Washington, DC -- Representatives Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma) and Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) secured $3.7 million to combat Sudden Oak Death in the FY04 Omnibus bill. The FY04 Omnibus bill passed both chambers of Congress.

Sudden Oak Death has killed large numbers of tanoaks, coast live oaks and black oaks in California’s coastal counties. Since its discovery in Mill Valley in 1995, the disease has spread from twelve coastal counties in California to southern Oregon and has infected other plants, including rhododendron and huckleberry.

“It’s essential that we act decisively to combat Sudden Oak Death,” said Rep. Woolsey. “We must protect our natural environment. Sudden Oak Death has already killed tens of thousands of oak trees along our coasts, primarily in Marin County, and we must protect our natural environment from this devastating disease.”

The passage of the House Agricultural Appropriations bill will provide $1.25 million to the Agricultural Research Services (ARS) to continue their research into the possible causes of the disease.

In addition, $250,000 will go for a new program providing for a genomics research position at the University of California, Davis’ ARS laboratory. This researcher will study the disease, Phytophthora ramorum, at the genetic level to attack the pathogen by finding unique and common features of resistance, defense and susceptible responses to Sudden Oak Death.

The Animal, Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will receive $2,000,000 to continue their work in monitoring and inspecting plants to prevent the spread of disease. These activities will include monitoring plant importations, and providing outreach to commercial entities ato prevent the spread of the disease.

Also, $188,000 of new money will go towards the USDA extension program specifically for Sudden Oak Death. This is the first time that the Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (CREES) has had specified federal dollars to fund extension programs for Sudden Oak Death.

Rep. Woolsey has worked with the Bay Area Congressional delegation to fight the spread of Sudden Oak Death. She has secured over $5 million to fight Sudden Oak Death, and plans to reintroduce legislation that would provide additional funding to combat the disease.

Securing project funds has become increasingly difficult as the Bush administration has turned a historic budget surplus into a ballooning federal budget deficit, and as the Republican majority increasingly promotes special interests over that of America’s working families. The $3.7 million to combat Sudden Oak Death is in addition to the $49 million received for Marin and Sonoma County projects in the FY04 Omnibus bill.

The Omnibus bill is a combination of seven conference reports that include spending bills for Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/State, District of Columbia, Foreign Operations, Labor/HHS/Education, Transportation/Treasury, Veterans Affairs and Housing & Urban Development (VA-HUD).