Title: PREDATORS Act
Policy area: Animals

Summary:
Promoting Resourceful and Effective Deterrents Against Threats Or Risks involving Species Act or the PREDATORS Act
This bill establishes an annual prize competition for a technological advancement that promotes reducing human and predator animal conflict using nonlethal means, including the application and monitoring of tagging technologies.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2194 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2194

    To amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and 
  Recreation Act to establish the Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize for 
       reducing human-predator conflict, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 22, 2019

  Mr. Barrasso (for himself, Mr. Carper, Mr. Cramer, and Mr. Booker) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and 
  Recreation Act to establish the Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize for 
       reducing human-predator conflict, 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 ``Promoting Resourceful and Effective 
Deterrents Against Threats Or Risks involving Species Act'' or the 
``PREDATORS Act''.

SEC. 2. THEODORE ROOSEVELT GENIUS PRIZE FOR REDUCING HUMAN-PREDATOR 
              CONFLICT.

    (a) In General.--Section 7001(d) of the John D. Dingell, Jr. 
Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (16 U.S.C. 742b note; 
Public Law 116-9) is amended--
            (1) in paragraphs (2)(C)(v), (3)(C)(v), (4)(C)(v), 
        (5)(C)(v), and (6)(C)(v), by striking ``paragraph (7)(A)'' each 
        place it appears and inserting ``paragraph (8)(A)'';
            (2) in paragraphs (2)(D)(ii), (2)(F)(ii), (3)(D)(ii), 
        (3)(F)(ii), (4)(D)(ii), (4)(F)(ii), (5)(D)(ii), (5)(F)(ii), 
        (6)(D)(ii), and (6)(F)(ii) by striking ``paragraph (7)(B)'' 
        each place it appears and inserting ``paragraph (8)(B)'';
            (3) in paragraph (6)(C)(iv), in the matter preceding clause 
        (i), by striking ``subparagraph (C)'' and inserting ``clause 
        (iii)'';
            (4) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (8);
            (5) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
            ``(7) Theodore roosevelt genius prize for reducing human-
        predator conflict.--
                    ``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) Board.--The term `Board' means the 
                        Reducing Human-Predator Conflict Technology 
                        Advisory Board established by subparagraph 
                        (C)(i).
                            ``(ii) Prize competition.--The term `prize 
                        competition' means the Theodore Roosevelt 
                        Genius Prize for reducing human-predator 
                        conflict established under subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Authority.--Not later than 180 days after the 
                date of enactment of the PREDATORS Act, the Secretary 
                shall establish under section 24 of the Stevenson-
                Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 
                3719) a prize competition, to be known as the `Theodore 
                Roosevelt Genius Prize for reducing human-predator 
                conflict'--
                            ``(i) to encourage technological innovation 
                        with the potential to advance the mission of 
                        the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
                        with respect to reducing the frequency of 
                        human-predator conflict using nonlethal means; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) to award 1 or more prizes annually 
                        for a technological advancement that promotes 
                        reducing human-predator conflict using 
                        nonlethal means, which may include the 
                        application and monitoring of tagging 
                        technologies.
                    ``(C) Advisory board.--
                            ``(i) Establishment.--There is established 
                        an advisory board, to be known as the `Reducing 
                        Human-Predator Conflict Technology Advisory 
                        Board'.
                            ``(ii) Composition.--The Board shall be 
                        composed of not fewer than 9 members appointed 
                        by the Secretary, who shall provide expertise 
                        in--
                                    ``(I) predator-human interactions;
                                    ``(II) the habitats of large 
                                predators;
                                    ``(III) biology;
                                    ``(IV) technology development;
                                    ``(V) engineering;
                                    ``(VI) economics;
                                    ``(VII) business development and 
                                management; and
                                    ``(VIII) any other discipline, as 
                                the Secretary determines to be 
                                necessary to achieve the purposes of 
                                this paragraph.
                            ``(iii) Duties.--Subject to clause (iv), 
                        with respect to the prize competition, the 
                        Board shall--
                                    ``(I) select a topic;
                                    ``(II) issue a problem statement;
                                    ``(III) advise the Secretary 
                                regarding any opportunity for 
                                technological innovation to reduce 
                                human-predator conflict using nonlethal 
                                means; and
                                    ``(IV) advise winners of the prize 
                                competition regarding opportunities to 
                                pilot and implement winning 
                                technologies in relevant fields, 
                                including in partnership with 
                                conservation organizations, Federal or 
                                State agencies, federally recognized 
                                Indian Tribes, private entities, and 
                                research institutions with expertise or 
                                interest relating to reducing human-
                                predator conflict using nonlethal 
                                means.
                            ``(iv) Consultation.--In selecting a topic 
                        and issuing a problem statement for the prize 
                        competition under subclauses (I) and (II) of 
                        clause (iii), respectively, the Board shall 
                        consult widely with Federal and non-Federal 
                        stakeholders, including--
                                    ``(I) 1 or more Federal agencies 
                                with jurisdiction over the management 
                                of native wildlife species at risk due 
                                to conflict with human activities;
                                    ``(II) 1 or more State agencies 
                                with jurisdiction over the management 
                                of native wildlife species at risk due 
                                to conflict with human activities;
                                    ``(III) 1 or more State, regional, 
                                or local wildlife organizations, the 
                                mission of which relates to the 
                                management of native wildlife species 
                                at risk due to conflict with human 
                                activities; and
                                    ``(IV) 1 or more wildlife 
                                conservation groups, technology 
                                companies, research institutions, 
                                institutions of higher education, 
                                industry associations, or individual 
                                stakeholders with an interest in the 
                                management of native wildlife species 
                                at risk due to conflict with human 
                                activities.
                            ``(v) Requirements.--The Board shall comply 
                        with all requirements under paragraph (8)(A).
                    ``(D) Agreement with national fish and wildlife 
                foundation.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall 
                        offer to enter into an agreement under which 
                        the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation shall 
                        administer the prize competition.
                            ``(ii) Requirements.--An agreement entered 
                        into under clause (i) shall comply with all 
                        requirements under paragraph (8)(B).
                    ``(E) Judges.--
                            ``(i) Appointment.--The Secretary shall 
                        appoint not fewer than 3 judges who shall, 
                        except as provided in clause (ii), select the 1 
                        or more annual winners of the prize 
                        competition.
                            ``(ii) Determination by secretary.--The 
                        judges appointed under clause (i) shall not 
                        select any annual winner of the prize 
                        competition if the Secretary makes a 
                        determination that, in any fiscal year, none of 
                        the technological advancements entered into the 
                        prize competition merits an award.
                    ``(F) Consultation with noaa.--The Secretary shall 
                consult with the Secretary of Commerce, acting through 
                the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
                Atmospheric Administration, in the case of a cash prize 
                awarded under the prize competition for a technology 
                that addresses conflict between marine predators under 
                the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Commerce, acting 
                through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
                Atmospheric Administration, and humans.
                    ``(G) Report to congress.--Not later than 60 days 
                after the date on which a cash prize is awarded under 
                this paragraph, the Secretary shall submit to 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 prize competition that 
                includes--
                            ``(i) a statement by the Board that 
                        describes the activities carried out by the 
                        Board relating to the duties described in 
                        subparagraph (C)(iii);
                            ``(ii) if the Secretary has entered into an 
                        agreement under subparagraph (D)(i), a 
                        statement by the National Fish and Wildlife 
                        Foundation that describes the activities 
                        carried out by the National Fish and Wildlife 
                        Foundation relating to the duties described in 
                        paragraph (8)(B); and
                            ``(iii) a statement by 1 or more of the 
                        judges appointed under subparagraph (E) that 
                        explains the basis on which the winner of the 
                        cash prize was selected.
                    ``(H) Termination of authority.--The Board and all 
                authority provided under this paragraph shall terminate 
                on December 31, 2023.''; and
            (6) in paragraph (8) (as so redesignated)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), in the matter preceding 
                clause (i), by striking ``or (6)(C)(i)'' and inserting 
                ``(6)(C)(i), or (7)(C)(i)''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
                        striking ``or (6)(D)(i)'' and inserting 
                        ``(6)(D)(i), or (7)(D)(i)''; and
                            (ii) in clause (i)(VII), by striking ``and 
                        (6)(E)'' and inserting ``(6)(E), and (7)(E)''.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that data 
collected from the tagging of predators can inform innovative 
management of those predators and innovative education activities to 
minimize human-predator conflict.
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