The recently reintroduced bill limits the authority of the USDA's Wildlife Services program to compete with the private sector for rodent, nuisance bird and wildlife work in suburban and urban areas.
Several members of the House of Representatives recently reintroduced a bill limiting the authority of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services program to compete with the private sector for rodent, nuisance bird and wildlife work in suburban and urban areas. The legislation was first introduced late last year but died when the 112th Congress adjourned earlier this year.
Filed by Congressmen Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) and Kurt Schrader (D-OR), the Pest Elimination Services Transparency & Terminology or PESTT Act defines the term "urban rodent control" and directs the Government Accountability Office to write a report identifying the services WS performs that the private sector also has the capability and capacity to provide and issue recommendations to avoid future competition.
Present law permits WS to perform almost any type of vertebrate work imaginable, regardless of whether there are local pest management companies able to do the job. The only exception is "urban rodent control." Unfortunately, the law does not define the term, making the exception toothless and meaningless.
Other cosponsors of the PESTT Act include Congressmen John Campbell (R-CA), Chris Collins (R-NY), Peter Defazio (D-OR), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Richard Hanna (R-NY), Doc Hastings (R-WA), Bill Huizinga (R-MI), Stephen Fincher (R-TN), Steve King (R-IA), Tom Rooney (R-FL) and Austin Scott (R-GA).
Click here to read more about the PESTT Act and to contact your House member in support of the legislation.