II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4111 

To support research and State management efforts relating to chronic wasting 

disease, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 28, 2022 

Mr. HOEVEN (for himself, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. TESTER, Mr. DAINES, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MARSHALL, Ms. SMITH, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, and Mr. 

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

to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To support research and State management efforts relating 

to chronic wasting disease, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chronic Wasting Dis5 ease Research and Management Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) chronic wasting disease, the fatal neuro9 logical disease found in cervids, is a fundamental 


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1 threat to the health and vibrancy of deer, elk, and 

2 moose populations, and the increased occurrence of 

3 chronic wasting disease in regionally diverse loca4 tions necessitates an escalation in research, surveil5 lance, monitoring, and management activities fo6 cused on containing and managing chronic wasting 

7 disease; 

8 (2) a focus on research into the transmission of, 

9 resistance to, diagnosis of, and epidemiology of 

10 chronic wasting disease is needed to inform future 

11 policies to combat chronic wasting disease and en12 sure the health of cervid populations; 

13 (3) because States and Indian Tribes have di14 verse policies for addressing chronic wasting disease, 

15 the Federal Government, in consultation with the 

16 Chronic Wasting Disease Task Force established 

17 under section 104 of America’s Conservation En18 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 667h), should coordinate 

19 financial and technical support to States and Indian 

20 Tribes, State and Tribal departments of agriculture, 

21 State and Tribal wildlife agencies, institutions of 

22 higher education, and research centers conducting 

23 scientific research on chronic wasting disease; 


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1 (4) pursuant to State and Federal law, States 

2 retain primacy and policymaking authority with re3 gard to wildlife management; 

4 (5) under policies in effect on the date of enact5 ment of this Act, chronic wasting disease remains a 

6 systemic threat to cervids; and 

7 (6) scientific advances that lead to the ability to 

8 stop transmission of chronic wasting disease are 

9 needed to ensure the long-term viability of cervids. 

10 SEC. 3. CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE RESEARCH AND MAN11 AGEMENT PROGRAM. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) CERVID.—The term ‘‘cervid’’ means any 

14 species within the family Cervidae. 

15 (2) CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE.—The term 

16 ‘‘chronic wasting disease’’ means the animal disease 

17 afflicting cervid populations that— 

18 (A) is a transmissible disease of the nerv19 ous system resulting in distinctive lesions in the 

20 brain; and 

21 (B) belongs to the group of diseases known 

22 as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, 

23 which includes scrapie, bovine spongiform 

24 encephalopathy, and Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease. 


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1 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti2 ty’’ means— 

3 (A) a State or Tribal department of agri4 culture; 

5 (B) a State or Tribal wildlife agency; 

6 (C) a Tribal research facility; 

7 (D) an institution of higher education (as 

8 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

9 Act (20 U.S.C. 1001)); and 

10 (E) a research center that conducts or is 

11 qualified to conduct scientific research on 

12 chronic wasting disease. 

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

14 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

15 (b) RESEARCH PROGRAM.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

17 the date on which funds are made available to carry 

18 out this section, the Secretary shall establish a pro19 gram (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘pro20 gram’’) under which the Secretary shall offer to 

21 enter into cooperative agreements, or other legal in22 struments authorized under section 10413(a)(4) of 

23 the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 

24 8312(a)(4)), (referred to in this subsection as ‘‘cov25 ered agreements’’) with eligible entities to conduct 


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1 research on the transmission of, resistance to, and 

2 diagnosis of chronic wasting disease. 

3 (2) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION.—In entering 

4 into covered agreements under the program, the Sec5 retary shall give priority to eligible entities that will 

6 conduct research on— 

7 (A)(i) methods and products— 

8 (I) to effectively detect infectious 

9 chronic wasting disease prions in live 

10 cervids, cervid excreta, the environment, 

11 and inorganic surfaces; and 

12 (II) to decontaminate those infectious 

13 prions; or 

14 (ii) testing methods that significantly im15 prove sensitivity and accelerate timelines for 

16 test results on nonlive cervids; 

17 (B) the long-term suppression or eradi18 cation of chronic wasting disease; 

19 (C) determination markers for genetic re20 sistance to chronic wasting disease and strate21 gies for using genetic resistance to combat the 

22 spread of chronic wasting disease; 

23 (D) sustainable cervid harvest management 

24 practices— 


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1 (i) to reduce chronic wasting disease 

2 occurrence; and 

3 (ii) to prevent or limit spatial spread 

4 of chronic wasting disease; or 

5 (E) factors that contribute to local emer6 gence of chronic wasting disease and increased 

7 prevalence and distribution of chronic wasting 

8 disease, including mechanisms of disease trans9 mission and effective barriers to transmission. 

10 (3) AMOUNT OF AGREEMENT.—To the max11 imum extent practicable, a covered agreement en12 tered into by the Secretary with an eligible entity 

13 under the program shall be for an amount that is 

14 not less than 2 percent and not more than 10 per15 cent of the funds appropriated under subsection (h) 

16 for the applicable fiscal year. 

17 (4) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS BY ELIGIBLE ENTI18 TIES.—An eligible entity that enters into a covered 

19 agreement under the program shall use not more 

20 than 10 percent of the amount of the covered agree21 ment for administrative costs. 

22 (c) SUPPORT FOR STATE EFFORTS TO MANAGE AND

23 CONTROL CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

25 the date on which funds are made available to carry 


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1 out this section, the Secretary shall offer to enter 

2 into cooperative agreements, or other legal instru3 ments authorized under section 10413(a)(4) of the 

4 Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 

5 8312(a)(4)), with eligible entities described in sub6 paragraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(3) to pro7 vide direct financial assistance to support the efforts 

8 of those eligible entities to develop and implement 

9 management strategies to address chronic wasting 

10 disease within the jurisdiction of the applicable State 

11 or Indian Tribe. 

12 (2) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity described 

13 in paragraph (1) seeking direct financial assistance 

14 under this subsection shall submit to the Secretary 

15 an application at such time, in such manner, and 

16 containing such information as the Secretary may 

17 require. 

18 (3) FUNDING PRIORITIES.—In providing direct 

19 financial assistance under paragraph (1), the Sec20 retary shall give priority to eligible entities described 

21 in that paragraph that have, with respect to the ap22 plicable State or Indian Tribe of the eligible entity— 

23 (A) a high incidence of chronic wasting 

24 disease; 


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1 (B) shown the greatest financial commit2 ment to managing, monitoring, surveying, and 

3 researching chronic wasting disease; 

4 (C) comprehensive policies and programs 

5 focused on chronic wasting disease management 

6 that have integrated the programs and policies 

7 of all involved agencies related to chronic wast8 ing disease management; 

9 (D) the greatest risk of an initial occur10 rence of chronic wasting disease originating 

11 from surrounding areas; or 

12 (E) the greatest need for response to new 

13 outbreaks of chronic wasting disease occurring 

14 in— 

15 (i) areas in which chronic wasting dis16 ease is already found; or 

17 (ii) areas with first infections of 

18 chronic wasting disease, with the intent of 

19 containing chronic wasting disease in any 

20 new area of infection. 

21 (4) RAPID RESPONSE.—If a State or Indian 

22 Tribe detects, within the jurisdiction of the State or 

23 Indian Tribe, chronic wasting disease in a cervid 

24 population that was not previously infected, notwith25 standing paragraphs (2) and (3), the Secretary may 


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1 immediately provide direct financial assistance, in an 

2 amount to be determined by the Secretary, to sup3 port the efforts of the State or Indian Tribe, as ap4 plicable, to immediately control the spread of chronic 

5 wasting disease within that cervid population. 

6 (d) PUBLIC EDUCATION ON CHRONIC WASTING DIS7 EASE.—The Secretary, in consultation with the eligible en8 tities described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of sub9 section (a)(3), organizations representing the farmed 

10 cervid industry, and organizations representing deer hunt11 ers, shall develop and maintain materials based on the lat12 est scientific knowledge to educate the public on chronic 

13 wasting disease and techniques to help prevent the spread 

14 of chronic wasting disease. 

15 (e) REVIEW OF HERD CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

16 STANDARDS.—Not later than 18 months after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish a no18 tice in the Federal Register soliciting public feedback on 

19 potential updates and improvements to standards under 

20 the chronic wasting disease herd certification program, 

21 with special consideration given to— 

22 (1) minimizing or eliminating the interaction of 

23 captive and wild cervids; 

24 (2) reviewing and updating indemnity practices, 

25 including the use of live testing, to ensure the timely 


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1 and targeted removal of cervids with chronic wasting 

2 disease from the landscape; and 

3 (3) increasing participation in the chronic wast4 ing disease herd certification program. 

5 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec6 tion interferes with or otherwise affects the authority of 

7 the Federal Government, a State, or an Indian Tribe to 

8 manage wildlife and livestock on land within the respective 

9 jurisdiction, including managing, surveying, and moni10 toring the incidence of chronic wasting disease. 

11 (g) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of the funds made 

12 available under subsection (h) for a fiscal year, the Sec13 retary may use not more than 10 percent for administra14 tive costs. 

15 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

17 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this sec18 tion $70,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

19 through 2028, to remain available until expended. 

20 (2) ALLOCATION AMONG PROGRAMS.—Of the 

21 funds made available under paragraph (1), to the 

22 maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall al23 locate an equal amount to carry out each of sub24 sections (b) and (c). 


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1 (3) SET-ASIDE FOR WILDLIFE AGENCIES.—Of 

2 the funds used to carry out subsection (c), not less 

3 than 75 percent shall be used to provide direct fi4 nancial assistance to eligible entities described in 

5 subsection (a)(3)(B). 

6 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT. 

7 Section 10403(8) of the Animal Health Protection 

8 Act (7 U.S.C. 8302(8)) is amended by striking ‘‘(25 

9 U.S.C. 450b)’’ and inserting ‘‘(25 U.S.C. 5304)’’. 

Æ 


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