I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5996 
To continue the whole-of-government approach to ending global wildlife poach-
ing and trafficking by permanently reauthorizing the activities of the 
Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2021 
Mr. FORTENBERRY (for himself and Ms. MENG) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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 continue the whole-of-government approach to ending 
global wildlife poaching and trafficking by permanently 
reauthorizing the activities of the Presidential Task 
Force on Wildlife Trafficking, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Eliminate, Neutralize, 
and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Reauthorization and Im-
provements Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the United States Government should con-
tinue to work with international partners, including 
nations, nongovernmental organizations, and the pri-
vate sector, to identify long-standing and emerging 
areas of concern in wildlife poaching and trafficking 
related to global supply and demand; and 
(2) the activities and required reporting of the 
Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking, es-
tablished by Executive Order 13648 (78 Fed. Reg. 
40621), and modified by sections 201 and 301 of 
the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife 
Trafficking Act of 2016 (16 U.S.C. 7621 and 7631) 
should be reauthorized to minimize the disruption of 
the work of such Task Force. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 2 of the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt 
Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016 (16 U.S.C. 7601) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘involving 
local communities’’ after ‘‘approach to conserva-
tion’’; 
(2) by amending paragraph to read as follows: 
‘‘(4) COUNTRY OF CONCERN.—The term ‘coun-
try of concern’ means a foreign country specially 
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designated by the Secretary of State pursuant to 
section 201(b) as a major source of wildlife traf-
ficking products or their derivatives, a major transit 
point of wildlife trafficking products or their deriva-
tives, or a major consumer of wildlife trafficking 
products, in which— 
‘‘(A) the government has actively engaged 
in, or knowingly profited from, the trafficking 
of protected species; or 
‘‘(B) the government facilitates such traf-
ficking through conduct that may include a per-
sistent failure to make serious and sustained ef-
forts to prevent and prosecute such traf-
ficking.’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘section 
201’’ and inserting ‘‘section 301’’. 
SEC. 4. FRAMEWORK FOR INTERAGENCY RESPONSE AND 
REPORTING. 
(a) REAUTHORIZATION OF REPORT ON MAJOR WILD-
LIFE TRAFFICKING COUNTRIES.—Section 201 of the 
Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking 
Act of 2016 (16 U.S.C. 7621) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘annually 
thereafter’’ and inserting ‘‘biennially thereafter by 
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June 1 of each year in which a report is required’’; 
and 
(2) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(c) DESIGNATION.—A country may be designated as 
a country of concern under subsection (b) regardless of 
such country’s status as a focus country.’’. 
(b) PRESIDENTIAL
TASK
FORCE
ON
WILDLIFE 
TRAFFICKING RESPONSIBILITIES.—Section 301(a) of the 
Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking 
Act of 2016 (16 U.S.C. 7631(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para-
graph (10); and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(5) pursue programs— 
‘‘(A) to expand the role of technology for 
anti-poaching and anti-trafficking efforts, in 
partnership with the private sector, foreign gov-
ernments, academia, and nongovernmental or-
ganizations (including technology companies 
and the transportation and logistics sectors); 
and 
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‘‘(B) to enable local governments to de-
velop and use such technologies; 
‘‘(6) consider programs and initiatives that ad-
dress the expansion of the illegal wildlife trade to 
digital platforms, including the use of digital cur-
rency and payment platforms for transactions by 
collaborating with the private sector, academia, and 
nongovernmental 
organizations, 
including 
social 
media, e-commerce, and search engine companies, as 
appropriate; 
‘‘(7)(A) establish and publish a procedure for 
removing from the list in the biennial report any 
country of concern that no longer meets the defini-
tion of country of concern under section 2(4); 
‘‘(B) include details about such procedure in 
the next report required under section 201; 
‘‘(8)(A) implement interventions to address the 
drivers of poaching, trafficking, and demand for ille-
gal wildlife and wildlife products in focus countries 
and countries of concern; 
‘‘(B) set benchmarks for measuring the effec-
tiveness of such interventions; and 
‘‘(C) consider alignment and coordination with 
indicators developed by the Task Force; 
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