Wildlife Disease Emergency Act of 2011

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 357 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 357

  To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to identify and declare
wildlife disease emergencies and to coordinate rapid response to those
                  emergencies, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 15, 2011

Mr. Lautenberg (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Sanders, and Mr. Bingaman)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
               Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to identify and declare
wildlife disease emergencies and to coordinate rapid response to those
                  emergencies, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Wildlife Disease Emergency Act of
2011''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to identify
        and declare wildlife disease emergencies;
            (2) to establish a fund through which the Secretary may
        coordinate rapid response to those emergencies; and
            (3) to prepare for, identify, and address diseases
        adversely affecting wildlife populations and biodiversity
        through strategic and coordinated actions among Federal, State,
        and local agencies, Indian tribes, and nongovernmental
        organizations.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Committee.--The term ``Committee'' means the Wildlife
        Disease Committee established under section 6(a).
            (2) Disease.--The term ``disease'' means an infectious or
        noninfectious, pathological condition that--
                    (A) occurs in a susceptible population of wildlife;
                and
                    (B) is not zoonotic.
            (3) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the Wildlife Disease
        Emergency Fund established by section 5.
            (4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the
        meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
        of the Interior.
            (6) State.--The term ``State'' means--
                    (A) each of the several States of the United
                States;
                    (B) the District of Columbia;
                    (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
                    (D) any other territory or possession of the United
                States.
            (7) United states.--The term ``United States'' includes--
                    (A) each of the several States of the United
                States;
                    (B) the District of Columbia;
                    (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
                    (D) any other territory or possession of the United
                States.
            (8) Wildlife.--The term ``wildlife'' means any species
        native to the United States, including nondomesticated mammals,
        fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, and arthropods.
            (9) Wildlife disease emergency.--The term ``wildlife
        disease emergency'' means a disease that--
                    (A) is infectious and caused by--
                            (i) a newly discovered pathogen; or
                            (ii) a known infectious disease that is
                        expanding in geographic range, species
                        impacted, or other recognized impacts;
                    (B) poses significant threats to the sustainability
                of a wildlife species;
                    (C) is spreading rapidly; or
                    (D) poses a significant threat to the health of a
                functioning ecosystem in a priority landscape
                identified in--
                            (i) the national fish and wildlife climate
                        change adaptation plan entitled ``Rising to the
                        Urgent Challenge: Strategic Plan for Responding
                        to Accelerating Climate Change'' and dated
                        September 2010; or
                            (ii) a similar Federal, State, local, or
                        tribal law, regulation, or conservation plan.

SEC. 4. DECLARATION OF WILDLIFE DISEASE EMERGENCY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the Governor
of a potentially affected State, may declare within that State a
wildlife disease emergency for a disease that affects wildlife--
            (1) within the United States; or
            (2) outside the United States, but has the potential, as
        determined by the Secretary, to enter the United States.
    (b) Considerations.--In making a declaration under subsection (a),
the Secretary shall consider--
            (1) the level of threat the disease poses to affected
        wildlife populations, based on--
                    (A) the relative threat to population levels;
                    (B) the relative strength of the contagion and
                spread of the disease;
                    (C) the observed rate of morbidity or mortality of
                the disease; and
                    (D) the priority of affected species, ecosystems,
                or habitats, including--
                            (i) species under--
                                    (I) the Endangered Species Act of
                                1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);
                                    (II) the Migratory Bird Treaty Act
                                (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.);
                                    (III) the Marine Mammal Protection
                                Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.);
                                or
                                    (IV) any other applicable Federal
                                law (including regulations);
                            (ii) species and habitats identified as
                        priorities in--
                                    (I) the national fish and wildlife
                                climate change adaptation plan entitled
                                ``Rising to the Urgent Challenge:
                                Strategic Plan for Responding to
                                Accelerating Climate Change'' and dated
                                September 2010; or
                                    (II) a similar Federal, State,
                                local, or tribal law, regulation, or
                                conservation plan; and
                            (iii) wildlife located on Federal land;
            (2) the sufficiency of resources available in the Fund;
            (3) the ability of the Department of the Interior and other
        Federal, State, and local agencies, tribal governments, and
        other stakeholders to address and coordinate response to the
        disease through other means; and
            (4) the request of any State Governor to make such a
        declaration.
    (c) Response Coordination.--Upon a declaration of a wildlife
disease emergency by the Secretary, the Secretary shall lead a
coordinated response to the emergency that shall include, to the
maximum extent practicable, appropriate Federal, State, and local
agencies, Indian tribes, nongovernmental organizations, or other
stakeholders.
    (d) Grant Program.--The Secretary may develop and implement a grant
program to provide grants to State wildlife agencies and Indian tribes
to coordinate the response to and address declared wildlife disease
emergencies.

SEC. 5. WILDLIFE DISEASE EMERGENCY FUND.

    (a) Establishment of Fund.--There is established in the Treasury of
the United States a fund to be known as the ``Wildlife Disease
Emergency Fund'', to be administered by the Secretary, to be available
without fiscal year limitation, and subject to appropriation, to carry
out this Act.
    (b) Transfers to Fund.--The Fund shall consist of--
            (1) such amounts as are appropriated to the Fund; and
            (2) such amounts as are received by the Secretary as
        donations, gifts, or contributions for the purpose of
        addressing wildlife disease emergencies.
    (c) Prohibition.--Amounts in the Fund may not be made available for
any purpose other than to respond to a wildlife disease emergency
declared under section 4.
    (d) Annual Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the end of
        each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2011, the Secretary
        shall submit to the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
        Representatives, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate,
        the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate,
        and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
        Representatives a report on the operation of the Fund during
        the fiscal year.
            (2) Contents.--Each report shall include, for the fiscal
        year covered by the report, the following:
                    (A) A statement of the amounts deposited into the
                Fund.
                    (B) A description of the expenditures made from the
                Fund for the fiscal year, including the purpose of the
                expenditures.
                    (C) Recommendations for additional authorities to
                fulfill the purpose of the Fund.
                    (D) A statement of the balance remaining in the
                Fund at the end of the fiscal year.
    (e) Separate Appropriations Account.--Section 1105(a) of title 31,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(39) a separate statement for the Wildlife Disease
        Emergency Fund established under section 5 of the Wildlife
        Disease Emergency Act of 2011, which shall include the
        estimated amount of deposits into the Fund, obligations, and
        outlays from the Fund.''.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as are necessary.

SEC. 6. WILDLIFE DISEASE COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary may establish a Wildlife Disease
Committee to assist the Secretary in increasing the level of
preparedness of the United States to address emerging wildlife
diseases.
    (b) Duties.--The Committee shall--
            (1) advise the Secretary on risk assessment, preparation,
        monitoring, research, and response to wildlife diseases that
        may significantly impact the health and sustainability of
        wildlife populations; and
            (2) as appropriate, draft reports, recommendations, plans,
        or other documents relating to risk assessment, preparation,
        monitoring, research, and response to wildlife diseases that
        may significantly impact the health and sustainability of
        wildlife populations.
    (c) Membership.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), members of the
        Committee shall be appointed by the Secretary from among
        individuals who are qualified by education, training, or
        experience in topics such as wildlife health, biology, ecology,
        wildlife conservation, and natural resource management.
            (2) Inclusions.--The Committee shall include--
                    (A) qualified individuals who are employed by
                Federal and State agencies and tribal entities; and
                    (B) qualified individuals who represent public and
                private organizations.
    (d) Committee Chair.--The Secretary, or a designee of the
Secretary, shall be the Chair of the Committee.
    (e) Staffing and Assistance.--The Secretary shall make available to
the Committee any staff, information, administrative services, or
assistance the Secretary determines is reasonably required to enable
the Committee to carry out the functions of the Committee.
    (f) Renewal.--Notwithstanding section 14 of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), the Secretary may renew the Committee
for any period of time that the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

SEC. 7. RAPID RESPONSE TEAMS.

    The Secretary may convene rapid response teams to address any
wildlife disease emergency.

SEC. 8. ADMINISTRATION.

    Nothing in this Act--
            (1) limits the authority of the Secretary to respond to
        wildlife disease events that are not declared wildlife disease
        emergencies under this Act; or
            (2) limits, repeals, supersedes, or modifies any provision
        of Federal, State, local, or tribal law (including
        regulations).
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