II

Calendar No. 79

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 148

[Report No. 106–36]

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, Mr.

DURBIN, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. WARNER, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mrs.

MURRAY, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. LOTT, and Mr. LIEBERMAN) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

MARCH 26, 1999

Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of March 25, 1999, by

Mr. CHAFEE, without amendment

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,
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•S 148 RS

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

7 occur in the United States, approximately 500 mi8 grate among countries, and the large majority of

9 those species, the neotropical migrants, winter in

10 Latin America and the Caribbean;

11 (2) neotropical migratory bird species provide

12 invaluable environmental, economic, recreational,

13 and aesthetic benefits to the United States, as well

14 as to the Western Hemisphere;

15 (3)(A) many neotropical migratory bird popu16 lations, once considered common, are in decline, and

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

18 survival in the wild is in jeopardy; and

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

20 populations of those species is habitat loss and deg21 radation (including pollution and contamination)

22 across the species’ range; and

23 (4)(A) because neotropical migratory birds

24 range across numerous international borders each

25 year, their conservation requires the commitment
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1 and effort of all countries along their migration

2 routes; and

3 (B) although numerous initiatives exist to con4 serve migratory birds and their habitat, those initia5 tives can be significantly strengthened and enhanced

6 by increased coordination.

7 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

8 The purposes of this Act are—

9 (1) to perpetuate healthy populations of

10 neotropical migratory birds;

11 (2) to assist in the conservation of neotropical

12 migratory birds by supporting conservation initia13 tives in the United States, Latin America, and the

14 Caribbean; and

15 (3) to provide financial resources and to foster

16 international cooperation for those initiatives.

17 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

18 In this Act:

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

20 Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Account

21 established by section 9(a).

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

23 means the use of methods and procedures necessary

24 to bring a species of neotropical migratory bird to

25 the point at which there are sufficient populations in
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•S 148 RS

1 the wild to ensure the long-term viability of the spe2 cies, including—

3 (A) protection and management of

4 neotropical migratory bird populations;

5 (B) maintenance, management, protection,

6 and restoration of neotropical migratory bird

7 habitat;

8 (C) research and monitoring;

9 (D) law enforcement; and

10 (E) community outreach and education.

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

12 the Secretary of the Interior.

13 SEC. 5. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

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

15 program to provide financial assistance for projects to pro16 mote the conservation of neotropical migratory birds.

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

18 be submitted by—

19 (1) an individual, corporation, partnership,

20 trust, association, or other private entity;

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

22 instrumentality of the Federal Government, of any

23 State, municipality, or political subdivision of a

24 State, or of any foreign government;
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1 (3) a State, municipality, or political subdivi2 sion of a State;

3 (4) any other entity subject to the jurisdiction

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

5 (5) an international organization (as defined in

6 section 1 of the International Organizations Immu7 nities Act (22 U.S.C. 288)).

8 (c) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—To be considered for fi9 nancial assistance for a project under this Act, an appli10 cant shall submit a project proposal that—

11 (1) includes—

12 (A) the name of the individual responsible

13 for the project;

14 (B) a succinct statement of the purposes of

15 the project;

16 (C) a description of the qualifications of

17 individuals conducting the project; and

18 (D) an estimate of the funds and time nec19 essary to complete the project, including

20 sources and amounts of matching funds;

21 (2) demonstrates that the project will enhance

22 the conservation of neotropical migratory bird spe23 cies in Latin America, the Caribbean, or the United

24 States;
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1 (3) includes mechanisms to ensure adequate

2 local public participation in project development and

3 implementation;

4 (4) contains assurances that the project will be

5 implemented in consultation with relevant wildlife

6 management authorities and other appropriate gov7 ernment officials with jurisdiction over the resources

8 addressed by the project;

9 (5) demonstrates sensitivity to local historic and

10 cultural resources and complies with applicable laws;

11 (6) describes how the project will promote sus12 tainable, effective, long-term programs to conserve

13 neotropical migratory birds; and

14 (7) provides any other information that the Sec15 retary considers to be necessary for evaluating the

16 proposal.

17 (d) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each recipient of assist18 ance for a project under this Act shall submit to the Sec19 retary such periodic reports as the Secretary considers to

20 be necessary. Each report shall include all information re21 quired by the Secretary for evaluating the progress and

22 outcome of the project.

23 (e) COST SHARING.—
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1 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of

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

3 percent.

4 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—

5 (A) SOURCE.—The non-Federal share re6 quired to be paid for a project shall not be de7 rived from any Federal grant program.

8 (B) FORM OF PAYMENT.—

9 (i) PROJECTS IN THE UNITED

10 STATES.—The non-Federal share required

11 to be paid for a project carried out in the

12 United States shall be paid in cash.

13 (ii) PROJECTS IN FOREIGN COUN14 TRIES.—The non-Federal share required to

15 be paid for a project carried out in a for16 eign country may be paid in cash or in

17 kind.

18 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

19 In carrying out this Act, the Secretary shall—

20 (1) develop guidelines for the solicitation of pro21 posals for projects eligible for financial assistance

22 under section 5;

23 (2) encourage submission of proposals for

24 projects eligible for financial assistance under sec-
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1 tion 5, particularly proposals from relevant wildlife

2 management authorities;

3 (3) select proposals for financial assistance that

4 satisfy the requirements of section 5, giving pref5 erence to proposals that address conservation needs

6 not adequately addressed by existing efforts and that

7 are supported by relevant wildlife management au8 thorities; and

9 (4) generally implement this Act in accordance

10 with its purposes.

11 SEC. 7. COOPERATION.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this Act, the Sec13 retary shall—

14 (1) support and coordinate existing efforts to

15 conserve neotropical migratory bird species,

16 through—

17 (A) facilitating meetings among persons in18 volved in such efforts;

19 (B) promoting the exchange of information

20 among such persons;

21 (C) developing and entering into agree22 ments with other Federal agencies, foreign,

23 State, and local governmental agencies, and

24 nongovernmental organizations; and
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1 (D) conducting such other activities as the

2 Secretary considers to be appropriate; and

3 (2) coordinate activities and projects under this

4 Act with existing efforts in order to enhance con5 servation of neotropical migratory bird species.

6 (b) ADVISORY GROUP.—

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

8 this Act, the Secretary may convene an advisory

9 group consisting of individuals representing public

10 and private organizations actively involved in the

11 conservation of neotropical migratory birds.

12 (2) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—

13 (A) MEETINGS.—The advisory group

14 shall—

15 (i) ensure that each meeting of the

16 advisory group is open to the public; and

17 (ii) provide, at each meeting, an op18 portunity for interested persons to present

19 oral or written statements concerning

20 items on the agenda.

21 (B) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall provide

22 to the public timely notice of each meeting of

23 the advisory group.
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1 (C) MINUTES.—Minutes of each meeting

2 of the advisory group shall be kept by the Sec3 retary and shall be made available to the public.

4 (3) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ADVISORY

5 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee

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

7 group.

8 SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

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

10 submit to Congress a report on the results and effective11 ness of the program carried out under this Act, including

12 recommendations concerning how the Act might be im13 proved and whether the program should be continued.

14 SEC. 9. NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION

15 ACCOUNT.

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

17 Multinational Species Conservation Fund of the Treasury

18 a separate account to be known as the ‘‘Neotropical Mi19 gratory Bird Conservation Account’’, which shall consist

20 of amounts deposited into the Account by the Secretary

21 of the Treasury under subsection (b).

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

23 of the Treasury shall deposit into the Account—

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

25 form of donations under subsection (d); and
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1 (2) other amounts appropriated to the Account.

2 (c) USE.—

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

4 the Secretary may use amounts in the Account,

5 without further Act of appropriation, to carry out

6 this Act.

7 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of amounts

8 in the Account available for each fiscal year, the

9 Secretary may expend not more than 6 percent to

10 pay the administrative expenses necessary to carry

11 out this Act.

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

13 Secretary may accept and use donations to carry out this

14 Act. Amounts received by the Secretary in the form of do15 nations shall be transferred to the Secretary of the Treas16 ury for deposit into the Account.

17 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Account

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

20 2000 through 2003, to remain available until expended,

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

22 available for each fiscal year shall be expended for projects

23 carried out outside the United States.
Calendar No. 79

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 148

[Report No. 106–36]

A BILL

To require the Secretary of the Interior to establish

tion of neotropical migratory birds.a program to provide assistance in the conservaMARCH 26, 1999

Reported without amendment