News

Slaughter pleased with bill for antibiotic study

New York Congresswoman Louise Slaughter had hoped to get $10 Million appropriated for animal antibiotic resistance research but says she’s pleased with the 7.8 Million authorized in a bill passed Thursday by the House Appropriations Committee.

Slaughter, who contends that antibiotic use in animals is causing growing antibiotic resistance in humans, said the research funds will fill the gaps in gathering information about that link.

In a news release, Slaughter said “the overuse of antibiotics in food animals has caused an antibiotic resistance crisis” that needs to be fixed by curtailing their use. She has been sponsoring legislation for years to do that.

The appropriations bill directs at least 7.8 Million dollars in funding for the National Antimicrobial Response Monitoring System (NARMS) to conduct the research in combination with the USDA, FDA, CDC, and state public health laboratories.