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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6765 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6765
To create a coordinated domestic wildlife disease surveillance
framework for State, Tribal, and local governments to monitor and
respond to wildlife disease outbreaks to prevent pandemics, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 13, 2023
Ms. Porter (for herself, Mr. Grijalva, and Mr. Huffman) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural
Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Energy
and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To create a coordinated domestic wildlife disease surveillance
framework for State, Tribal, and local governments to monitor and
respond to wildlife disease outbreaks to prevent pandemics, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Wildlife Disease
Surveillance for Pandemic Prevention Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Funding for State and Tribal wildlife disease surveillance.
Sec. 4. Grant program.
Sec. 5. Wildlife Disease Surveillance Program.
Sec. 6. Wildlife Disease Emergency Response Program.
Sec. 7. Centers for Study and Diagnostics of Wildlife Diseases.
Sec. 8. Federal One Health Interagency Working Group.
Sec. 9. Wildlife Disease Surveillance Advisory Committee.
Sec. 10. National Wildlife Disease Database.
Sec. 11. Authorization of appropriations.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Advisory committee.--The term ``Advisory Committee''
means the Wildlife Disease Surveillance Advisory Committee
established under section 9.
(2) Database.--The term ``Database'' means the National
Wildlife Diseases Database established under section 10(a).
(3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
(4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the
meaning given such term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(5) Interagency working group.--The term ``Interagency
Working Group'' means the Federal One Health Interagency
Working Group established under section 8.
(6) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such
term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(8) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, and each of the United States
Territories.
(9) Task force.--The term ``Task Force'' means the Disease
in Wildlife Trade Task Force established under section 5(b).
(10) Wildlife.--The term ``wildlife'' means any animal that
is not livestock or poultry (as such terms are defined in
section 2(a) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C.
183(a)).
(11) Wildlife diseases.--The term ``wildlife diseases''
means any infectious disease of wildlife that can be
transmitted, directly or indirectly, from an infected animal,
host or vector, inanimate source, or other sources.
(12) Wildlife disease surveillance program.--The term
``Wildlife Disease Surveillance Program'' means the program
established under section 5(a).
SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR STATE AND TRIBAL WILDLIFE DISEASE SURVEILLANCE.
(a) Purposes.--The purposes described in this subsection are the
following:
(1) Monitoring wildlife for wildlife diseases.
(2) Research and development of monitoring methods and
technologies to detect and diagnose wildlife diseases.
(3) Participating in information sharing through the
Database.
(4) The establishment and maintenance of programs,
facilities, and workforce development programs to carry out the
purposes described in paragraphs (1) through (3).
(b) Wildlife Health Action Plan.--
(1) Submission for approval.--A State or Tribe may submit a
wildlife health action plan, including each of the following,
to the Director in such form, time, and manner as the Director
determines appropriate:
(A) Descriptions of wildlife disease surveillance
actions proposed for monitoring wildlife disease in the
full array of the State or Tribe's wildlife and
priorities for implementing such actions.
(B) Plans for adapting these wildlife disease
surveillance actions to respond to new information or
changing conditions.
(C) Plans for managing a wildlife disease outbreak,
including potential containment measures and
appropriate biosafety and biosecurity measures.
(D) A plan to coordinate with relevant Federal,
Tribal, State, and local governments, institutes of
higher education, and private organizations.
(E) Procedures for reviewing such plan not less
frequently than every 5 years.
(2) Approval process.--The Director shall, not later than
90 days after receiving a submission under paragraph (1),
approve or deny such wildlife health action plan and, in the
case of a denial, provide feedback to the submitting entity.
(3) Pilot funding for wildlife health planning.--
(A) Establishment.--The Director and the Director
of the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall jointly establish
a program through which--
(i) the Director shall provide grants to
States with a demonstrated financial need or
lack of institutional incapacity to develop a
wildlife health action plan under paragraph
(1); and
(ii) the Director of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs shall provide grants to Indian Tribes
with a demonstrated financial need or lack of
institutional incapacity to develop a wildlife
health action plan under paragraph (1).
(B) Use of funds.--A recipient may use grant funds
received under this paragraph to develop a wildlife
health action plan to be submitted under paragraph (1).
(C) Limitation on amount of funds.--
(i) State funds.--The Director may not
distribute under subparagraph (A) an amount in
any fiscal year that exceeds 20 percent of the
total amount of funds available for
distribution to States under this section in
such fiscal year.
(ii) Funds for indian tribes.--The Director
of the Bureau of Indian Affairs may not
distribute under subparagraph (A)) an amount in
any fiscal year that exceeds 75 percent of the
total amount of funds available for
distribution to Indian Tribes under this
section in such fiscal year.
(c) Distribution to States.--The Director shall, in each fiscal
year beginning after the date that is 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, distribute not less than $15,500,000 to the
States with a wildlife health action plan for the applicable fiscal
year approved under subsection (b)(1). In determining the allocation of
such amount among such States, the Director shall take into account--
(1) the land area of each such State;
(2) the population of each such as determined in the most
recent census;
(3) the presence of any source of increased risk or
occurrence of wildlife diseases affecting a State; and
(4) the need to develop capacity to surveil wildlife
diseases in each State.
(d) Distribution to Indian Tribes.--
(1) In general.--The Director of the Bureau of Indian
affairs shall, in each fiscal year beginning after the date
that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
distribute not less than $3,000,000 to Indian Tribes through a
noncompetitive grant program.
(2) Criteria.--The Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
shall, in consultation with Indian Tribes, establish criteria
for the distribution of funds under paragraph (1).
(e) Participation in Information Sharing.--Each State, Indian
Tribe, and grant recipient under this section shall participate in the
Wildlife Disease Surveillance Program and contribute wildlife disease
data to the Database.
SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Director shall establish a grant program to
provide grants to eligible entities for the purposes described in
section 3(a).
(b) Administrative Expenses.--The Director may not expend more than
3 percent of the amounts made available to carry out this section for
administrative expenses.
(c) Eligible Entities.--For the purposes of this subsection, the
term ``eligible entities'' means an entity with expertise in carrying
out the purposes described in section 3(a) that is--
(1) an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under
section 501(a) of such Code;
(2) an institution of higher education (as such term is
defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1001(a));
(3) a part B institution (as such term is defined in
section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1061));
(4) a Tribal College or University (as such term is defined
in section 317(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1059d(d));
(5) a partnership of State, local, and Tribal agencies or
governments that includes at representation from not less than
2 States or 1 State and 1 Tribe; or
(6) a partnership between entities described in paragraph
(1) or (2).
SEC. 5. WILDLIFE DISEASE SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Director, acting through the Wildlife
Health Office of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and in
consultation with the Director of the United States Geological Survey,
shall establish a program to--
(1) monitor wildlife disease threats to evaluate the risk
posed by and impact of such diseases on the United States;
(2) conduct research and development to create
statistically supported sampling frameworks for broad-scale
surveillance of wildlife disease threats;
(3) conduct research on wildlife disease transmission and
on effective outreach to stakeholders to help manage wildlife
disease;
(4) conduct statistical modeling to understand and predict
wildlife disease movement; and
(5) develop testing protocols for samples suspected of
carrying wildlife diseases.
(b) Wildlife Trade Task Force.--
(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall, not later than 90
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, establish the
Disease in Wildlife Trade Task Force to carry out the following
purposes:
(A) Develop a comprehensive surveillance system of
wildlife imports to the United States.
(B) Perform risk analysis of wildlife diseases.
(C) Perform data analysis relating to wildlife
disease surveillance.
(D) Provide technical assistance to Federal, State,
Tribal, and local governments carrying out wildlife
disease prevention and enforcement with respect to the
wildlife trade.
(2) Membership.--The Task Force shall be composed of a
representative of each of the following:
(A) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
(B) The United States Geological Survey.
(C) The Secretary of State.
(D) The Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development.
(E) The Secretary of Homeland Security.
(F) Such State and Tribal wildlife agencies that
submit a request to the Secretary to participate in the
Task Force as do not exceed 1 State representative per
regions of the United States as identified by the
Director and 1 Tribal representative per region of the
United States identified by the Director of the Bureau
of Indian Affairs.
(G) The Director of the Centers for Disease
Control.
(H) The Secretary of Agriculture.
(I) The Secretary of Commerce.
(3) Report.--The Task Force shall, not later than 1 year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, submit to Congress
a report on--
(A) the available quarantine facilities for animals
with wildlife diseases, including through public-
private partnerships;
(B) the sufficiency of such facilities to fulfill
the purposes of this Act; and
(C) legislative and regulatory recommendations,
determined in consultation with the Advisory Committee,
to improve the availability of such facilities for
Federal, State, and Tribal users.
SEC. 6. WILDLIFE DISEASE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Director shall establish the Wildlife
Disease Emergency Response Program to--
(1) provide and coordinate Federal incident command
training, operations, and resources specific to wildlife health
issues;
(2) support emergency containment and research activities
in response to wildlife disease emergencies; and
(3) establish and provide training to Federal, State, and
Tribal agencies on animal welfare best practices during
wildlife disease emergency planning and response activities.
(b) Federal Wildlife Disease Emergency Response Fund.--There is
hereby established in the Treasury an account to be known as the
``Federal Wildlife Disease Emergency Response Fund'' which shall be
available to the Secretary for the purposes described in subsection
(c).
(c) Authority.--
(1) Declaration of emergency.--The Secretary may declare a
wildlife health emergency at the request of a Governor of a
State or the head of a Tribal Government. During the period of
such an emergency, the Secretary may--
(A) use the authorities and the resources granted
to the Secretary under Federal law to support State,
Tribal, and local wildlife disease emergency management
efforts relating to such emergency;
(B) coordinate emergency assistance (including
voluntary assistance) provided by Federal agencies,
private organizations, and State, Tribal, and local
governments relating to such emergency;
(C) provide technical and advisory assistance to
affected State, Tribal, and local governments relating
to--
(i) wildlife health and safety measures;
(ii) issuance of warnings of risks or
hazards; and
(iii) providing public information relating
to wildlife health and safety;
(D) authorize Federal spending from the Federal
Wildlife Disease Emergency Response fund established
under subsection (b) to carry out the activities
described in this paragraph or distributions of funds
from such fund to States and Tribes to carry out such
activities.
(2) Federal share.--The Federal share of emergency costs
for the activities described in paragraph (1) with respect to 1
emergency may not exceed the lesser of--
(A) 80 percent of such costs; or
(B) $3,000,000, or such amount as the Secretary
determines appropriate if the Secretary determines, in
consultation with relevant Federal agencies with
responsibilities relating to human health, that there
is an immediate risk to human health or that no other
source of assistance is available to address such
emergency in a timely manner.
(d) Wildlife Disease Emergency.--The term ``wildlife disease
emergency'' means the occurrence of a wildlife disease that has been
identified by an appropriate State agency that--
(1) is caused by--
(A) a newly discovered pathogen;
(B) a known wildlife disease that is expanding its
geographic range; or
(C) a wildlife disease that is affecting a
previously unaffected population of a wildlife species;
(2) poses significant threats to the sustainability of
wildlife populations; or
(3) poses a significant threat to ecosystem function,
including ecosystem processes or resilience.
SEC. 7. CENTERS FOR STUDY AND DIAGNOSTICS OF WILDLIFE DISEASES.
(a) Application.--Institutions of Higher Education may submit an
application to the Director of the United States Geological Survey in
such time, place, and manner as the Director determines appropriate to
enter into a cooperative agreement to operate a Center for the Study
and Diagnostics of Wildlife Diseases.
(b) Criteria for Evaluation.--The Director of the United States
Geological Survey, in consultation with the Interagency Working Group
and the Advisory Committee, shall establish criteria for evaluation of
applications submitted under subsection (a), including--
(1) including laboratory capabilities;
(2) strength of veterinary, public health, and ecology
programs;
(3) dedicated expert staff; and
(4) working relationships with State agencies, Indian
Tribes, and other key partners.
(c) Minimum Number of Centers.--The Director shall, not later than
2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, approve not less
than 3 complete applications submitted under subsection (a).
(d) Geographic Distribution.--In approving applications under this
section, the Director shall ensure that the centers are geographically
distributed across the United States.
(e) Purpose.--Each center established under this section shall--
(1) provide technical assistance to States and Indian
Tribes to carry out the purposes described in section 3(a);
(2) establish partnerships with local institutions of
higher education to conduct surveillance and treatment of
wildlife diseases and research, including relevant ecological
research;
(3) advance wildlife disease surveillance workforce
development;
(4) develop, validate, and deploy diagnostic tests for
wildlife diseases;
(5) provide diagnostic services to Federal, State, and
Tribal government agencies.
SEC. 8. FEDERAL ONE HEALTH INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of the Interior, the Director of
the Centers for Disease Control, the Secretary of Commerce, and the
Secretary of Agriculture shall establish the Federal One Health
Interagency Working Group to strengthen One Health collaboration
related to the prevention, detection, control, and response for the
prioritized zoonotic diseases and related One Health work across the
Federal Government.
(b) Chair.--The members of the Interagency Working Group shall
rotate serving as Chair of such Unit at a frequency to be determined
jointly by such members.
(c) Determination of Agency Responsibility.--The Interagency
Working Group shall determine the responsibilities of each member
agency with respect to the surveillance and treatment of and research
and development programs relating to wildlife diseases.
(d) Participation of Other Federal Agencies.--The Interagency
Working Group may invite a Federal agency with a mission related to the
purposes of this Act to participate as a member in such working group.
(e) Unit Coordinator.--Each Federal agency that is a member of the
Interagency Working Group shall appoint a dedicated coordinator to
coordinate the activities of such agency with such working group.
(f) Coordinator for Secretary of Interior.--The Coordinator
appointed by the Secretary of the Interior under subsection (e) shall
be a direct subordinate of such Secretary.
SEC. 9. WILDLIFE DISEASE SURVEILLANCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish the Wildlife
Disease Surveillance Advisory Committee within the Department of the
Interior.
(b) Appointment of Members.--The Advisory Committee shall be
composed of--
(1) representatives of--
(A) the Chairperson of the Association of Fish and
Wildlife Agencies' Fish and Wildlife Health Committee;
(B) the Director of the United States Geological
Survey;
(C) the Director of the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service;
(D) the Director of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration;
(E) the Director;
(F) each of the regional Associations of Fish And
Wildlife Agencies;
(G) each of the Wildlife Disease Centers; and
(H) Indian Tribes from each region of the United
States identified by the Director of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs;
(2) 4 academic representatives from institutions of higher
education appointed by the Secretary for expertise in wildlife
population health, epidemiology, biology, ecology,
conservation, or natural resource management; and
(3) 1 representative of a relevant public or private
organization appointed by the Secretary for expertise in
wildlife population health, epidemiology, biology, ecology,
conservation, or natural resource management.
(c) Term of Appointment.--Each council member appointed under
paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b) shall serve a term of up to 4
years.
SEC. 10. NATIONAL WILDLIFE DISEASE DATABASE.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish and maintain the
National Wildlife Disease Database to centralize data relating to
wildlife diseases.
(b) Required Submission of Information.--Each Federal agency and
each recipient of a grant under section 4 with information relating to
domestic wildlife diseases shall submit such data to the Database as
the Secretary, in consultation with the Advisory Committee, determines
appropriate.
(c) Format of Information.--The Advisory Committee shall establish
a uniform format for data submissions to the Database.
(d) Diseases Included.--The Advisory Committee and the Interagency
Working Group shall jointly, not later than 18 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act, establish and maintain a list of diseases
subject to reporting under this section.
(e) Federal Agency Access.--The Secretary shall provide access to
the database to--
(1) the Director of the Centers for Disease Control;
(2) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(3) the Secretary of Commerce; and
(4) such other heads of Federal, State, and Tribal agencies
as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(f) Regulations.--The Secretary may issue such regulations as the
Secretary determines appropriate to carry out this section.
(g) Study.--The Secretary shall, not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, submit a report to Congress on the
most appropriate way to structure the National Wildlife Disease
Database to make data as available to the public as possible without
disclosing sensitive data relating to Tribal sovereign data, data that
poses a threat to national security or public health, or sensitive
State or private data.
SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for
fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter the following amounts:
(1) to the Director--
(A) $19,505,000 to carry out section 3;
(B) $15,000,000 to carry out section 5;
(C) $5,000,000 to carry out section 6; and
(D) $10,000,000, to remain available until
expended, to be deposited in the Federal Wildlife
Disease Emergency Response Fund established under
section 6(b);
(2) to the Director of the United States Geological
Survey--
(A) $20,000,000 to be distributed to the Centers
for the Study and Diagnostics of Wildlife Diseases
established under section 7; and
(B) $10,000,000 million to carry out section 5;
(3) to the Secretary--
(A) $400,000 to carry out section 9; and
(B) $10,000,000 for the purposes of carrying out
section 10.
(b) Grant Program.--There is hereby authorized to be appropriated
to the Director $27,000,000 for fiscal years 2024 through 2026 to carry
out section 4.
(c) Report.--There is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 to
the Secretary for fiscal year 2024, to remain available until expended,
to carry out section 5(b)(3).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.
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