Washington, D.C. — Congressman G. K. Butterfield has offered legislation aimed at stemming the growing problem of bedbugs.
“Unfortunately, it’s not a joke,” Butterfield said. “Fifty years after being virtually eliminated, bed bugs are back all across the country.”
The Orkin Pest Control company says that after a five-decade absence, bed bugs can again be found in every state in the United States. And, according to the National Pest Management Association, bed bug complaints have increased 50-fold over the last five years.
Butterfield said there are numerous news reports indicating that bed bugs are showing up in some of the county’s finest hotels like the Ramada Plaza in San Francisco, the five-star Westin resort in Hollywood, Florida, and the Regency Inn and Suites in New York City.
“It’s becoming a really great concern for travelers,” Butterfield said.
With this in mind, Butterfield has offered the “Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite Act of 2008.” The bill establishes a state-matching grant program administered by the Secretary of Commerce in consultation with the Travel and Tourism Board.
Funding would be made available to states to establish inspection, prevention and eradication procedures and programs. In order to qualify for the funds, states must require the inspection of at least 20 percent of all of its hotel rooms. The funds would come from within the existing U.S. Department of Commerce’s existing budget.
Butterfield said eliminating bed bugs from hotels is important because it can be the source of a home infestation.
The bipartisan bill has been co-sponsored by Don Young, (R-Alaska), Donald Payne, (D-N.J.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), and Williams Jefferson, (D-La.).
Small, but visible to the naked eye, bed bugs are reddish brown in color and feed on blood. Female bed bugs can lay up to five eggs in a day and 500 during a lifetime. Experts say they often hide along headboards, in chairs, couches and dressers.