WASHINGTON - Four Wisconsin legislators, from both parties and both houses of Congress, came together Thursday to announce an effort to establish a long-term "unified" federal strategy for addressing Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).

The four, U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) and U.S. Reps. Mark Green (R-Green Bay) and Paul Ryan (R-Janesville), are all original co-sponsors of measures in their respective houses that they hope will become the leading vehicles for quickly establishing a comprehensive new federal CWD policy. The four are working together as a team to get quick action on the two bills.

"We must act now to end this disease," Feingold said. "I am especially pleased that both bills authorize grants for states to manage this problem. Instead of giving states funding only in an emergency, these

bills allow states to address the problem before it gets out of hand. The Wisconsin Delegation has worked hard with members from other states to come up with a bipartisan, bicameral response to this issue."

"These bills bring into focus a long-range plan to combat CWD. Combined with the emergency federal funding we approved in the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday, as well as USDA's representation in Wisconsin this week, we are working to provide both immediate and long-term relief from this destructive disease," Kohl said.

Green said he expected the House proposal to quickly gain momentum, citing both its bipartisan support and the fact that another of its leading advocates in the House - U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis (R-Colorado) - chairs a key subcommittee looking into the CWD issue.

"It's our best chance this year to get an effective strategy put in place for dealing with CWD," Green said. "We've got a bipartisan group of folks from both houses of Congress already on board, and that's what is going to help get these bills moved on a fast track. I'm particularly happy that one of the substantial focuses of our bills is on testing. We need to do everything we can to make sure that we're able to provide as many hunters as possible with the answer to the key question they'll have this fall: `is the deer I bagged safe to feed my family?' These bills are not a universal solution on testing or any other CWD-related issue, but they’re a big step in the right direction."

"As an avid bow and gun hunter myself, I know firsthand how vital deer hunting is to Wisconsin's culture and our economy. To preserve this heritage, we need to make sure that our deer herds are healthy and strong and that our venison is safe to eat - now and in the future," Ryan said. "We need accurate answers to our questions about chronic wasting disease, and this calls for research, testing, and funding for Wisconsin to prevent this sickness from spreading. The steps we are taking together will help us achieve this and fight the scourge of CWD in Wisconsin as well as other states."

Both bills set out a "unified" federal CWD response structure. The structure divides up the varied responsibilities for addressing CWD issues between four federal agencies that will coordinate efforts and work together in a unified manner.

Feingold, Kohl, Green and Ryan said the measures would clear up some jurisdictional questions among the agencies with authority to deal with CWD, and provide for more effective handling of the disease, particularly through the use of federal grants to state governments working to fight CWD.

Among the specific responsibilities assigned by the bills are the expansion of federal ability to test for CWD, distribution of federal dollars to help states test for CWD, development of a national database to track and store information about CWD, and acceleration of state and other grants for the study of the disease.

The duties will be handled by the U.S. Geological Survey, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Agriculture Research Service, and Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.