II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 148

To require the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to provide

assistance in the conservation of neotropical migratory birds.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 19, 1999

Mr. ABRAHAM (for himself, Mr. DASCHLE, Mr. CHAFEE, Mr. HATCH, and Mr.

DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

A BILL

To require the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to provide assistance in the conservation of

neotropical migratory birds.

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 ‘‘Neotropical Migratory

5 Bird Conservation Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) of the nearly 800 bird species known to

9 occur in the United States, approximately 500 mi-
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1 grate among countries, and the large majority of

2 those species, the neotropical migrants, winter in

3 Latin America and the Caribbean;

4 (2) neotropical migratory bird species provide

5 invaluable environmental, economic, recreational,

6 and aesthetic benefits to the United States, as well

7 as to the Western Hemisphere;

8 (3)(A) many neotropical migratory bird popu9 lations, once considered common, are in decline, and

10 some have declined to the point that their long-term

11 survival in the wild is in jeopardy; and

12 (B) the primary reason for the decline in the

13 populations of those species is habitat loss and deg14 radation (including pollution and contamination)

15 across the species’ range; and

16 (4)(A) because neotropical migratory birds

17 range across numerous international borders each

18 year, their conservation requires the commitment

19 and effort of all countries along their migration

20 routes; and

21 (B) although numerous initiatives exist to con22 serve migratory birds and their habitat, those initia23 tives can be significantly strengthened and enhanced

24 by increased coordination.
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1 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

2 The purposes of this Act are—

3 (1) to perpetuate healthy populations of

4 neotropical migratory birds;

5 (2) to assist in the conservation of neotropical

6 migratory birds by supporting conservation initia7 tives in the United States, Latin America, and the

8 Caribbean; and

9 (3) to provide financial resources and to foster

10 international cooperation for those initiatives.

11 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

12 In this Act:

13 (1) ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘Account’’ means the

14 Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Account

15 established by section 9(a).

16 (2) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conservation’’

17 means the use of methods and procedures necessary

18 to bring a species of neotropical migratory bird to

19 the point at which there are sufficient populations in

20 the wild to ensure the long-term viability of the spe21 cies, including—

22 (A) protection and management of

23 neotropical migratory bird populations;

24 (B) maintenance, management, protection,

25 and restoration of neotropical migratory bird

26 habitat;
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1 (C) research and monitoring;

2 (D) law enforcement; and

3 (E) community outreach and education.

4 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

5 the Secretary of the Interior.

6 SEC. 5. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a

8 program to provide financial assistance for projects to pro9 mote the conservation of neotropical migratory birds.

10 (b) PROJECT APPLICANTS.—A project proposal may

11 be submitted by—

12 (1) an individual, corporation, partnership,

13 trust, association, or other private entity;

14 (2) an officer, employee, agent, department, or

15 instrumentality of the Federal Government, of any

16 State, municipality, or political subdivision of a

17 State, or of any foreign government;

18 (3) a State, municipality, or political subdivi19 sion of a State;

20 (4) any other entity subject to the jurisdiction

21 of the United States or of any foreign country; and

22 (5) an international organization (as defined in

23 section 1 of the International Organizations Immu24 nities Act (22 U.S.C. 288)).
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1 (c) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—To be considered for fi2 nancial assistance for a project under this Act, an appli3 cant shall submit a project proposal that—

4 (1) includes—

5 (A) the name of the individual responsible

6 for the project;

7 (B) a succinct statement of the purposes of

8 the project;

9 (C) a description of the qualifications of

10 individuals conducting the project; and

11 (D) an estimate of the funds and time nec12 essary to complete the project, including

13 sources and amounts of matching funds;

14 (2) demonstrates that the project will enhance

15 the conservation of neotropical migratory bird spe16 cies in Latin America, the Caribbean, or the United

17 States;

18 (3) includes mechanisms to ensure adequate

19 local public participation in project development and

20 implementation;

21 (4) contains assurances that the project will be

22 implemented in consultation with relevant wildlife

23 management authorities and other appropriate gov24 ernment officials with jurisdiction over the resources

25 addressed by the project;
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1 (5) demonstrates sensitivity to local historic and

2 cultural resources and complies with applicable laws;

3 (6) describes how the project will promote sus4 tainable, effective, long-term programs to conserve

5 neotropical migratory birds; and

6 (7) provides any other information that the Sec7 retary considers to be necessary for evaluating the

8 proposal.

9 (d) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each recipient of assist10 ance for a project under this Act shall submit to the Sec11 retary such periodic reports as the Secretary considers to

12 be necessary. Each report shall include all information re13 quired by the Secretary for evaluating the progress and

14 outcome of the project.

15 (e) COST SHARING.—

16 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of

17 the cost of each project shall be not greater than 33

18 percent.

19 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—

20 (A) SOURCE.—The non-Federal share re21 quired to be paid for a project shall not be de22 rived from any Federal grant program.

23 (B) FORM OF PAYMENT.—

24 (i) PROJECTS IN THE UNITED

25 STATES.—The non-Federal share required
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1 to be paid for a project carried out in the

2 United States shall be paid in cash.

3 (ii) PROJECTS IN FOREIGN COUN4 TRIES.—The non-Federal share required to

5 be paid for a project carried out in a for6 eign country may be paid in cash or in

7 kind.

8 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

9 In carrying out this Act, the Secretary shall—

10 (1) develop guidelines for the solicitation of pro11 posals for projects eligible for financial assistance

12 under section 5;

13 (2) encourage submission of proposals for

14 projects eligible for financial assistance under sec15 tion 5, particularly proposals from relevant wildlife

16 management authorities;

17 (3) select proposals for financial assistance that

18 satisfy the requirements of section 5, giving pref19 erence to proposals that address conservation needs

20 not adequately addressed by existing efforts and that

21 are supported by relevant wildlife management au22 thorities; and

23 (4) generally implement this Act in accordance

24 with its purposes.
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1 SEC. 7. COOPERATION.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this Act, the Sec3 retary shall—

4 (1) support and coordinate existing efforts to

5 conserve neotropical migratory bird species,

6 through—

7 (A) facilitating meetings among persons in8 volved in such efforts;

9 (B) promoting the exchange of information

10 among such persons;

11 (C) developing and entering into agree12 ments with other Federal agencies, foreign,

13 State, and local governmental agencies, and

14 nongovernmental organizations; and

15 (D) conducting such other activities as the

16 Secretary considers to be appropriate; and

17 (2) coordinate activities and projects under this

18 Act with existing efforts in order to enhance con19 servation of neotropical migratory bird species.

20 (b) ADVISORY GROUP.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—To assist in carrying out

22 this Act, the Secretary may convene an advisory

23 group consisting of individuals representing public

24 and private organizations actively involved in the

25 conservation of neotropical migratory birds.

26 (2) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—
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1 (A) MEETINGS.—The advisory group

2 shall—

3 (i) ensure that each meeting of the

4 advisory group is open to the public; and

5 (ii) provide, at each meeting, an op6 portunity for interested persons to present

7 oral or written statements concerning

8 items on the agenda.

9 (B) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall provide

10 to the public timely notice of each meeting of

11 the advisory group.

12 (C) MINUTES.—Minutes of each meeting

13 of the advisory group shall be kept by the Sec14 retary and shall be made available to the public.

15 (3) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ADVISORY

16 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee

17 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the advisory

18 group.

19 SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

20 Not later than October 1, 2002, the Secretary shall

21 submit to Congress a report on the results and effective22 ness of the program carried out under this Act, including

23 recommendations concerning how the Act might be im24 proved and whether the program should be continued.
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1 SEC. 9. NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION

2 ACCOUNT.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

4 Multinational Species Conservation Fund of the Treasury

5 a separate account to be known as the ‘‘Neotropical Mi6 gratory Bird Conservation Account’’, which shall consist

7 of amounts deposited into the Account by the Secretary

8 of the Treasury under subsection (b).

9 (b) DEPOSITS INTO THE ACCOUNT.—The Secretary

10 of the Treasury shall deposit into the Account—

11 (1) all amounts received by the Secretary in the

12 form of donations under subsection (d); and

13 (2) other amounts appropriated to the Account.

14 (c) USE.—

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

16 the Secretary may use amounts in the Account,

17 without further Act of appropriation, to carry out

18 this Act.

19 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of amounts

20 in the Account available for each fiscal year, the

21 Secretary may expend not more than 6 percent to

22 pay the administrative expenses necessary to carry

23 out this Act.

24 (d) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The

25 Secretary may accept and use donations to carry out this

26 Act. Amounts received by the Secretary in the form of do-
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1 nations shall be transferred to the Secretary of the Treas2 ury for deposit into the Account.

3 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Account

5 to carry out this Act $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years

6 2000 through 2003, to remain available until expended,

7 of which not less than 50 percent of the amounts made

8 available for each fiscal year shall be expended for projects

9 carried out outside the United States.

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