A bipartisan group of House lawmakers — including Agriculture Chair Glenn Thompson — is teaming up on legislation to address the threat to farmers from swarms of spotted lanternfly bugs.
Reps. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Mich.) and Thompson (R-Pa.) last week introduced the “If You See It, Squish It Act of 2025.”
This bill would direct the Department of Agriculture to launch a nationwide campaign to help the public identify and kill the pest, which has spread rapidly across the East Coast. The lanternfly, native to Asia, feeds on dozens of plants and tree species, sucking vital nutrients and severely weakening crops.
Vindman pointed to Virginia’s $8 billion wine industry as particularly at risk. He said the idea for the bill came from Virginia farmers who lost crops to lanternflies.
