I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4454 
To support State and tribal efforts to develop and implement management 
strategies to address chronic wasting disease among deer, elk, and moose 
populations, to support applied research regarding the causes of chronic 
wasting disease and methods to control the further spread of the disease, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 21, 2017 
Mr. KIND (for himself and Mr. SENSENBRENNER) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition 
to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To support State and tribal efforts to develop and implement 
management strategies to address chronic wasting dis-
ease among deer, elk, and moose populations, to support 
applied research regarding the causes of chronic wasting 
disease and methods to control the further spread of 
the disease, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Chronic Wasting Disease Management Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definitions. 
Sec. 3. Findings. 
Sec. 4. Support for State efforts to manage and control chronic wasting dis-
ease. 
Sec. 5. Support for applied research regarding chronic wasting disease. 
Sec. 6. Multi-agency cooperation with States to address chronic wasting dis-
ease. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CHRONIC
WASTING
DISEASE.—The term 
‘‘chronic wasting disease’’ means the animal disease 
afflicting among deer, elk, and moose populations 
that— 
(A) is a transmissible disease of the nerv-
ous system resulting in distinctive lesions in the 
brain; and 
(B) belongs to the group of diseases known 
as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, 
which group includes scrapie, bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. 
(2) ELIGIBLE
GRANT
RECIPIENT.—The term 
‘‘eligible grant recipient’’ means a State department 
of wildlife, State department of agriculture, college 
or university, or related research center conducting 
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scientific applied research regarding chronic wasting 
disease. 
(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Ani-
mal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Wildlife 
Services. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Pursuant to State and Federal law, the 
States retain primary and policy-making authority 
with regard to wildlife management, and nothing in 
this Act interferes with or otherwise affects the pri-
mary authority of the States in managing wildlife 
generally, or managing, surveying, and monitoring 
the incidence of chronic wasting disease. 
(2) Chronic wasting disease, the fatal neuro-
logical disease found in cervids, is a fundamental 
threat to the health and vibrancy of deer, elk, and 
moose populations, and the increased occurrence of 
chronic wasting disease in regionally diverse loca-
tions in recent months necessitates an escalation in 
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applied research, surveillance, monitoring, and man-
agement activities focused on containing and man-
aging this lethal disease. 
(3) As the States move to manage existing lev-
els of chronic wasting disease and insulate non-
infected wild and captive cervid populations from the 
disease, the Federal Government should endeavor to 
provide integrated and holistic financial and tech-
nical support to these States and the many State de-
partments of wildlife, State departments of agri-
culture, colleges and universities, and related re-
search centers conducting scientific applied research 
regarding chronic wasting disease. 
(4) The Secretary should provide consistent, co-
herent, and integrated support structures and pro-
grams for the benefit of State wildlife and agricul-
tural administrators, as chronic wasting disease can 
move freely between captive and wild cervids across 
the broad array of Federal, State, tribal, and local 
land management jurisdictions. 
(5) The Secretary can provide consistent, coher-
ent, and integrated support systems under existing 
legal authorities to States and the many State de-
partments of wildlife, State departments of agri-
culture, colleges and universities, and related re-
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search centers conducting scientific applied research 
regarding chronic wasting disease. 
SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR STATE EFFORTS TO MANAGE AND 
CONTROL CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE. 
(a) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 
shall allocate funds made available under subparagraphs 
(A) and (B) of subsection (e)(1) directly to State and trib-
al agencies responsible for wildlife management to support 
State and tribal efforts to develop and implement manage-
ment strategies to address chronic wasting disease. 
(b) PETITION PROCESS.—A State or tribal agency 
shall petition the Secretary for a portion of the funds 
available under subsection (a). 
(c) FUNDING
PRIORITIES.—In determining the 
amounts to be allocated to State and tribal agencies under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to States 
and tribal agencies based on the following criteria: 
(1) Relative scope of incidence of chronic wast-
ing disease on lands of the State or Indian tribe, 
with priority given to those States and Indian tribes 
with the highest incidence of the disease. 
(2) State or tribal expenditures on chronic 
wasting disease management, monitoring, surveil-
lance, and applied research, with priority given to 
those States and Indian tribes that have shown the 
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greatest financial commitment to managing, moni-
toring, surveying, and researching chronic wasting 
disease. 
(3) Comprehensive and integrated State or trib-
al policies and programs focused on chronic wasting 
disease management between involved State or tribal 
wildlife and agricultural agencies, with priority given 
to those States and Indian tribes that have inte-
grated the programs and policies of all involved 
agencies related to chronic wasting disease manage-
ment. 
(4) Rapid response to new outbreaks of chronic 
wasting disease, whether occurring in areas in which 
chronic wasting disease is already found or areas 
with first infections, with the intent of containing 
the disease in any new area of infection. 
(d) RAPID RESPONSE FUND.—The Secretary shall 
use funds made available under subsection (e)(1)(C) as 
a rapid response fund to support State and tribal efforts 
to control the spread of chronic wasting disease upon the 
detection of chronic wasting disease among deer, elk, or 
moose populations not previously infected. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary $35,000,000 to sup-
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port State and tribal efforts to manage and control 
chronic wasting disease, of which— 
(A) $20,000,000 shall be allocated to 
States under subsection (a); 
(B) $5,000,000 shall be allocated to tribal 
agencies under subsection (a); and 
(C) $10,000,000 shall be retained for the 
rapid response fund under subsection (d). 
(2) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated pursu-
ant to the authorization of appropriations in para-
graph (1) shall remain available until expended. 
(3) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 
Not more than three percent of the amount appro-
priated pursuant to the authorization of appropria-
tions in paragraph (1) may be used to cover admin-
istrative expenses incurred by the Secretary. 
SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR APPLIED RESEARCH REGARDING 
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE. 
(a) EXPANSION OF APPLIED RESEARCH GRANTS.— 
The Secretary shall make grants to support efforts to ex-
pand and accelerate applied research on chronic wasting 
disease, including (but not limited to) research regarding 
the following: 
(1) Sustainable cervid harvest management 
practices to reduce chronic wasting disease occur-
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rence and to prevent or limit spatial spread of 
chronic wasting disease. 
(2) Management experiments and strategies de-
signed for long-term suppression of chronic wasting 
disease. 
(3) Harvest management practices and other 
practices that exacerbate chronic wasting disease oc-
currence, with an emphasis on retrospective analyses 
of available harvest management and chronic wast-
ing disease trend data. 
(4) Factors contributing to local emergence of 
chronic wasting disease, increased prevalence of 
chronic wasting disease, and distribution of chronic 
wasting disease, including mechanisms of disease 
transmission and effective barriers to transmission. 
(5) Methods and products to effectively detect 
infectious prions in, and decontaminate infectious 
prions from natural environments and inorganic sur-
faces. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary $10,000,000 to make 
grants under subsection (a). 
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(2) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated pursu-
ant to the authorization of appropriations in para-
graph (1) shall remain available until expended. 
(3) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 
Not more than three percent of the amount appro-
priated pursuant to the authorization of appropria-
tions in paragraph (1) may be used to cover admin-
istrative expenses incurred by the Secretary. 
SEC. 6. MULTI-AGENCY COOPERATION WITH STATES TO AD-
DRESS CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE. 
Land management agencies of the Department of Ag-
riculture and the Department of the Interior shall work 
cooperatively with States— 
(1) in the conduct of applied research regarding 
chronic wasting disease; and 
(2) in the implementation of State chronic 
wasting disease response plans to reduce the spread 
and prevalence of chronic wasting disease. 
Æ 
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