HR7466-119

In Committee

SAFE CATTLE Act

119th Congress Introduced Feb 10, 2026

Summary

What This Bill Does

The bill requires the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to enter an interagency agreement within 180 days to prevent, control, and eradicate New World screwworm in wildlife and non-livestock species on lands managed by the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and Forest Service. The agencies must coordinate surveillance, outbreak response, state notifications, eradication protocols, business-continuity systems, and annual reports until USDA certifies the pest is quarantined south of the Darien Gap in Panama.

Who Benefits and How

Livestock producers, wildlife disease programs, state animal health officers, and federal land managers benefit from earlier detection and coordinated eradication planning before New World screwworm spreads from wildlife into domestic animal agriculture. The domestic food supply and rural livestock economies benefit if federal land outbreaks are contained quickly. Congress receives recurring information on coordination gaps, infestation incidents, and needed legislative or administrative actions.

Who Bears the Burden and How

USDA, Interior, APHIS, Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and Forest Service programs must negotiate an agreement, coordinate protocols, share outbreak information, and submit annual reports. State wildlife and livestock health officers must be included in response procedures when appropriate. Federal agencies must continue reporting until USDA certifies quarantine south of the Darien Gap.

Key Provisions

  • Requires USDA and Interior to enter an interagency agreement within 180 days.
  • Directs joint surveillance, monitoring, notification, and response protocols for New World screwworm on covered lands.
  • Requires eradication planning that protects wildlife while reducing threats to domestic animal agriculture.
  • Requires annual reports on coordination, outbreaks, response activities, progress, and recommendations.

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Requires USDA and Interior to coordinate New World screwworm surveillance, outbreak response, eradication protocols, continuity planning, and annual congressional reports for wildlife and non-livestock animals on covered federal lands.

Key Policy Areas

agriculture, animal_health, public_lands, oversight

Primary Purpose

Requires USDA and Interior to coordinate New World screwworm surveillance, outbreak response, eradication protocols, continuity planning, and annual congressional reports for wildlife and non-livestock animals on covered federal lands.

Policy Domains

agriculture animal_health public_lands oversight

Substantive provisions

Identified Gains
  • Livestock producers
  • Wildlife disease programs
  • State animal health officers
  • Federal land managers
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
Livestock producers:
Federal land managers:
Wildlife disease programs:
State animal health officers:
Identified Costs
  • USDA
  • Department of the Interior
  • APHIS
  • National Park Service
  • Forest Service
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
USDA:
APHIS:
Forest Service:
National Park Service:
Department of the Interior:

Legislative Progress

In Committee
Introduced Committee Passed
Jul 21, 2026

Subcommittee Hearings Held

Jul 14, 2026

Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries.

Mar 20, 2026

Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry.

Feb 10, 2026

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition …

Feb 10, 2026

Introduced in House

Feb 10, 2026

Mr. Jackson of Texas (for himself, Mr. Davis of North …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Government
2 mentions across 1 clause
-2 negative

Department of the Interior, USDA

Agriculture
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

Livestock producers

Environment
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

Wildlife disease programs

State & Local Government
1 mention across 1 clause
?1 uncertain

State animal health officers

General Public
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

Federal land managers

1/2
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
agriculture animal_health public_lands oversight
Actor Mappings
"agencies"
→ ['USDA', 'Department of the Interior', 'APHIS', 'National Park Service', 'Fish and Wildlife Service', 'Forest Service']
"beneficiaries"
→ ['Livestock producers', 'State animal health officers']

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

1 term
"" §covered lands

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology