II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3852 

To require the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of 

the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to promulgate regulations 

prohibiting the use of lead ammunition on all land and water under 

the jurisdiction and control of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

Service, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 29, 2024 

Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Interior, acting through 

the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

Service, to promulgate regulations prohibiting the use 

of lead ammunition on all land and water under the 

jurisdiction and control of the United States Fish and 

Wildlife Service, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lead Endangers Ani5 mals Daily Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘LEAD Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) in 1991, the United States Fish and Wild4 life Service required the use of nontoxic ammunition 

5 for all waterfowl hunting; 

6 (2) research has shown that the presence of 

7 lead in the environment poses a threat to human 

8 and wildlife health; 

9 (3) the Environmental Protection Agency has 

10 determined that lead— 

11 (A) is toxic to humans and animals; and 

12 (B) can negatively affect nearly every 

13 organ and system in the human body, including 

14 the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys, and repro15 ductive and nervous systems; 

16 (4) lead exposure interferes with the develop17 ment of the nervous system and is therefore particu18 larly toxic to children, causing potentially permanent 

19 learning and behavioral disorders; 

20 (5) lead is a potent neurotoxin, for which no 

21 safe exposure level exists for humans; 

22 (6) the use of lead has been outlawed in, and 

23 removed from, paint, gasoline, children’s toys, and 

24 many other items for the purpose of protecting 

25 human health and wildlife; 


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1 (7) wildlife, including species listed as threat2 ened or endangered under the Endangered Species 

3 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), is at risk of 

4 lead toxicosis through the ingestion of lead ammuni5 tion either— 

6 (A) directly, by ingesting lead from spent 

7 ballistic materials while foraging; or 

8 (B) indirectly, by scavenging carcasses and 

9 viscera left by hunters; 

10 (8) lead may pollute soil and water around out11 door shooting ranges; 

12 (9) lead ammunition endangers human food 

13 supplies; 

14 (10) dairy and beef cattle have developed lead 

15 poisoning after feeding in areas where spent lead 

16 ammunition has accumulated; 

17 (11) in addition to contaminating dairy and 

18 beef cattle, spent lead ammunition can also contami19 nate crops, vegetation, and waterways; 

20 (12) humans are at risk of lead toxicosis 

21 through the consumption of game meat harvested 

22 with lead ammunition; 

23 (13) alternatives to lead ammunition are readily 

24 available, and studies have shown that nonlead amVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:45 Mar 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3852.IS S3852

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1 munition performs just as well as lead-based ammu2 nition; and 

3 (14) in January 2017, the outgoing Director of 

4 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service issued 

5 Director’s Order 219, which was repealed in March 

6 2017 by the Principal Deputy Director of the United 

7 States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

8 SEC. 3. LEAD AMMUNITION PROHIBITION. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) AMMUNITION.—The term ‘‘ammunition’’ 

11 means any bullet, ball, sabot, slug, buckshot, shot, 

12 pellet, or other projectile that is expelled from a fire13 arm through a barrel by force. 

14 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

15 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

16 Service. 

17 (3) EXPLOSIVE.—The term ‘‘explosive’’ has the 

18 meaning given the term in section 844(j) of title 18, 

19 United States Code. 

20 (4) FIREARM.—The term ‘‘firearm’’ means a 

21 weapon that expels ammunition by way of an explo22 sive or compressed air. 

23 (5) NONLEAD AMMUNITION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘nonlead am25 munition’’ means ammunition in which there is 


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1 no lead content, excluding the presence of trace 

2 amounts of lead. 

3 (B) TRACE AMOUNTS.—For purposes of 

4 subparagraph (A), the term ‘‘trace amounts’’ 

5 means 1 percent or less by weight of the total 

6 weight of the ammunition. 

7 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of the Interior. 

9 (b) PROHIBITION.—Not later than 1 year after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, and in accordance with sub11 sections (c) through (e), the Secretary, acting through the 

12 Director, shall promulgate regulations prohibiting the dis13 charge of a firearm that uses ammunition, other than 

14 nonlead ammunition included on the list developed and up15 dated in accordance with subsection (c), on all land and 

16 water under the jurisdiction and control of the United 

17 States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

18 (c) ACCEPTABLE NONLEAD AMMUNITION.—The Di19 rector, in consultation with State and Tribal governments, 

20 shall develop and annually update a list of nonlead ammu21 nition. 

22 (d) EXCEPTIONS.—The regulations promulgated 

23 under subsection (b) shall provide that the prohibition de24 scribed in that subsection shall not apply— 


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1 (1) to a government official or agent carrying 

2 out a statutory duty unrelated to the management 

3 of wildlife; 

4 (2) to a State, local, Tribal, or Federal law en5 forcement officer, or an agent of such officer, when 

6 carrying out a statutory duty; and 

7 (3) to an active member of the United States 

8 military when carrying out official duties. 

9 (e) PENALTIES.—The regulations promulgated under 

10 subsection (b) shall provide that any person that know11 ingly violates those regulations may be assessed a civil 

12 penalty by the Secretary of— 

13 (1) in the case of a first violation, not more 

14 than $500; and 

15 (2) in the case of each subsequent violation, not 

16 less than $1,000 and not more than $5,000. 

Æ 


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