WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new bill would invest resources in understanding, preventing, and managing the spread of the deadly chronic wasting disease, a fatal neurological disease, that has impacted deer, moose, and elk populations across the United States. The bipartisan Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Management Act, introduced by Representatives Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.), passed the House of Representatives today and will  fund research on detecting and managing the spread of the disease along with funding state and Tribal efforts to stem the spread.

“Chronic wasting disease threatens not only white-tailed deer, elk, mule deer, moose, and caribou, but the ecosystems and outdoor economies that rely upon healthy wildlife populations,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “We thank Reps. Kind and Thompson for their steadfast leadership and the House of Representatives for today’s bipartisan vote—and we urge the Senate to take up this bill immediately. Sportsmen and sportswomen, wildlife enthusiasts, and ecosystems are counting on us to understand and mitigate the spread of this deadly disease.”

Chronic wasting disease is a highly transmissible disease that spreads among members of the deer family that are critical to ecosystems along with local economies and hunting traditions. It has been found in over 25 states across the country and is nearly always fatal and, once established in an area, hard to control.