Why It Matters
Congress is looking at preventing animal diseases as a way of reducing human infectious diseases. Under P.L. 119-21 (July 2025), Congress directed $233 million per fiscal year from FY2026–FY2030 across NAHLN, NADPRP, and NAVVCB. A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report published on August 19 examines how new mandatory spending and pending farm bill proposals reshape federal disease prevention capacity. Animal agriculture accounts for $274 billion in production this year and represents 53 percent of total U.S. agricultural output, yet approximately 60 percent of known human infectious diseases originate in animals, with 76 percent of emerging diseases having an animal origin. Animal disease outbreaks can trigger trading partner import bans.
The Big Picture
The three programs receiving new mandatory funding are the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP), and the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank (NAVVCB). NAHLN comprises 66 federal, state, and university animal health laboratories located in 43 states. Of those, 49 are approved for foot-and-mouth disease preparedness and surge testing, 64 for avian influenza testing, and 32 for chronic wasting disease surveillance testing. In 2025, USDA estimated that NAHLN laboratories performed over 930,000 diagnostic tests. From FY2020 to FY2026, NAHLN supported 104 projects to increase diagnostic testing capacity, improve biosecurity, and increase disease preparedness.
The July 2025 law allocates $10 million annually to NAHLN, $70 million to NADPRP, and $153 million to NAVVCB through 2030, then drops to $75 million combined in 2031 and beyond. USDA has announced public listening sessions to determine how to deploy the new animal health funding re
Pending farm bills in both chambers would extend these programs through 2031 and expand their scope. The House-passed Farm, Food, and National Security Act (H.R. 7567) and the Senate bill both propose broadening NADPRP to include improving animal disease traceability, which involves knowing where diseased and at-risk animals are, where they have been, and when they were there. Both bills would authorize USDA to preemptively negotiate regional export ban agreements for known animal disease threats. The Senate bill would increase the authorization of discretionary appropriations for NAHLN from $30 million to $45 million and expand NAVVCB to maintain vaccines and veterinary countermeasures to livestock pests, allowing funding to support domestic production of sterile flies used to control pests such as New World screwworm.
The Bottom Line
Funding for the three animal health programs drops to $75 million in FY2031
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