PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — With the imminent return of the spotted lanternfly to the region, two area congressional representatives are urging the nation's agriculture secretary to support more federal help to combat the invasive pests.
Bucks County Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and Chester County Democratic Rep. Chrissy Houlahan have joined in a bipartisan effort to get millions of dollars in federal funds budgeted to stamp out the bugs.
"We can't take our eye off the ball on something like this," Fitzpatrick said. "If we don't nip this problem in the bud now, it's going to become a much more significant, much more expensive problem to deal with for farmers in the long run."
He said spotted lanternflies have been feasting on grape vines which are big business for wineries, and hops grown in Pennsylvania needed for a growing beer industry.
"Our agricultural sector is very important to our region," Fitzpatrick explained. "Obviously, it's a food-security issue. Agricultural production is a national security issue as well when it comes to food supply."
"This is a very problematic and invasive species that we've got to stay on top of," he added.
He said he'd like to see Penn State researchers get a significant boost for their efforts.
"Penn State's got still a long way to go," Fitzpatrick said. "They've learned a lot in the past couple years, but you know just like any research project, they need money to do their job and that's our role to do it."
Houlahan said the spotted lanternfly is not just a Pennsylvania problem.
"This is a pest that not only is very worrisome to our economy here in the commonwealth, but ought to be very worrisome to the nation at large because it's starting to creep into other states," she said. "If this gets any further than this, you can imagine the implications to the agriculture industry across the country."
Houlahan and Fitzpatrick said the economic impact of the spotted lanternfly to Pennsylvania agriculture and related industries is more than $300 million a year. It could also could cost thousands of jobs if the bug continues to spread unchecked.
Both want Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to get behind the effort for more spotted lanternfly research money.
"We are asking for additional incremental support, meaning resources, meaning dollars for our community to be able to help eradicate that pest," Houlahan said.
Last year, $16 million was allocated to spotted lanternfly research. Fitzpatrick and Houlahan insisted more is needed to find ways to get rid of the bugs altogether.
