S. 2094

One Hundred Fifth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the twenty-seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight

An Act

To amend the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 to enable the Secretary

of the Interior to more effectively use the proceeds of sales of certain items.

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 ‘‘Fish and Wildlife Revenue

Enhancement Act of 1998’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

(1) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (referred

to in this Act as the ‘‘Service’’)—

(A) is responsible for storage and disposal of items

derived from fish, wildlife, and plants, including eagles

and eagle parts, and other items that have become the

property of the United States through abandonment or

forfeiture under applicable laws relating to fish, wildlife,

or plants;

(B) distributes many of those items for educational

and scientific uses and for religious purposes of Native

Americans; and

(C) unless otherwise prohibited by law, may dispose

of some of those items by sale, except items derived from

endangered or threatened species, marine mammals, and

migratory birds;

(2) under law in effect on the date of enactment of this

Act, the revenue from sale of abandoned items is not available

to the Service, although approximately 90 percent of the items

in possession of the Service have been abandoned; and

(3) making revenue from the sale of abandoned items available to the Service will enable the Service—

(A) to cover costs incurred in shipping, storing, and

disposing of items derived from fish, wildlife, and plants;

and

(B) to make more extensive distributions of those items

for educational, scientific, and Native American religious

purposes.

(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to make proceeds

from sales of abandoned items derived from fish, wildlife, and

plants available to the Service and to authorize the use of those

proceeds to cover costs incurred in shipping, storing, and disposing

of those items.
S. 2094—2

SEC. 3. USE OF PROCEEDS OF CERTAIN SALES.

Section 3(c) of the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978

(16 U.S.C. 742l(c)) is amended—

(1) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and inserting the following:

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), notwithstanding’’; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON SALE OF CERTAIN ITEMS.—In carrying

out paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce may not sell any species of fish, wildlife,

or plant, or derivative thereof, for which the sale is prohibited

by another Federal law.

‘‘(3) USE OF REVENUES.—The Secretary of the Interior and

the Secretary of Commerce may each expend any revenues

received from the disposal of items under paragraph (1), and

all sums referred to in the first sentence of section 11(d) of

the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1540(d)) and

the first sentence of section 6(d) of the Lacey Act Amendments

of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3375(d))—

‘‘(A) to make payments in accordance with those sections; and

‘‘(B) to pay costs associated with—

‘‘(i) shipping items referred to in paragraph (1)

to and from the place of storage, sale, or temporary

or final disposal, including temporary or permanent

loan;

‘‘(ii) storage of the items, including inventory of,

and security for, the items;

‘‘(iii) appraisal of the items;

‘‘(iv) sale or other disposal of the items in accordance with applicable law, including auctioneer commissions and related expenses;

‘‘(v) payment of any valid liens or other encumbrances on the items and payment for other measures

required to clear title to the items; and
S. 2094—3

‘‘(vi) in the case of the Secretary of the Interior

only, processing and shipping of eagles and other

migratory birds, and parts of migratory birds, for

Native American religious purposes.’’.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.