I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5156 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to identify and declare wildlife 
disease emergencies and to coordinate rapid response to these emer-
gencies, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 17, 2014 
Ms. SHEA-PORTER (for herself and Mr. DEFAZIO) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 
addition to the Committees on Agriculture and the Budget, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to identify and 
declare wildlife disease emergencies and to coordinate 
rapid response to these emergencies, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wildlife Disease Emer-
gency Act of 2014’’. 
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SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are to— 
(1) authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
identify and declare wildlife disease emergencies; 
(2) establish a fund through which the Sec-
retary may coordinate rapid response to these emer-
gencies; and 
(3) prepare for, identify, and address wildlife 
diseases adversely affecting wildlife populations and 
biodiversity through strategic and coordinated ac-
tions between the Federal agencies and State and 
local agencies, Indian tribes, and nongovernmental 
organizations. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) 
COMMITTEE.—The 
term 
‘‘Committee’’ 
means the Wildlife Disease Committee established 
under section 6. 
(2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Wild-
life Disease Emergency Fund established by section 
5. 
(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 
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(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 
State, the District of Columbia, and any other pos-
session of the United States. 
(6) WILDLIFE.—The term ‘‘wildlife’’ means any 
species native to the United States including non-
domesticated mammals, fish, birds, amphibians, rep-
tiles, mollusks, and arthropods. 
(7) WILDLIFE
DISEASE.—The term ‘‘wildlife 
disease’’ means an infectious or noninfectious, path-
ological condition occurring in a susceptible popu-
lation of wildlife, that is not zoonotic. 
(8) WILDLIFE
DISEASE
EMERGENCY.—The 
term ‘‘wildlife disease emergency’’ means the occur-
rence of a wildlife disease that— 
(A) is infectious and caused by a newly 
discovered pathogen or a known infectious wild-
life disease that is expanding its geographic 
range, the species impacted by the disease, or 
other recognized impacts of the disease; 
(B) poses significant threats to the sus-
tainability of wildlife; or 
(C) poses a significant threat to the overall 
health of a functioning ecosystem. 
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SEC. 4. DECLARATION OF WILDLIFE DISEASE EMERGENCY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior, in 
consultation with the Governor of a potentially affected 
State or States, may declare within such State or States 
a wildlife disease emergency for any wildlife disease that 
is— 
(1) occurring in the United States; or 
(2) occurring outside the United States with 
the potential to enter the United States. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making a declaration 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider— 
(1) the level of threat the wildlife disease poses 
to affected wildlife populations, based on the— 
(A) relative threat to population levels; 
(B) relative strength of the contagion and 
spread of the disease; 
(C) observed rate of morbidity or mortality 
of the disease; and 
(D) importance of affected species or eco-
systems, including— 
(i) species and habitats identified as 
priorities by the Federal Government, a 
State, or local government, or a Federal, 
State, or local conservation plan; and 
(ii) wildlife located on Federal lands; 
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(2) the sufficiency of resources available in the 
Fund; 
(3) the ability of the Department of the Interior 
and other Federal, State, and local agencies, tribal 
governments, and other stakeholders to address and 
coordinate response to the disease through other au-
thorities; 
(4) the request of any State Governor to make 
such a declaration; and 
(5) the economic consequences of a significant 
population decline in the impacted species due to the 
disease. 
(c) RESPONSE COORDINATION.—Upon a declaration 
of a wildlife disease emergency by the Secretary, the Sec-
retary shall lead a coordinated response to the emergency 
that shall include appropriate Federal agencies, State and 
local governments, Indian tribes, nongovernmental organi-
zations, or other stakeholders. 
(d) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall develop 
and implement a grant program to provide funding to 
State wildlife agencies and Indian tribes to address wildlife 
disease emergencies. 
SEC. 5. WILDLIFE DISEASE EMERGENCY FUND. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 
Treasury of the United States a separate account, which 
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shall be known as the ‘‘Wildlife Disease Emergency Fund’’ 
and shall consist of— 
(1) such funds as are appropriated to the Sec-
retary for activities authorized by this Act to ad-
dress a wildlife disease emergency; and 
(2) any funds received by the Secretary as a do-
nation, gift, or contribution identified by the person 
providing the funds for use to address wildlife dis-
ease emergencies. 
(b) PROHIBITION.—Amounts in the Fund may not be 
made available for any purpose other than to respond to 
a wildlife disease emergency declared under section 4. 
(c) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 
the end of each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 
2013, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 
Senate, and the Committee on Natural Resources of 
the House of Representatives a report on the oper-
ation of the Fund during the fiscal year. 
(2) CONTENTS.—Each report shall include, for 
the fiscal year covered by the report, the following: 
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(A) A statement of the amounts deposited 
into the Fund. 
(B) A description of the expenditures made 
from the Fund, including the purpose of the ex-
penditures. 
(C) Recommendations of additional au-
thorities to fulfill the purpose of the Fund. 
(D) A statement of the balance remaining 
in the Fund at the end of the fiscal year. 
(d) SEPARATE APPROPRIATIONS ACCOUNT.—Section 
1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(39) a separate appropriations account for the 
Wildlife Disease Emergency Fund established under 
section 5 of the Wildlife Disease Emergency Act of 
2013, which shall include the estimated amount of 
deposits into the Fund, and obligations and outlays 
from the Fund.’’. 
SEC. 6. WILDLIFE DISEASE COMMITTEE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary may establish 
a Wildlife Disease Committee. The purpose of the Com-
mittee shall be to assist the Secretary in increasing the 
level of preparedness of the United States to address 
emerging wildlife diseases. 
(b) DUTIES.—The Committee shall— 
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(1) advise the Secretary on risk assessment, 
preparation, monitoring, research, and response to 
wildlife diseases that may significantly impact the 
health and sustainability of wildlife populations; and 
(2) draft reports, recommendations, plans, or 
other documents to assist the Secretary in carrying 
out this Act. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
members of the Committee shall be appointed by the 
Secretary from among individuals who are qualified 
by education, training, or experience in topics such 
as wildlife health, biology, ecology, wildlife conserva-
tion, and natural resource management. 
(2) INCLUSIONS.—The Committee shall in-
clude— 
(A) qualified individuals who are employed 
by Federal agencies; 
(B) at least 8 qualified individuals who are 
employed by a State fish and wildlife agency, 
each of whom shall be employed in a different 
region of the 8 regions of the United States 
Fish and Wildlife Service; 
(C) qualified individuals employed by other 
State agencies and tribal entities; and 
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