| Washington, D.C.- Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) announced today that the Mosquito Abatement for Safety and Health Act (H.R. 342) recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Kildee voted for the bill because Michigan suffers from one of the highest rates of West Nile virus in the country. A similar bill passed the House during the 107th Congress, but the Senate failed to consider the bill before Congress adjourned for the year.
“In order to combat the spread of the West Nile virus, we must continue to work together to develop and coordinate mosquito abatement activities,” said Kildee. “This legislation will provide counties across the country with a comprehensive plan that will help us avert the severity of last year’s outbreak.”
The Mosquito Abatement for Safety and Health Act will establish a matching grant program to assist state and local governments in coordinating mosquito control programs to prevent and control mosquito-borne diseases. The federal government will provide a 2 for 1 match up to $100,000 to begin a program or to improve an existing mosquito control program. The bill will also require the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to conduct or support research into environmentally safe methods of controlling the mosquito population. This legislation will help relieve some of the financial burdens that counties and taxpayers across the country have had to absorb during recent outbreaks.
Last year, West Nile virus infected 3,893 people nationwide and claimed 254 lives, making 2002 one of the deadliest mosquito-borne illness years in recent U.S. history. Michigan was one of the states hit hardest by last year’s outbreak. According to the CDC, last year there were 554 cases and a total of 55 deaths in Michigan as a result of the West Nile virus. |
![[News from Congressman Dale Kildee]](letterhead.gif)