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DOGE cut 20% of APHIS the agency that protects U.S. agriculture and now the screwworm parasite that wipes out livestock has returned to the U.S (mander.xyz)
submitted 5 months ago by to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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[–] 68 points 5 months ago (12 children)

In fairness they've been spreading Northward yearly for several years, we knew they were coming and eradication efforts have been underway for a while to try to blunt it. But, with the idiots currently in charge, just assume those efforts have been botched until proven otherwise.

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  • [–] 32 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (11 children)

    the eradication program ended in 22-23, they were making headway ever since. likely it wouldve been restored under harris, A GOP wh will never restore something like this. they always end using budget cuts to fund TAX CUTS.

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  • [–] 25 points 5 months ago (10 children)

    At no point did the eradication program end. In 23-24 Biden's USDA quadrupled funding to the Panama facility producing sterile flies. The facility had been underfunded for years (/wave Trump1) and at some point during Covid lost contain of the Darian Gap, officially reaching "we fucked up" thresholds in 2022.

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  • [–] 19 points 5 months ago (9 children)

    It's the now classic answer to "Why is this happening now?" Trump fucked it up, Biden tried to fix it without any sense of urgency because he just assumed he'd get eight years, and then Trump came back and fucked it up again.

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  • [–] 14 points 5 months ago (8 children)

    Biden tried to fix it without any sense of urgency

    I would say funding it at 4x is pretty urgent

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago

    Sadly, no. That response in 2018-2021 would have been urgent, appropriate. By waiting until 2023 when reports were coming out in '21 that the Darian Gap was failing and '22 that it had failed, Biden did in fact drop the ball. The administration chose to try to work with/through Central American governments who, frankly, hadn't dealt with screwworms in over a generation and were poorly equipped or completely clueless. Also, it's worth noting, this facility was relatively inexpensive to operate at less than $20M/year. We had a beautiful system in place but Republican ignorance and Democrat pussyfooting has put us in a terrible position. The sunbelt population boom of the last 50 years was not just about AC.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (5 children)

    Biden was inaugurated in '21. Why did it take multiple years for that funding to be budgeted?

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  • [–] 12 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    Maybe you don't remember, but before Trump, we didn't accept presidential rule by decree

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago

    Also incorrect. USDA has a great deal of discretionary funding. The new $750M facility being build in Texas (several thousand km from the Darian Gap = great plan!) was approved internally at USDA. There was nothing stopping the funding in '21 other than not recognizing how dire the problem could become in just a few years.

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