II 

Calendar No. 515 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 357 

[Report No. 112–214] 

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, Mr. BINGAMAN, 

Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. CARDIN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 

Reported by Mrs. BOXER, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

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. 

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 ‘‘Wildlife Disease Emer3 gency Act of 2011’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

5 The purposes of this Act are— 

6 (1) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 

7 identify and declare wildlife disease emergencies; 

8 (2) to establish a fund through which the Sec9 retary may coordinate rapid response to those emer10 gencies; and 

11 (3) to prepare for, identify, and address dis12 eases adversely affecting wildlife populations and 

13 biodiversity through strategic and coordinated ac14 tions among Federal, State, and local agencies, In15 dian tribes, and nongovernmental organizations. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 

19 means the Wildlife Disease Committee established 

20 under section 6(a). 

21 (2) DISEASE.—The term ‘‘disease’’ means an 

22 infectious or noninfectious, pathological condition 

23 that— 

24 (A) occurs in a susceptible population of 

25 wildlife; and 

26 (B) is not zoonotic. 


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1 (3) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Wild2 life Disease Emergency Fund established by section 

3 5. 

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

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

6 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

8 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

11 (A) each of the several States of the 

12 United States; 

13 (B) the District of Columbia; 

14 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

15 and 

16 (D) any other territory or possession of the 

17 United States. 

18 (7) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

19 States’’ includes— 

20 (A) each of the several States of the 

21 United States; 

22 (B) the District of Columbia; 

23 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

24 and 


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1 (D) any other territory or possession of the 

2 United States. 

3 (8) WILDLIFE.—The term ‘‘wildlife’’ means any 

4 species native to the United States, including non5 domesticated mammals, fish, birds, amphibians, rep6 tiles, mollusks, and arthropods. 

7 (9) WILDLIFE DISEASE EMERGENCY.—The 

8 term ‘‘wildlife disease emergency’’ means a disease 

9 that— 

10 (A) is infectious and caused by— 

11 (i) a newly discovered pathogen; or 

12 (ii) a known infectious disease that is 

13 expanding in geographic range, species im14 pacted, or other recognized impacts; 

15 (B) poses significant threats to the sus16 tainability of a wildlife species; 

17 (C) is spreading rapidly; or 

18 (D) poses a significant threat to the health 

19 of a functioning ecosystem in a priority land 

20 scape identified in— 

21 (i) the national fish and wildlife cli22 mate change adaptation plan entitled ‘‘Ris23 ing to the Urgent Challenge: Strategic 

24 Plan for Responding to Accelerating CliVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:06 Sep 20, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S357.RS S357

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1 mate Change’’ and dated September 2010; 

2 or 

3 (ii) a similar Federal, State, local, or 

4 tribal law, regulation, or conservation plan. 

5 scape identified in a Federal, State, local, 

6 or tribal law, regulation, or conservation 

7 plan. 

8 SEC. 4. DECLARATION OF WILDLIFE DISEASE EMERGENCY. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

10 with the Governor of a potentially affected State, may de11 clare within that State a wildlife disease emergency for 

12 a disease that affects wildlife— 

13 (1) within the United States; or 

14 (2) outside the United States, but has the po15 tential, as determined by the Secretary, to enter the 

16 United States. 

17 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making a declaration 

18 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider— 

19 (1) the level of threat the disease poses to af20 fected wildlife populations, based on— 

21 (A) the relative threat to population levels; 

22 (B) the relative strength of the contagion 

23 and spread of the disease; 

24 (C) the observed rate of morbidity or mor25 tality of the disease; and 


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1 (D) the priority of affected species, eco2 systems, or habitats, including— 

3 (i) species under— 

4 (I) the Endangered Species Act 

5 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

6 (II) the Migratory Bird Treaty 

7 Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.); 

8 (III) the Marine Mammal Protec9 tion Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 

10 seq.); or 

11 (IV) any other applicable Federal 

12 law (including regulations); 

13 (ii) species and habitats identified as 

14 priorities in— 

15 (I) the national fish and wildlife 

16 climate change adaptation plan enti17 tled ‘‘Rising to the Urgent Challenge: 

18 Strategic Plan for Responding to Ac19 celerating Climate Change’’ and dated 

20 September 2010; or 

21 (II) a similar Federal, State, 

22 local, or tribal law, regulation, or con23 servation plan; and 

24 (iii) wildlife located on Federal land; 


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1 (i) species and habitats identified as 

2 priorities in a Federal, State, local, or trib3 al law, regulation, or conservation plan; 

4 and 

5 (ii) wildlife located on Federal land; 

6 (2) the sufficiency of resources available in the 

7 Fund; 

8 (3) the ability of the Department of the Interior 

9 and other Federal, State, and local agencies, tribal 

10 governments, and other stakeholders to address and 

11 coordinate response to the disease through other 

12 means; and 

13 (4) the request of any State Governor to make 

14 such a declaration. 

15 (c) RESPONSE COORDINATION.—Upon a declaration 

16 of a wildlife disease emergency by the Secretary, the Sec17 retary shall lead a coordinated response to the emergency 

18 that shall include, to the maximum extent practicable, ap19 propriate Federal, State, and local agencies, Indian tribes, 

20 nongovernmental organizations, or other stakeholders. 

21 (d) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary may develop 

22 and implement a grant program to provide grants to State 

23 wildlife agencies and Indian tribes to coordinate the re24 sponse to and address declared wildlife disease emer25 gencies. 


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1 SEC. 5. WILDLIFE DISEASE EMERGENCY FUND. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab3 lished in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be 

4 known as the ‘‘Wildlife Disease Emergency Fund’’, to be 

5 administered by the Secretary, to be available without fis6 cal year limitation, and subject to appropriation, to carry 

7 out this Act. 

8 (b) TRANSFERS TO FUND.—The Fund shall consist 

9 of— 

10 (1) such amounts as are appropriated to the 

11 Fund; and 

12 (2) such amounts as are received by the Sec13 retary as donations, gifts, or contributions for the 

14 purpose of addressing wildlife disease emergencies. 

15 (c) PROHIBITION.—Amounts in the Fund may not be 

16 made available for any purpose other than to respond to 

17 a wildlife disease emergency declared under section 4. 

18 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

20 the end of each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 

21 2011, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

22 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, 

23 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the 

24 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 

25 Senate, and the Committee on Natural Resources of 


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1 the House of Representatives a report on the oper2 ation of the Fund during the fiscal year. 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report shall include, for 

4 the fiscal year covered by the report, the following: 

5 (A) A statement of the amounts deposited 

6 into the Fund. 

7 (B) A description of the expenditures made 

8 from the Fund for the fiscal year, including the 

9 purpose of the expenditures. 

10 (C) Recommendations for additional au11 thorities to fulfill the purpose of the Fund. 

12 (D) A statement of the balance remaining 

13 in the Fund at the end of the fiscal year. 

14 (e) SEPARATE APPROPRIATIONS ACCOUNT.—Section 

15 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 

16 adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(39) a separate statement for the Wildlife Dis18 ease Emergency Fund established under section 5 of 

19 the Wildlife Disease Emergency Act of 2011, which 

20 shall include the estimated amount of deposits into 

21 the Fund, obligations, and outlays from the Fund.’’. 

22 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

24 such sums as are necessary. 


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1 SEC. 6. WILDLIFE DISEASE COMMITTEE. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary may establish 

3 a Wildlife Disease Committee to assist the Secretary in 

4 increasing the level of preparedness of the United States 

5 to address emerging wildlife diseases. 

6 (b) DUTIES.—The Committee shall— 

7 (1) advise the Secretary on risk assessment, 

8 preparation, monitoring, research, and response to 

9 wildlife diseases that may significantly impact the 

10 health and sustainability of wildlife populations; and 

11 (2) as appropriate, draft reports, recommenda12 tions, plans, or other documents relating to risk as13 sessment, preparation, monitoring, research, and re14 sponse to wildlife diseases that may significantly im15 pact the health and sustainability of wildlife popu16 lations. 

17 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

19 members of the Committee shall be appointed by the 

20 Secretary from among individuals who are qualified 

21 by education, training, or experience in topics such 

22 as wildlife health, biology, ecology, wildlife conserva23 tion, and natural resource management. 

24 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The Committee shall in25 clude— 


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1 (A) qualified individuals who are employed 

2 by Federal and State agencies and tribal enti3 ties; and 

4 (B) qualified individuals who represent 

5 by Federal agencies; 

6 (B) at least 8 qualified individuals who are 

7 employed by a State fish and wildlife agency, 

8 each of whom shall be employed in a different 1 

9 of the 8 regions of the United States Fish and 

10 Wildlife Service; 

11 (C) qualified individuals employed by other 

12 State agencies and tribal entities; and 

13 (D) qualified individuals who represent 

14 public and private organizations. 

15 (d) COMMITTEE CHAIR.—The Secretary, or a des16 ignee of the Secretary, shall be the Chair of the Com17 mittee. 

18 (e) STAFFING AND ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

19 shall make available to the Committee any staff, informa20 tion, administrative services, or assistance the Secretary 

21 determines is reasonably required to enable the Committee 

22 to carry out the functions of the Committee. 

23 (f) RENEWAL.—Notwithstanding section 14 of the 

24 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), the SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:06 Sep 20, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S357.RS S357

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1 retary may renew the Committee for any period of time 

2 that the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

3 SEC. 7. RAPID RESPONSE TEAMS. 

4 The Secretary may convene rapid response teams to 

5 address any wildlife disease emergency. 

6 SEC. 8. ADMINISTRATION. 

7 Nothing in this Act— 

8 (1) limits the authority of the Secretary to re9 spond to wildlife disease events that are not declared 

10 wildlife disease emergencies under this Act; or 

11 (2) limits, repeals, supersedes, or modifies any 

12 wildlife disease emergencies under this Act; 

13 (2) affects the authority, jurisdiction, or respon14 sibility of the States to manage, control, or regulate 

15 fish and resident wildlife under any State law (in16 cluding regulations); 

17 (3) grants authority to any public agency to ac18 quire private property or conservation easements or 

19 otherwise infringe any use of private property; or 

20 (4) limits, repeals, supersedes, or modifies any 

21 provision of Federal, State, local, or tribal law (in22 cluding regulations). 


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Calendar No. 515 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 357 

[Report No. 112–214] 

A BILL 

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

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 

Reported with amendments 


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