps keep foreign animal and plant pests as well as diseases out of our country.

The U.S. agriculture sector is a $1 trillion industry constantly under the threat of foreign pests and diseases, such as African swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease, or citrus greening disease that can be introduced through our Nation's ports of entry, including airports, harbors, and mail and cargo facilities. Some of these diseases could cost the American economy tens of billions of dollars to contain and eradicate if they are found to be in the country.

Agriculture detector dogs, known as the beagle brigade, are an important tool in preventing these threats and eradicating them in the event they overcome our safeguards. Our beagle brigade is at work every day at customs screening in the airports for flights after returning from abroad, standing by to alert their handlers of contraband food, live animals, or other products that could harbor foreign pests and pose a threat to domestic crops or livestock.

An ounce of provision is worth a pound of cure. The brigade is well worth its value.

In addition to authorizing the training center, this bill requires the facility to ensure the health and well-being of the dogs under its care and provide opportunities for private adoption of retirement-age training dogs and dogs that did not complete the training.

Detector dogs work their best when they are handled humanely, and establishing this requirement in law would ensure that the facility continues to uphold this expectation.

I am pleased to note that this bill has the support of 50 organizations, representing veterinarians, agricultural producers, and animal health groups.

On a final note, two of my colleagues who helped lead this bill in the House, Drew Ferguson and Dan Kildee, are retiring. I am pleased that we can enact this bill as they conclude their extraordinary tenure in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to vote in support of this bill to help protect America's agriculture and our economy, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am very, very proud to support the Beagle Brigade Act of 2023, and to have had the opportunity to work with my colleagues, Representatives Drew Ferguson, Dan Kildee, and Adrian Smith, and to have the support of our Senators, Senator Warnock and Senator Ernst from Iowa.

This is a vital piece of legislation, which protects American agriculture and keeps foreign animal and plant pests, as well as other diseases, out of our country. I think we have done a good day's work today, and I commend my colleagues for their joint efforts.

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