II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 507 

To establish the National Invasive Species Council, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 3, 2005 

Mr. DEWINE (for himself, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. REED, and Mr. 

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

A BILL 

To establish the National Invasive Species Council, 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 ‘‘National Invasive Spe5 cies Council Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

9 National Invasive Species Council established by sec10 tion 4(a). 
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1 (2) INVASIVE SPECIES.—The term ‘‘invasive 

2 species’’ means a species— 

3 (A) that is nonnative to an ecosystem; and 

4 (B) the introduction of which to that eco5 system causes or may cause harm to the envi6 ronment, the economy, or human health. 

7 (3) NATIONAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term 

8 ‘‘National Management Plan’’ means the National 

9 Invasive Species Management Plan developed by the 

10 Council under section 6(a). 

11 (4) SPECIES.—The term ‘‘species’’ means a cat12 egory of taxonomic classification that— 

13 (A) ranks below a genus or subgenus; and 

14 (B) consists of related organisms capable 

15 of interbreeding. 

16 SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON FEDERAL ACTIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—No Federal agency may author18 ize, fund, or carry out any action that would likely cause 

19 or promote the introduction or spread of an invasive spe20 cies in the United States or any other location, unless the 

21 head of the Federal agency, at the sole discretion of the 

22 head of the agency and in accordance with guidelines de23 veloped under subsection (b), determines that— 

24 (1) the benefits of the action under consider25 ation clearly outweigh the potential harm to the en-
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1 vironment, the economy, and human health caused 

2 by the introduction or spread of the invasive species; 

3 and 

4 (2) all feasible and practical measures to mini5 mize risk of harm to the environment, the economy, 

6 and human health will be taken in carrying out the 

7 action. 

8 (b) GUIDELINES.—The Council on Environmental 

9 Quality, in conjunction with the Council, shall develop 

10 guidelines for Federal agencies to use in analyzing actions 

11 under subsection (a). 

12 SEC. 4. NATIONAL INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established, as an 

15 independent entity in the executive branch, the Na16 tional Invasive Species Council. 

17 (2) DUTIES.—The Council shall provide leader18 ship and coordination among Federal agencies and 

19 between the Federal Government and State and 

20 local governments, with respect to efforts— 

21 (A) to minimize the environmental, eco22 nomic, and human health effects caused by 

23 invasive species; and 

24 (B) to reduce the threat of further inva25 sions of invasive species. 
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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall consist 

3 of— 

4 (A) the Secretary of the Interior; 

5 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

6 (C) the Secretary of Commerce; 

7 (D) the Secretary of State; 

8 (E) the Secretary of the Treasury; 

9 (F) the Secretary of Defense; 

10 (G) the Secretary of Transportation; 

11 (H) the Secretary of Health and Human 

12 Services; 

13 (I) the Administrator of the Environmental 

14 Protection Agency; 

15 (J) the Administrator of the United States 

16 Agency for International Development; and 

17 (K) such additional members as are ap18 pointed under paragraph (2). 

19 (2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—With the concur20 rence of a majority of the members of the Council, 

21 the chairperson of the Council may appoint addi22 tional members to the Council from among individ23 uals who are officers or employees of the Federal 

24 Government with significant responsibilities con25 cerning invasive species. 
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1 (c) CHAIRPERSON.— 

2 (1) INITIAL CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary of 

3 the Interior shall serve as chairperson of the Council 

4 for the 3-year period beginning on the date of enact5 ment of this Act. 

6 (2) SUBSEQUENT CHAIRPERSONS.—After the 

7 initial 3-year period described in paragraph (1), the 

8 chairperson shall rotate every 3 years among the fol9 lowing members, in the following order: 

10 (A) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

11 (B) The Secretary of Commerce. 

12 (C) The Secretary of the Interior. 

13 (d) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at the call 

14 of the chairperson, but not less often than semiannually. 

15 (e) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— 

16 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall ap17 point the Executive Director of the Council, by and 

18 with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

19 (2) CONSULTATION.—Before appointing an in20 dividual under paragraph (1), the President shall 

21 consult with— 

22 (A) the Secretary of the Interior; 

23 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture; and 

24 (C) the Secretary of Commerce. 
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1 (3) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual appointed 

2 as Executive Director of the Council shall have— 

3 (A) legal or scientific experience and train4 ing in the area of natural resources, ecology, or 

5 agriculture; and 

6 (B) experience in dealing with public policy 

7 matters concerning aquatic and terrestrial 

8 invasive species. 

9 (4) TERM.—The Executive Director of the 

10 Council shall serve for a term of 6 years. 

11 (5) COMPENSATION.—The Executive Director 

12 shall be paid at the maximum rate of basic pay pre13 scribed for level GS–15 of the General Schedule. 

14 SEC. 5. DUTIES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall ensure that the 

16 efforts of Federal agencies concerning invasive species are 

17 coordinated, effective, complementary, and cost-efficient. 

18 (b) DUTIES.—To carry out subsection (a), the Coun19 cil shall— 

20 (1) coordinate with other organizations address21 ing invasive species (such as the Federal Interagency 

22 Committee for the Management of Noxious and Ex23 otic Weeds, the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task 

24 Force established under section 1201 of the Non25 indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control 
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1 Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 4721), regional panels es2 tablished under that Act, and the White House Of3 fice of Science and Technology Policy) to implement 

4 the National Management Plan; 

5 (2) develop recommendations for international 

6 cooperation between the Federal Government, State 

7 governments, and foreign countries on tools, policies, 

8 and methods to prevent the introduction and export 

9 of invasive species into and from, respectively, the 

10 United States; 

11 (3) develop guidelines for Federal agency ef12 forts to ensure that Federal programs concerning 

13 invasive species, including outreach programs, are 

14 coordinated with State, local, and tribal govern15 ments; 

16 (4) develop, in consultation with the Council on 

17 Environmental Quality and in accordance with the 

18 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

19 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), guidance for Federal agencies 

20 on prevention, control, and eradication of invasive 

21 species; 

22 (5) establish and maintain a publicly accessible, 

23 coordinated, up-to-date information sharing system 

24 on invasive species that— 
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1 (A) allows the access to and exchange of 

2 information among Federal agencies and the 

3 public; and 

4 (B) uses the Internet to the maximum ex5 tent practicable; 

6 (6) ensure that Federal agencies implement the 

7 plans, programs, and policies adopted by the Council 

8 in the National Management Plan through appro9 priate actions, including working in cooperation with 

10 Federal agencies on development of budgets for the 

11 annual submission by the President to Congress of 

12 the budget of the Federal Government under section 

13 1105 of title 31, United States Code; 

14 (7)(A) evaluate Federal programs that are like15 ly to cause or promote the introduction or spread of 

16 invasive species in the United States; and 

17 (B) recommend actions Federal agencies can 

18 take to minimize the risk of introductions or further 

19 spread of invasive species; and 

20 (8) develop and submit to the appropriate com21 mittees of Congress and the Director of the Office 

22 of Management and Budget an annual list of prior23 ities, ranked in high, medium, and low categories, of 

24 Federal efforts and programs in prevention, eradi-
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1 cation, control, and monitoring of, and research and 

2 outreach concerning, invasive species. 

3 SEC. 6. NATIONAL INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

4 (a) DEVELOPMENT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall develop a 

6 National Invasive Species Management Plan that de7 tails and recommends performance-oriented goals 

8 and specific measures of success for carrying out ac9 tivities by Federal agencies relating to invasive spe10 cies. 

11 (2) DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.—The National 

12 Management Plan shall be developed through a pub13 lic process and in consultation with Federal agen14 cies, appropriate State and local entities, and other 

15 appropriate stakeholders. 

16 (3) CONTENTS.—The National Management 

17 Plan shall include recommendations of effective, 

18 cost-efficient, environmentally sound, and science19 based approaches for— 

20 (A) preventing the introduction of invasive 

21 species, including approaches for identifying 

22 pathways by which invasive species are intro23 duced and for minimizing the risk of introduc24 tions via those pathways, which recommended 

25 approaches shall provide for— 
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1 (i) a process to evaluate risks associ2 ated with the introduction and spread of 

3 invasive species; and 

4 (ii) a coordinated and systematic risk5 based process to identify, monitor, and 

6 interdict pathways that may be involved in 

7 the introduction of invasive species; 

8 (B) cooperating with other countries to in9 crease their capacity— 

10 (i) to control invasive species; and 

11 (ii) to prevent the spread of invasive 

12 species across international borders; 

13 (C) rapidly detecting and responding to in14 cipient invasions of invasive species; 

15 (D) managing new and established popu16 lations of invasive species by— 

17 (i) eradicating the invasive species; or 

18 (ii) controlling the spread of the 

19 invasive species; 

20 (E) accurately and reliably monitoring new 

21 and established populations of invasive species; 

22 (F) restoring native species and habitat 

23 conditions in ecosystems that have been invaded 

24 by invasive species; 
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1 (G) conducting research on the matters re2 ferred to in subparagraphs (A) through (F); 

3 (H) evaluating and documenting the ef4 fects of invasive species on the environment, the 

5 economy, and human health; 

6 (I) developing technologies to prevent the 

7 introduction and provide for the management of 

8 invasive species; and 

9 (J) promoting public education on invasive 

10 species and the means to address invasive spe11 cies. 

12 (4) IDENTIFICATION OF NEEDED RE13 SOURCES.—The National Management Plan shall 

14 identify the personnel, other resources, and addi15 tional levels of coordination needed to achieve the 

16 goals included in the National Management Plan. 

17 (b) EXISTING PLAN.—The National Invasive Species 

18 Management Plan of the Invasive Species Council adopted 

19 in 2001 shall be treated as the National Management Plan 

20 required under subsection (a) until the date of issuance 

21 of the National Management Plan under subsection (c)(1). 

22 (c) ISSUANCE AND UPDATING OF NATIONAL MAN23 AGEMENT PLAN.—The Council shall— 

24 (1) not later than December 31, 2005, issue the 

25 National Management Plan; 
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1 (2) not later than December 31, 2007, and bi2 ennially thereafter, update the National Manage3 ment Plan; and 

4 (3) concurrently with the process of updating 

5 the National Management Plan, evaluate and report 

6 to Congress on success in achieving the goals in7 cluded in the National Management Plan. 

8 (d) AGENCY REPORTS.—Not later than 18 months 

9 after the date of issuance of any update of the National 

10 Management Plan that recommends action by a Federal 

11 agency, the head of the Federal agency shall submit to 

12 Congress a report that— 

13 (1) describes each of the recommended actions 

14 that the agency has not taken; and 

15 (2) provides an explanation of why the action is 

16 not feasible. 

17 SEC. 7. INVASIVE SPECIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall maintain 

20 an advisory committee, to be known as the ‘‘Invasive 

21 Species Advisory Committee’’, to provide information 

22 and advice for consideration by the Council. 

23 (2) ORGANIZATION, FUNCTIONS, AND AUTHORI24 TIES.—Except as otherwise provided in this section, 

25 the advisory committee shall be organized, perform 
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1 the functions, and have the authorities specified in 

2 the charter for the advisory committee signed by the 

3 Secretary of the Interior on October 30, 2001. 

4 (b) APPOINTMENT.—Members of the advisory com5 mittee shall be appointed by the chairperson of the Coun6 cil, after consultation with the other members of the Coun7 cil, from among individuals representing stakeholders with 

8 respect to Federal programs for minimizing the environ9 mental, economic, and human health impacts caused by 

10 invasive species. 

11 (c) FUNCTIONS.—In addition to the functions speci12 fied in the charter referred to in subsection (a), the advi13 sory committee shall recommend to the Council plans and 

14 actions at the regional, State, local, tribal, and ecosystem15 based levels to achieve the goals of the National Manage16 ment Plan. 

17 (d) CONTINUING OPERATION OF EXISTING COM18 MITTEE.—Any advisory committee appointed before the 

19 date of enactment of this Act in accordance with the char20 ter referred to in subsection (a)(2) may continue in effect 

21 under this section. 

22 SEC. 8. BUDGET ANALYSIS AND SUMMARY. 

23 Not later than March 31, 2005, and March 31 of 

24 each year thereafter, the Director of the Office of Manage25 ment and Budget shall prepare, and submit to Congress 
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1 and the Council, a budget analysis and summary of all 

2 Federal programs relating to invasive species. 

3 SEC. 9. EXISTING EXECUTIVE ORDER. 

4 Executive Order No. 13112, dated February 3, 1999 

5 (42 U.S.C. 4321 note; relating to invasive species), shall 

6 be of no effect. 

7 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

9 this Act $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 

10 2008. 

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