II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1513 

To reauthorize and amend the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation 

Establishment Act. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 29, 2017 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. TESTER, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. CARPER, Mr. 

UDALL, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. COCHRAN) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 

and Public Works 

A BILL 

To reauthorize and amend the National Fish and Wildlife 

Foundation Establishment Act. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Fish and 

5 Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE FOUNDATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the National Fish 

8 and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 

9 3702) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b)— 

2 (A) by striking paragraph (2) and insert3 ing the following: 

4 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—After consulting with the 

5 Secretary of Commerce and considering the rec6 ommendations submitted by the Board, the Sec7 retary of the Interior shall appoint 28 Directors 

8 who, to the maximum extent practicable, shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) be knowledgeable and experienced in 

10 matters relating to the conservation of fish, 

11 wildlife, or other natural resources; and 

12 ‘‘(B) represent a balance of expertise in 

13 ocean, coastal, freshwater, and terrestrial re14 source conservation.’’; and 

15 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert16 ing the following: 

17 ‘‘(3) TERMS.—Each Director (other than a Di18 rector described in paragraph (1)) shall be appointed 

19 for a term of 6 years.’’; and 

20 (2) in subsection (g)(2)— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘(A) 

22 Officers and employees may not be appointed 

23 until the Foundation has sufficient funds to pay 

24 them for their service. Officers’’ and inserting 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Officers’’; and 

2 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in3 serting the following: 

4 ‘‘(B) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Foun5 dation shall have an Executive Director who 

6 shall be— 

7 ‘‘(i) appointed by, and serve at the di8 rection of, the Board as the chief executive 

9 officer of the Foundation; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) knowledgeable and experienced in 

11 matters relating to fish and wildlife con12 servation.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 4(a)(1)(B) 

14 of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (16 

15 U.S.C. 4403(a)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘Secretary 

16 of the Board’’ and inserting ‘‘Executive Director of the 

17 Board’’. 

18 SEC. 3. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE FOUNDATION. 

19 Section 4 of the National Fish and Wildlife Founda20 tion Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3703) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (c)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘(c) POWERS.—To carry 

23 out its purposes under’’ and inserting the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(c) POWERS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purposes 

2 described in’’; 

3 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

4 through (11) as subparagraphs (A) through 

5 (K), respectively, and indenting appropriately; 

6 (C) in subparagraph (D) (as redesignated 

7 by subparagraph (B)), by striking ‘‘that are in8 sured by an agency or instrumentality of the 

9 United States’’ and inserting ‘‘at 1 or more fi10 nancial institutions that are members of the 

11 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the 

12 Securities Investment Protection Corporation’’; 

13 (D) in subparagraph (E) (as redesignated 

14 by subparagraph (B)), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

15 (3) or (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (C) or 

16 (D)’’; 

17 (E) in subparagraph (J) (as redesignated 

18 by subparagraph (B)), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

19 inserting a semicolon; 

20 (F) by striking subparagraph (K) (as re21 designated by subparagraph (B)) and inserting 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(K) to receive and administer restitution 

24 and community service payments, amounts for 

25 mitigation of impacts to natural resources, and 


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1 other amounts arising from legal, regulatory, or 

2 administrative proceedings, subject to the con3 dition that the amounts are received or admin4 istered for purposes that further the conserva5 tion and management of fish, wildlife, plants, 

6 and other natural resources; and 

7 ‘‘(L) to do any and all acts necessary and 

8 proper to carry out the purposes of the Founda9 tion.’’; and 

10 (G) by striking the undesignated matter at 

11 the end and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF REAL PROPERTY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

14 Act, an interest in real property shall be treated 

15 as including easements or other rights for pres16 ervation, conservation, protection, or enhance17 ment by and for the public of natural, scenic, 

18 historic, scientific, educational, inspirational, or 

19 recreational resources. 

20 ‘‘(B) ENCUMBERED REAL PROPERTY.—A 

21 gift, devise, or bequest may be accepted by the 

22 Foundation even though the gift, devise, or be23 quest is encumbered, restricted, or subject to 

24 beneficial interests of private persons if any 


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1 current or future interest in the gift, devise, or 

2 bequest is for the benefit of the Foundation. 

3 ‘‘(3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The acceptance and 

4 administration of amounts by the Foundation under 

5 paragraph (1)(K) does not alter, supersede, or limit 

6 any regulatory or statutory requirement associated 

7 with those amounts.’’; 

8 (2) by striking subsections (f) and (g); and 

9 (3) by redesignating subsections (h) and (i) as 

10 subsections (f) and (g), respectively. 

11 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 Section 10 of the National Fish and Wildlife Founda13 tion Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3709) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (1) 

15 and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

17 appropriated to carry out this Act for each of fiscal 

18 years 2018 through 2023— 

19 ‘‘(A) $15,000,000 to the Secretary of the 

20 Interior; 

21 ‘‘(B) $5,000,000 to the Secretary of Agri22 culture; and 

23 ‘‘(C) $5,000,000 to the Secretary of Com24 merce.’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert2 ing the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) AMOUNTS FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the 

5 amounts authorized to be appropriated under 

6 subsection (a), Federal departments, agencies, 

7 or instrumentalities are authorized to provide 

8 funds to the Foundation through Federal finan9 cial assistance grants and cooperative agree10 ments, subject to the condition that the 

11 amounts are used for purposes that further the 

12 conservation and management of fish, wildlife, 

13 plants, and other natural resources in accord14 ance with this Act. 

15 ‘‘(B) ADVANCES.—Federal departments, 

16 agencies, or instrumentalities may advance 

17 amounts described in subparagraph (A) to the 

18 Foundation in a lump sum without regard to 

19 when the expenses for which the amounts are 

20 used are incurred. 

21 ‘‘(C) MANAGEMENT FEES.—The Founda22 tion may assess and collect fees for the manage23 ment of amounts received under this para24 graph.’’; 

25 (B) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik2 ing ‘‘FUNDS’’ and inserting ‘‘AMOUNTS’’; 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘shall be used’’ and in4 serting ‘‘may be used’’; and 

5 (iii) by striking ‘‘and State and local 

6 government agencies’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

7 State and local government agencies, and 

8 other entities’’; and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION OF AMOUNTS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In entering into con12 tracts, agreements, or other partnerships pursu13 ant to this Act, a Federal department, agency, 

14 or instrumentality shall have discretion to waive 

15 any competitive process of that department, 

16 agency, or instrumentality for entering into 

17 contracts, agreements, or partnerships with the 

18 Foundation if the purpose of the waiver is— 

19 ‘‘(i) to address an environmental 

20 emergency resulting from a natural or 

21 other disaster; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) as determined by the head of the 

23 applicable Federal department, agency, or 

24 instrumentality, to reduce administrative 

25 expenses and expedite the conservation and 


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1 management of fish, wildlife, plants, and 

2 other natural resources. 

3 ‘‘(B) REPORTS.—The Foundation shall in4 clude in the annual report submitted under sec5 tion 7(b) a description of any use of the author6 ity under subparagraph (A) by a Federal de7 partment, agency, or instrumentality in that fis8 cal year.’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(d) USE OF GIFTS, DEVISES, OR BEQUESTS OF

11 MONEY OR OTHER PROPERTY.—Any gifts, devises, or be12 quests of amounts or other property, or any other amounts 

13 or other property, transferred to, deposited with, or other14 wise in the possession of the Foundation pursuant to this 

15 Act, may be made available by the Foundation to Federal 

16 departments, agencies, or instrumentalities and may be 

17 accepted and expended (or the disposition of the amounts 

18 or property directed), without further appropriation, by 

19 those Federal departments, agencies, or instrumentalities, 

20 subject to the condition that the amounts or property be 

21 used for purposes that further the conservation and man22 agement of fish, wildlife, plants, and other natural re23 sources.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY. 

2 Section 11 of the National Fish and Wildlife Founda3 tion Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3710) is amended by 

4 inserting ‘‘exclusive’’ before ‘‘authority’’. 

Æ 


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