Title: DEER Act
Policy area: Animals

Summary:
Detection, Enhanced Education, and Response Act of 2019 or the DEER Act
This bill addresses chronic wasting disease, which is a transmissible disease that afflicts deer, elk, and moose populations.
Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support state efforts to develop and implement chronic wasting disease surveillance, testing, management, and response activities.
In addition, USDA must (1) establish a multiagency task force to respond to the disease, and (2) award a grant to a land-grant college or university to establish a policy research center for wildlife diseases.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 613 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 613

 To amend the Animal Health Protection Act to provide chronic wasting 
 disease support for States and coordinated response efforts, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 28, 2019

Mrs. Hyde-Smith introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Animal Health Protection Act to provide chronic wasting 
 disease support for States and coordinated response efforts, 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 ``Detection, Enhanced Education, and 
Response Act of 2019'' or the ``DEER Act''.

SEC. 2. CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE SUPPORT FOR STATES AND COORDINATED 
              RESPONSE EFFORTS.

    The Animal Health Protection Act is amended by inserting after 
section 10409A (7 U.S.C. 8308a) the following:

``SEC. 10409B. CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE SUPPORT FOR STATES AND 
              COORDINATED RESPONSE EFFORTS.

    ``(a) Definition of Chronic Wasting Disease.--In this section, the 
term `chronic wasting disease' means the animal disease afflicting 
deer, elk, and moose populations that--
            ``(1) is a transmissible disease of the nervous system 
        resulting in distinctive lesions in the brain; and
            ``(2) belongs to the group of diseases known as 
        transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, which includes 
        scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and Cruetzfeldt-
        Jakob disease.
    ``(b) Support for State Efforts To Manage and Control Chronic 
Wasting Disease.--
            ``(1) Availability of assistance.--The Secretary shall 
        allocate funds made available under subsection (e) directly to 
        State departments of wildlife and State departments of 
        agriculture to further develop and implement chronic wasting 
        disease surveillance, testing, management, and response 
        activities.
            ``(2) Funding priorities.--In determining the amounts to be 
        allocated to State departments of wildlife and agriculture, the 
        Secretary shall give priority to States that--
                    ``(A) have experienced a recent incidence of 
                chronic wasting disease;
                    ``(B) have a chronic wasting disease monitoring and 
                surveillance program; and
                    ``(C) have a diagnostic laboratory system certified 
                for chronic wasting disease testing.
    ``(c) Chronic Wasting Disease Multiagency Task Force.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a 
        multiagency task force that shall--
                    ``(A) establish a unified response framework to 
                better position the Department of Agriculture to 
                respond to the growing threat of chronic wasting 
                disease;
                    ``(B) provide a single Federal point of contact for 
                Federal and State entities that work on chronic wasting 
                disease issues;
                    ``(C) determine funding priorities and allocation 
                of resources; and
                    ``(D) disseminate information to the public 
                relating to chronic wasting disease.
            ``(2) Composition.--The multiagency task force established 
        under paragraph (1) shall--
                    ``(A) be led by the Administrator of the Animal and 
                Plant Health Inspection Service; and
                    ``(B) include 1 or more representatives from each 
                of the following:
                            ``(i) The Agricultural Research Service.
                            ``(ii) The National Institute of Food and 
                        Agriculture.
                            ``(iii) The Forest Service.
                            ``(iv) The United States Fish and Wildlife 
                        Service.
                            ``(v) State departments of wildlife.
                            ``(vi) State departments of agriculture.
                            ``(vii) Institutions of higher education.
    ``(d) Mid-South Center of Excellence in Wildlife Diseases.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award a grant to a 
        land-grant college or university (as defined in section 1404 of 
        the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching 
        Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)) eligible to receive funds 
        under the Hatch Act of 1887 (7 U.S.C. 361a et seq.) and the 
        Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) to establish a policy 
        research center to be known as the `Mid-South Center of 
        Excellence in Wildlife Diseases'.
            ``(2) Criteria.--The Secretary shall award the grant under 
        paragraph (1) to a land-grant college or university that--
                    ``(A) is located in a State--
                            ``(i) in the Southeast area of the 
                        Agricultural Research Service; and
                            ``(ii) that has confirmed cases of chronic 
                        wasting disease in the State;
                    ``(B) has an established whitetail deer research 
                program with significant research history in deer 
                ecology, movements, genetics, and management;
                    ``(C) has a college of veterinary medicine; and
                    ``(D) has technical and scientific expertise 
                relevant to chronic wasting disease through the 
                university extension service and college of veterinary 
                medicine.
            ``(3) Activities.--The Mid-South Center of Excellence in 
        Wildlife Diseases established under paragraph (1) shall--
                    ``(A) have a special research focus on chronic 
                wasting disease in whitetail deer;
                    ``(B) serve as the lead institution of higher 
                education in collaborating with the multiagency task 
                force established under subsection (c)(1);
                    ``(C) establish partnerships with other 
                universities with expertise relevant to chronic wasting 
                disease research;
                    ``(D) develop an epidemiological research program 
                focused on chronic wasting disease;
                    ``(E) expand chronic wasting disease surveillance 
                and testing capacity; and
                    ``(F) improve current chronic wasting disease 
                ecology, movements, transmission, and management 
                research.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.''.
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