In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

June 26, 2000.

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 148) entitled

‘‘An Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to establish

a program to provide assistance in the conservation of

neotropical migratory birds’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Neotropical Migratory

3 Bird Conservation Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress finds that—

6 (1) of the nearly 800 bird species known to occur

7 in the United States, approximately 500 migrate

8 among countries, and the large majority of those spe9 cies, the neotropical migrants, winter in Latin Amer10 ica and the Caribbean;

11 (2) neotropical migratory bird species provide

12 invaluable environmental, economic, recreational, and

13 aesthetic benefits to the United States, as well as to

14 the Western Hemisphere;
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1 (3)(A) many neotropical migratory bird popu2 lations, once considered common, are in decline, and

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

4 survival in the wild is in jeopardy; and

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

6 populations of those species is habitat loss and deg7 radation (including pollution and contamination)

8 across the species’ range; and

9 (4)(A) because neotropical migratory birds range

10 across numerous international borders each year,

11 their conservation requires the commitment and effort

12 of all countries along their migration routes; and

13 (B) although numerous initiatives exist to con14 serve migratory birds and their habitat, those initia15 tives can be significantly strengthened and enhanced

16 by increased coordination.

17 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

18 The purposes of this Act are—

19 (1) to perpetuate healthy populations of

20 neotropical migratory birds;

21 (2) to assist in the conservation of neotropical

22 migratory birds by supporting conservation initia23 tives in the United States, Latin America, and the

24 Caribbean; and
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1 (3) to provide financial resources and to foster

2 international cooperation for those initiatives.

3 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

4 In this Act:

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

6 Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Account es7 tablished by section 9(a).

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

9 means the use of methods and procedures necessary to

10 bring a species of neotropical migratory bird to the

11 point at which there are sufficient populations in the

12 wild to ensure the long-term viability of the species,

13 including—

14 (A) protection and management of

15 neotropical migratory bird populations;

16 (B) maintenance, management, protection,

17 and restoration of neotropical migratory bird

18 habitat;

19 (C) research and monitoring;

20 (D) law enforcement; and

21 (E) community outreach and education.

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

23 the Secretary of the Interior.
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1 SEC. 5. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a pro3 gram to provide financial assistance for projects to promote

4 the conservation of neotropical migratory birds.

5 (b) PROJECT APPLICANTS.—A project proposal may be

6 submitted by—

7 (1) an individual, corporation, partnership,

8 trust, association, or other private entity;

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

10 instrumentality of the Federal Government, of any

11 State, municipality, or political subdivision of a

12 State, or of any foreign government;

13 (3) a State, municipality, or political subdivi14 sion of a State;

15 (4) any other entity subject to the jurisdiction of

16 the United States or of any foreign country; and

17 (5) an international organization (as defined in

18 section 1 of the International Organizations Immuni19 ties Act (22 U.S.C. 288)).

20 (c) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—To be considered for finan21 cial assistance for a project under this Act, an applicant

22 shall submit a project proposal that—

23 (1) includes—

24 (A) the name of the individual responsible

25 for the project;
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1 (B) a succinct statement of the purposes of

2 the project;

3 (C) a description of the qualifications of in4 dividuals conducting the project; and

5 (D) an estimate of the funds and time nec6 essary to complete the project, including sources

7 and amounts of matching funds;

8 (2) demonstrates that the project will enhance

9 the conservation of neotropical migratory bird species

10 in the United States, Latin America, or the Carib11 bean;

12 (3) includes mechanisms to ensure adequate local

13 public participation in project development and im14 plementation;

15 (4) contains assurances that the project will be

16 implemented in consultation with relevant wildlife

17 management authorities and other appropriate gov18 ernment officials with jurisdiction over the resources

19 addressed by the project;

20 (5) demonstrates sensitivity to local historic and

21 cultural resources and complies with applicable laws;

22 (6) describes how the project will promote sus23 tainable, effective, long-term programs to conserve

24 neotropical migratory birds; and
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1 (7) provides any other information that the Sec2 retary considers to be necessary for evaluating the

3 proposal.

4 (d) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each recipient of assist5 ance for a project under this Act shall submit to the Sec6 retary such periodic reports as the Secretary considers to

7 be necessary. Each report shall include all information re8 quired by the Secretary for evaluating the progress and out9 come of the project.

10 (e) COST SHARING.—

11 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the

12 cost of each project shall be not greater than 25 per13 cent.

14 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—

15 (A) SOURCE.—The non-Federal share re16 quired to be paid for a project shall not be de17 rived from any Federal grant program.

18 (B) FORM OF PAYMENT.—

19 (i) PROJECTS IN THE UNITED

20 STATES.—The non-Federal share required to

21 be paid for a project carried out in the

22 United States shall be paid in cash.

23 (ii) PROJECTS IN FOREIGN COUN24 TRIES.—The non-Federal share required to

25 be paid for a project carried out in a for-
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1 eign country may be paid in cash or in

2 kind.

3 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

4 In carrying out this Act, the Secretary shall—

5 (1) develop guidelines for the solicitation of pro6 posals for projects eligible for financial assistance

7 under section 5;

8 (2) encourage submission of proposals for

9 projects eligible for financial assistance under section

10 5, particularly proposals from relevant wildlife man11 agement authorities;

12 (3) select proposals for financial assistance that

13 satisfy the requirements of section 5, giving preference

14 to proposals that address conservation needs not ade15 quately addressed by existing efforts and that are sup16 ported by relevant wildlife management authorities;

17 and

18 (4) generally implement this Act in accordance

19 with its purposes.

20 SEC. 7. COOPERATION.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this Act, the Sec22 retary shall—

23 (1) support and coordinate existing efforts to

24 conserve neotropical migratory bird species,

25 through—
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1 (A) facilitating meetings among persons in2 volved in such efforts;

3 (B) promoting the exchange of information

4 among such persons;

5 (C) developing and entering into agreements

6 with other Federal agencies, foreign, State, and

7 local governmental agencies, and nongovern8 mental organizations; and

9 (D) conducting such other activities as the

10 Secretary considers to be appropriate; and

11 (2) coordinate activities and projects under this

12 Act with existing efforts in order to enhance conserva13 tion of neotropical migratory bird species.

14 (b) ADVISORY GROUP.—

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

16 Act, the Secretary may convene an advisory group

17 consisting of individuals representing public and pri18 vate organizations actively involved in the conserva19 tion of neotropical migratory birds.

20 (2) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—

21 (A) MEETINGS.—The advisory group

22 shall—

23 (i) ensure that each meeting of the ad24 visory group is open to the public; and
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1 (ii) provide, at each meeting, an op2 portunity for interested persons to present

3 oral or written statements concerning items

4 on the agenda.

5 (B) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall provide

6 to the public timely notice of each meeting of the

7 advisory group.

8 (C) MINUTES.—Minutes of each meeting of

9 the advisory group shall be kept by the Secretary

10 and shall be made available to the public.

11 (3) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ADVISORY COM12 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act

13 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the advisory

14 group.

15 SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

16 Not later than October 1, 2002, the Secretary shall sub17 mit to Congress a report on the results and effectiveness of

18 the program carried out under this Act, including rec19 ommendations concerning how the Act might be improved

20 and whether the program should be continued.

21 SEC. 9. NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION

22 ACCOUNT.

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the Mul24 tinational Species Conservation Fund of the Treasury a

25 separate account to be known as the ‘‘Neotropical Migratory
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1 Bird Conservation Account’’, which shall consist of amounts

2 deposited into the Account by the Secretary of the Treasury

3 under subsection (b).

4 (b) DEPOSITS INTO THE ACCOUNT.—The Secretary of

5 the Treasury shall deposit into the Account—

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

7 form of donations under subsection (d); and

8 (2) other amounts appropriated to the Account.

9 (c) USE.—

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

11 Secretary may use amounts in the Account, without

12 further Act of appropriation, to carry out this Act.

13 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of amounts in

14 the Account available for each fiscal year, the Sec15 retary may expend not more than 3 percent or up to

16 $80,000, whichever is greater, to pay the administra17 tive expenses necessary to carry out this Act.

18 (d) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The Sec19 retary may accept and use donations to carry out this Act.

20 Amounts received by the Secretary in the form of donations

21 shall be transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury for de22 posit into the Account.

23 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

24 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Account

25 to carry out this Act $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001
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1 through 2005, to remain available until expended, of which

2 not less than 75 percent of the amounts made available for

3 each fiscal year shall be expended for projects carried out

4 outside the United States.

Attest:

Clerk.

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 148

AMENDMENT