Critically Endangered Animals Conservation Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.1569 | Sponsor: Rep. Huffman, Jared (D-CA)
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Critically Endangered Animals Conservation Act of 2021
This bill provides statutory authority for the Critically Endangered Animals Conservation Fund, which finances a grant program to protect critically endangered species. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of the Interior to establish the fund as a separate account in the Multinational Species Conservation Fund.
Critically endangered species means any animal species categorized on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species as either endangered or critically endangered. The term also means any other animals species categorized on such list as data deficient or under a threat category lower than endangered if Interior determines that (1) the most recent IUCN Red List assessment indicates that the population is decreasing, or (2) such species is facing new or emerging threats.

To assist in the conservation of critically endangered species in 
               foreign countries, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

     This Act may be cited as the ``Critically Endangered Animals 
Conservation Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Convention'' means the Convention on 
        International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and 
        Flora (27 UST 1087; TIAS 8249);
            (2) the term ``conservation'' means the protection and 
        restoration of species and the habitat of such species;
            (3) the term ``Fund'' means the Critically Endangered 
        Animals Conservation Fund established by section 5;
            (4) the term ``critically endangered species''--
                    (A) means--
                            (i) any animal species categorized on the 
                        International Union Conservation of Nature Red 
                        List of Threatened Species as either Endangered 
                        or Critically Endangered; and
                            (ii) any other animals species categorized 
                        on the International Union Conservation of 
                        Nature Red List of Threatened Species as Data 
                        Deficient or under a threat category lower than 
                        Endangered if the Secretary determines that--
                                    (I) the most recent International 
                                Union Conservation of Nature Red List 
                                assessment indicates that the 
                                population is decreasing; or
                                    (II) such species is facing new or 
                                emerging threats; and
                    (B) includes--
                            (i) any part, product, egg, offspring or 
                        live specimen of a species described in 
                        subparagraph (A); and
                            (ii) a carcass of such a species;
            (5) the term ``Multinational Species Conservation Fund'' 
        means the fund established under the heading ``multinational 
        species conservation fund'' in title I of the Department of the 
        Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 
        U.S.C. 4246); and
            (6) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Interior.

SEC. 3. CRITICALLY ENDANGERED ANIMALS CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--In consultation with other Federal officials, the 
Secretary shall use amounts in the Fund to carry out a competitive 
grant program to provide financial assistance for the conservation of 
critically endangered species.
    (b) Project Proposals.--
            (1) Eligible applicants.--
                    (A) In general.--A proposal for a grant under 
                subsection (a) may be submitted to the Secretary by--
                            (i) any wildlife management authority of a 
                        foreign country that has within its boundaries 
                        natural habitat of the critically endangered 
                        species if the activities of the authority 
                        directly or indirectly benefit that species' 
                        conservation; or
                            (ii) any other person or group with the 
                        demonstrated expertise and capacity required 
                        for the conservation of a critically endangered 
                        species.
                    (B) Ineligible applicants.--Any such wildlife 
                management authority or other person or group that 
                receives funding for a particular critically endangered 
                species from any multinational species conservation 
                fund to which the United States Fish and Wildlife 
                Service is a party is not eligible for a grant under 
                this Act with respect to a such species.
            (2) Required elements.--A project proposal shall include--
                    (A) evidence of support for the project by 
                appropriate governmental entities of the country in 
                which the project will be conducted, if the Secretary 
                determines that such support is required for the 
                success of the project;
                    (B) evidence of sensitivity to local historic and 
                cultural resources and compliance with applicable laws;
                    (C) evidence of free, prior, and informed consent 
                by indigenous peoples and local communities in the 
                areas the project will be conducted, if the Secretary, 
                based on the nature of the project, determines that 
                such consent is required for the success of the 
                project;
                    (D) information regarding the source and amount of 
                matching funding available for the project; and
                    (E) any other information that the Secretary 
                determines to be appropriate.
    (c) Evaluation and Approval.--
            (1) Goals.--The Secretary may approve a proposal under this 
        section if the project will--
                    (A) help recover and sustain viable populations in 
                the wild of a critically endangered species with a 
                range that is, in whole or in part, outside of the 
                United States;
                    (B) enhance compliance with provisions of the 
                Convention and laws of the United States or a foreign 
                country related to the conservation of a critically 
                endangered species; or
                    (C) develop sound scientific information on that 
                species' habitat, population numbers and trends, 
                reproduction, mortality, and other threats to survival.
            (2) Methods.--The Secretary may approve a proposal under 
        this section if the proposal would achieve one of the goals set 
        forth in paragraph (1) through--
                    (A) protection, restoration, and management of 
                habitat;
                    (B) in situ research and monitoring of populations, 
                habitats, annual reproduction, and species population 
                trends;
                    (C) development, implementation, and improvement of 
                national and regional management plans for a critically 
                endangered species and the habitat of such species;
                    (D) enforcement and implementation of the 
                Convention or the law of a foreign country to--
                            (i) protect and manage a critically 
                        endangered species or the habitat of such 
                        species;
                            (ii) prevent illegal or unsustainable 
                        removal of a critically endangered species from 
                        the wild, including as marine bycatch; or
                            (iii) prevent illegal trade of a critically 
                        endangered species;
                    (E) training and capacity building for local law 
                enforcement officials in the interdiction and 
                prevention of the illegal killing, removal from the 
                wild, or trade of a critically endangered species;
                    (F) an initiative to resolve a conflict between 
                humans and a critically endangered species;
                    (G) research and implementation of projects to 
                address disease and threats to the health of a 
                critically endangered species;
                    (H) community outreach and education on 
                conservation of a critically endangered species and the 
                habitat of such species; or
                    (I) strengthening the ability of local communities 
                to implement a conservation program.
            (3) Consultation.--The Secretary shall, prior to approving 
        any proposal under this section, consult with each of the 
        following with respect to such proposal:
                    (A) The Government of each country in which such 
                proposal will be carried out.
                    (B) Any other Federal agency the Secretary 
                determines is appropriate.
            (4) Preferential consideration.--In determining whether to 
        approve a proposal, the Secretary shall give preference to a 
        proposal that--
                    (A) is designed to ensure effective, long-term 
                conservation of critically endangered species and their 
                habitats; and
                    (B) has matching funds available.
            (5) Approval.--The Secretary shall, within 180 days of 
        receiving a proposal under this section, approve or disapprove 
        of the proposal and provide written notification of such 
        approval or disapproval to--
                    (A) the person who submitted such proposal;
                    (B) any Federal agency the Secretary determines 
                appropriate; and
                    (C) the foreign country in which such proposal 
                would be carried out.
    (d) Project Reporting.--
            (1) In general.-- The Secretary shall require each person 
        that receives assistance under this section to submit periodic 
        reports including such information as the Secretary may require 
        in order to evaluate the progress and success of each grant 
        issued under this section.
            (2) Availability to the public.--Reports under paragraph 
        (1), and any other documents relating to projects for which 
        financial assistance is provided under this Act except for 
        documents that the Secretary determines to be confidential in 
        nature, shall be made available to the public.
    (e) Limitations on Use for Captive Breeding.--Amounts provided as a 
grant under this Act--
            (1) may not be used for captive breeding of critically 
        endangered species other than for captive breeding designed for 
        release into the wild; and
            (2) may be used for captive breeding of a species for 
        release into the wild only if no other conservation method for 
        the species is biologically or technically feasible.

SEC. 4. CRITICALLY ENDANGERED ANIMALS CONSERVATION FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Multinational 
Species Conservation Fund a separate account to be known as the 
``Critically Endangered Animals Conservation Fund'', consisting of--
            (1) amounts transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury 
        for deposit into the Fund under subsection (e);
            (2) amounts appropriated to the Fund under section 6; and
            (3) any interest earned on investment of amounts in the 
        Fund under subsection (c).
    (b) Expenditures From Fund.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), at the request 
        of the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer 
        from the Fund to the Secretary, without further appropriation, 
        such amounts as the Secretary determines are necessary to carry 
        out section 3.
            (2) Administrative expenses.--Of the amounts in the account 
        available for each fiscal year, the Secretary may expend not 
        more than 3 percent, or up to $150,000, whichever is greater, 
        to pay the administrative expenses necessary to carry out this 
        Act.
    (c) Investment of Amounts.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest 
        such portion of the Fund as is not, in the judgment of the 
        Secretary of the Treasury, required to meet current 
        withdrawals. Investments may be made only in interest-bearing 
        obligations of the United States.
            (2) Acquisition of obligations.--For the purpose of 
        investments under paragraph (1), obligations may be acquired--
                    (A) on original issue at the issue price; or
                    (B) by purchase of outstanding obligations at 
                market price.
            (3) Sale of obligations.--Any obligation acquired by the 
        Fund may be sold by the Secretary of the Treasury at market 
        price.
            (4) Credits to fund.--The interest on, and the proceeds 
        from the sale or redemption of, any obligations held in the 
        Fund shall be credited to and form a part of the Fund.
    (d) Transfers of Amounts.--
            (1) In general.--The amounts required to be transferred to 
        the Fund under this section shall be transferred at least 
        monthly from the general fund of the Treasury to the Fund on 
        the basis of estimates made by the Secretary of the Treasury.
            (2) Adjustments.--Proper adjustment shall be made in 
        amounts subsequently transferred to the extent prior estimates 
        were in excess of or less than the amounts required to be 
        transferred.
    (e) Acceptance and Use of Donations.--The Secretary may accept and 
use donations to provide assistance under section 4. Amounts received 
by the Secretary in the form of donations shall be transferred to the 
Secretary of the Treasury for deposit in the Fund. The Secretary may 
reject a gift under this section when the rejection is in the interest 
of the Government.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $5,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027.

SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report on the results and effectiveness of the program carried out 
under this Act.
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