I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2057

To provide for a multi-agency cooperative effort to encourage further research 

regarding the causes of chronic wasting disease and methods to control 

the further spread of the disease in deer and elk herds, to monitor 

the incidence of the disease, to support State efforts to control the 

disease, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 9, 2003

Mr. MCINNIS (for himself, Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin, 

Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. PETRI, and Mrs. MUSGRAVE) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in 

addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 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 provide for a multi-agency cooperative effort to encourage 

further research regarding the causes of chronic wasting 

disease and methods to control the further spread of 

the disease in deer and elk herds, to monitor the incidence of the disease, to support State efforts to control 

the disease, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chronic Wasting Dis3 ease Support for States Act of 2003’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE.—The term 

7 ‘‘chronic wasting disease’’ means the animal disease 

8 afflicting deer and elk that—

9 (A) is a transmissible disease of the nerv10 ous system resulting in distinctive lesions in the 

11 brain; and 

12 (B) belongs to the group of diseases known 

13 as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, 

14 which group includes scrapie, bovine spongiform 

15 encephalopathy, and Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease. 

16 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

17 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

18 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

19 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).

20 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

21 Congress finds the following: 

22 (1) Pursuant to State and Federal law, the 

23 States retain primacy and policy-making authority 

24 with regard to wildlife management, and nothing in 

25 this Act interferes with or otherwise affects the pri26 macy of the States in managing wildlife generally, or 
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1 managing, surveying, and monitoring the incidence 

2 of chronic wasting disease. 

3 (2) Chronic wasting disease, the fatal neuro4 logical disease found in cervids, is a fundamental 

5 threat to the health and vibrancy of deer and elk 

6 populations, and the increased occurrence of chronic 

7 wasting disease in regionally diverse locations in re8 cent months necessitates an escalation in research, 

9 surveillance, monitoring, and management activities 

10 focused on containing and managing this lethal dis11 ease. 

12 (3) As the States move to manage existing lev13 els of chronic wasting disease and insulate non14 infected wild and captive cervid populations from the 

15 disease, the Federal Government should endeavor to 

16 provide integrated and holistic financial and tech17 nical support to these States. 

18 (4) Relevant Federal agencies should provide 

19 consistent, coherent, and integrated support struc20 tures and programs for the benefit of State wildlife 

21 and agricultural administrators, as chronic wasting 

22 disease can move freely between captive and wild 

23 cervids across the broad array of Federal, State, 

24 tribal, and local land management jurisdictions. 
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1 (5) The Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary 

2 of Agriculture, and other affected Federal authori3 ties can provide consistent, coherent, and integrated 

4 support systems under existing legal authorities. 

5 TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF THE 

6 INTERIOR ACTIVITIES 

7 SEC. 101. NATIONAL DATABASE REGARDING CHRONIC 

8 WASTING DISEASE. 

9 (a) INFORMATION REPOSITORY.—The Secretary of 

10 the Interior, acting through the United States Geological 

11 Survey and using existing authorities, shall establish and 

12 maintain the official national database for—

13 (1) surveillance and monitoring data regarding 

14 chronic wasting disease in both wild and captive 

15 cervid populations and other wildlife that is collected 

16 by the Department of the Interior, the Department 

17 of Agriculture, other Federal agencies, foreign gov18 ernments, Indian tribes, and State agencies assisted 

19 under this Act; and 

20 (2) other relevant information regarding chronic 

21 wasting disease received from other sources, includ22 ing cooperation with foreign governments. 

23 (b) INFORMATION SOURCE.—The national database 

24 shall be available as a resource for—
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1 (1) Federal and State agencies, Indian tribes, 

2 and foreign governments attempting to manage and 

3 control chronic wasting disease; 

4 (2) institutions of higher education and other 

5 public or private research entities conducting re6 search regarding chronic wasting disease; and 

7 (3) cooperating international wildlife authori8 ties. 

9 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO DEPARTMENT OF AGRI10 CULTURE INFORMATION COLLECTION.—The data col11 lected by the Department of Agriculture under title II 

12 shall be placed in the national database. 

13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the 

15 Interior $1,500,000 to establish and maintain the national 

16 database. Funds appropriated pursuant to this authoriza17 tion of appropriations shall remain available until ex18 pended. 

19 SEC. 102. SURVEILLANCE AND MONITORING PROGRAM RE20 GARDING PRESENCE OF CHRONIC WASTING 

21 DISEASE IN WILD HERDS OF DEER AND ELK. 

22 (a) PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.—Using existing au23 thorities, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the 

24 United States Geological Survey, shall develop a national 

25 surveillance and monitoring program to identify—
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1 (1) the rate of chronic wasting disease infection 

2 in wild herds of deer and elk;

3 (2) the cause and extent of the spread of the 

4 disease; and 

5 (3) potential reservoirs of infection and vectors 

6 promoting the spread of the disease. 

7 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of the Inte8 rior shall provide financial and technical assistance to 

9 States and Indian tribes to implement the surveillance and 

10 monitoring program for wild herds. 

11 (c) COOPERATION.—In developing the surveillance 

12 and monitoring program for wild herds, the Secretary of 

13 the Interior shall consult and cooperate with State and 

14 tribal agencies responsible for managing and controlling 

15 chronic wasting disease. 

16 (d) COORDINATION.—The Secretary of the Interior, 

17 in cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall es18 tablish uniform standards for the collection and assess19 ment of samples and data derived from the surveillance 

20 and monitoring program. 

21 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the 

23 Interior $3,000,000 to establish and support the surveil24 lance and monitoring program. Funds appropriated pursu-
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1 ant to this authorization of appropriations shall remain 

2 available until expended. 

3 SEC. 103. SUPPORT FOR STATE EFFORTS TO MANAGE AND 

4 CONTROL CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE. 

5 (a) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

6 of the Interior, acting through the United States Geologi7 cal Survey, shall allocate funds appropriated to carry out 

8 this section directly to the State or tribal agency respon9 sible for wildlife management for a State or Indian tribe 

10 that petitions the Secretary for a portion of such funds 

11 to develop and implement management strategies to ad12 dress chronic wasting disease on lands administered by the 

13 State or Indian tribe. 

14 (b) FUNDING PRIORITIES.—In determining the 

15 amounts to be allocated to States and Indian tribes under 

16 subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall give pri17 ority to States and Indian tribes based on the following 

18 criteria: 

19 (1) Relative scope of incidence of chronic wast20 ing disease on lands administered by the State or 

21 Indian tribe, with priority given to those States and 

22 Indian tribes with the highest incidence of the dis23 ease. 

24 (2) State or tribal expenditures on chronic 

25 wasting disease management, monitoring, surveil-
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1 lance, and research, with priority given to those 

2 States and Indian tribes that have shown the great3 est financial commitment to managing, monitoring, 

4 surveying, and researching chronic wasting disease. 

5 (3) Comprehensive and integrated State or trib6 al policies and programs focused on chronic wasting 

7 disease management between involved State or tribal 

8 wildlife and agricultural agencies, with priority given 

9 to those States and Indian tribes that have inte10 grated the programs and policies of all involved 

11 agencies related to chronic wasting disease manage12 ment. 

13 (4) Rapid response to new outbreaks of chronic 

14 wasting disease, whether occurring in areas in which 

15 chronic wasting disease is already found or areas 

16 with first infections, with the intent of containing 

17 the disease in any new area of infection. 

18 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the 

20 Interior $10,000,000 to support State and tribal efforts 

21 to manage and control chronic wasting disease. Funds ap22 propriated pursuant to this authorization of appropria23 tions shall remain available until expended. 
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1 SEC. 104. EXPANSION OF UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL 

2 SURVEY RESEARCH. 

3 (a) EXPANSION.—The Secretary of Interior, acting 

4 through the United States Geological Survey, shall expand 

5 and accelerate research on chronic wasting disease, includ6 ing research regarding detection of chronic wasting dis7 ease, genetic resistance, tissue studies, and environmental 

8 studies. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the 

11 Interior $3,000,000 to carry out subsection (a). Funds ap12 propriated pursuant to this authorization of appropria13 tions shall remain available until expended. 

14 TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF 

15 AGRICULTURE ACTIVITIES 

16 SEC. 201. SURVEILLANCE AND MONITORING PROGRAM RE17 GARDING PRESENCE OF CHRONIC WASTING 

18 DISEASE IN CAPTIVE HERDS OF DEER AND 

19 ELK. 

20 (a) PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary of Ag21 riculture, acting through the Animal and Plant Health In22 spection Service, shall develop a surveillance and moni23 toring program to identify—

24 (1) the rate of chronic wasting disease infection 

25 in captive herds of deer and elk; 
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1 (2) the cause and extent of the spread of the 

2 disease; and 

3 (3) potential reservoirs of infection and vectors 

4 promoting the spread of the disease. 

5 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Agri6 culture shall provide financial and technical assistance to 

7 States and Indian tribes to implement the surveillance and 

8 monitoring program for captive herds. 

9 (c) COOPERATION.—In developing the surveillance 

10 and monitoring program for captive herds, the Secretary 

11 of Agriculture shall cooperate with State and tribal agen12 cies responsible for managing and controlling chronic 

13 wasting disease. 

14 (d) COORDINATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture, 

15 in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall es16 tablish uniform standards for the collection and assess17 ment of samples and data derived from the surveillance 

18 and monitoring program. 

19 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri21 culture $2,000,000 to establish and support the surveil22 lance and monitoring program. Funds appropriated pursu23 ant to this authorization of appropriations shall remain 

24 available until expended.
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1 SEC. 202. EXPANSION OF DIAGNOSTIC TESTING CAPACITY. 

2 (a) PURPOSE.—Diagnostic testing of samples col3 lected under the surveillance and monitoring programs re4 garding chronic wasting disease conducted by the Federal 

5 Government and States and Indian tribes, including the

6 programs required by sections 102 and 201, will continue 

7 to be conducted by National Veterinary Services Labora8 tories of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

9 and laboratories approved by the National Veterinary 

10 Services Laboratories, but current laboratory capacity is 

11 inadequate to process the anticipated sample load. 

12 (b) UPGRADING OF FEDERAL FACILITIES.—The Sec13 retary of Agriculture shall provide for the upgrading of 

14 Federal laboratories to facilitate the timely processing of 

15 samples from the surveillance and monitoring programs 

16 required by sections 102 and 201 and related epidemiolog17 ical investigation in response to the results of such proc18 essing. 

19 (c) UPGRADING OF CERTIFIED LABORATORIES.—

20 Using the grant authority provided under section 2(d) of 

21 the Competitive, Special and Facilities Research Grant 

22 Act (7 U.S.C. 450i(d)), the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

23 make grants to provide for the upgrading of laboratories 

24 to be certified by the Secretary to facilitate the timely 

25 processing of samples from the surveillance and moni26 toring programs required by sections 102 and 201 and re-
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1 lated epidemiological investigation in response to the re2 sults of such processing. 

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri5 culture $2,500,000 to carry out this section. Funds appro6 priated pursuant to this authorization of appropriations 

7 shall remain available until expended. 

8 SEC. 203. EXPANSION OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERV9 ICE RESEARCH. 

10 (a) EXPANSION.—The Secretary of Agriculture, act11 ing through the Agricultural Research Service, shall ex12 pand and accelerate research on chronic wasting disease, 

13 including research regarding detection of chronic wasting 

14 disease, genetic resistance, tissue studies, and environ15 mental studies. 

16 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri18 culture $1,000,000 to carry out subsection (a). Funds ap19 propriated pursuant to this authorization of appropria20 tions shall remain available until expended. 

21 SEC. 204. EXPANSION OF COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, 

22 EDUCATION AND EXTENSION SERVICE SUP23 PORTED RESEARCH AND EDUCATION. 

24 (a) RESEARCH EFFORTS.—The Secretary of Agri25 culture, acting through the Cooperative State Research, 
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1 Education and Extension Service, shall expand the grant 

2 program regarding research on chronic wasting disease. 

3 (b) EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS.—The Secretary of Ag4 riculture shall provide educational outreach regarding 

5 chronic wasting disease to the general public, industry and 

6 conservation organizations, hunters, and interested sci7 entific and regulatory communities. 

8 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri10 culture $4,000,000 to carry out this section. Of the funds 

11 so appropriated, 75 percent shall be used to carry out sub12 section (a) and 25 percent shall be used to carry out sub13 section (b). Funds appropriated pursuant to this author14 ization of appropriations shall remain available until ex15 pended. 

16 TITLE III—GENERAL 

17 PROVISIONS 

18 SEC. 301. RULEMAKING. 

19 (a) JOINT RULEMAKING.—To ensure that the sur20 veillance and monitoring programs and research programs 

21 required by this Act are compatible and that information 

22 collection is carried out in a manner suitable for inclusion 

23 in the national database required by section 101, the Sec24 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture 

25 shall jointly promulgate rules to implement this Act. 
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1 (b) PROCEDURE.—Due to the serious consequences 

2 of an unchecked chronic wasting disease epidemic, prompt 

3 implementation of this Act is required. The promulgation 

4 of the rules under subsection (a) shall be made without 

5 regard to—

6 (1) chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code 

7 (commonly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 

8 Act’’); 

9 (2) the Statement of Policy of the Secretary of 

10 Agriculture effective July 24, 1971 (36 Fed. Reg. 

11 13804), relating to notices of proposed rulemaking 

12 and public participation in rulemaking; and 

13 (3) the notice and comment provisions of sec14 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code. 

15 (c) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE16 MAKING.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary of 

17 the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall use the 

18 authority provided under section 808 of title 5, United 

19 States Code. 

20 (d) RELATION TO OTHER RULEMAKING.—The re21 quirement for joint rulemaking shall not be construed to 

22 require any delay in the promulgation by the Secretary 

23 of Agriculture of rules regarding the interstate transpor24 tation of captive deer or elk or any other rule by the Sec25 retary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior re-
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1 garding chronic wasting disease proposed before the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act.

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