Title: Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Reauthorization and Improvements Act of 2020
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Reauthorization and Improvements Act of 2020
This bill permanently authorizes the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking and revises requirements concerning the task force.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4848 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4848

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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             October 22 (legislative day, October 19), 2020

Mr. Coons (for himself and Mr. Portman) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 Representatives 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 Improvements Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States Government should continue to work 
        with international partners, including nations, nongovernmental 
        organizations, and the private sector, to identify long-
        standing and emerging areas of concern in wildlife poaching and 
        trafficking all along the supply chain; and
            (2) the activities and required reporting of the 
        Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking, established by 
        Executive Order 13648 (78 Fed. Reg. 40621), 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) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through (12) as 
        paragraphs (9) through (13), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
            ``(8) Intelligence community.--The term `intelligence 
        community' has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the 
        National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003).''; and
            (3) in paragraph (12), as redesignated, by striking 
        ``section 201'' and inserting ``section 301''.

SEC. 4. FRAMEWORK FOR INTERAGENCY RESPONSE AND REPORTING.

    (a) Reauthorization of Report on Major Wildlife 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'' and 
        inserting ``biennially''; and
            (2) by striking subsection (c).
    (b) Reauthorization of the 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 paragraph (8); and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
            ``(5) pursue programs to expand the role of technology for 
        anti-poaching and anti-trafficking efforts, in partnership with 
        the private sector, academia, and nongovernmental organizations 
        (including technology companies and the transportation and 
        logistics sectors), including programs that--
                    ``(A) assess the technology needs in focus 
                countries and promote the use of technology to improve 
                wildlife protection and investigation and prosecution 
                of wildlife crimes, while taking into account the 
                technological limitations within each focus country;
                    ``(B) address wildlife crime and the wildlife 
                trafficking supply chain;
                    ``(C) promote the shared costs of technology or 
                resources over cross-cutting sectors for multi-group 
                and multi-purpose use; and
                    ``(D) support existing and new innovative finance 
                mechanisms for community and regionally based needs;
            ``(6) consider programs and initiatives that address the 
        expansion of the illegal wildlife trade to digital platforms, 
        including the use of digital currency 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--
                    ``(A) to assess how online platforms are used in 
                wildlife trafficking;
                    ``(B) to identify strategies, including technology 
                and policy solutions, to combat wildlife trafficking 
                online;
                    ``(C) to initiate online public awareness and 
                behavioral change campaigns to educate users of online 
                programs regarding spotting and reporting illegal 
                wildlife sale or trade activities; and
                    ``(D) to engage with existing national and 
                international initiatives to combat wildlife 
                trafficking online by sharing the expertise of the Task 
                Force members and the intelligence community;
            ``(7) establish a procedure for removing from the list in 
        the biennial report any focus country or country of concern 
        that no longer meets the definition of a country of concern or 
        a focus country under paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 2, 
        which require the Secretary of State, in consultation with 
        other members of the Task Force, to consider--
                    ``(A) the establishment of appropriate domestic 
                laws to combat wildlife trafficking and poaching, 
                including demonstrated progress in implementing such 
                laws;
                    ``(B) an increase in the number of convictions for 
                crimes relating to wildlife trafficking;
                    ``(C) the implementation of specialist law 
                enforcement units or tactics, or demonstrable 
                cooperative efforts;
                    ``(D) demonstrated compliance with international 
                treaties or conventions, including the Convention on 
                International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna 
                and Flora, done at Washington March 3, 1973 (27 UST 
                1087; TIAS 8249) to which the country is a party; and
                    ``(E) other factors used to define focus countries 
                and countries of concern; and''.
    (c) Reauthorization of the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife 
Trafficking Strategic Review.--Section 301 of the Eliminate, 
Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016 (16 U.S.C. 
7631) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) an analysis of the indicators developed by the Task 
        Force, and recommended by the Government Accountability Office, 
        to track and measure inputs, outputs, law enforcement outcomes, 
        and public perceptions of wildlife trafficking for each focus 
        country listed in the report, including baseline measures for 
        each indicator in each focus country to document progress.''; 
        and
            (2) by striking subsection (e).
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