Title: To prohibit the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from awarding grants to entities that fund or support gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
This bill prohibits the Fish and Wildlife Service from awarding specified wildlife conservation grants to entities that fund or support certain persons or entities that are credibly alleged to have committed gross human rights violations.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5493 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5493

To prohibit the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
from awarding grants to entities that fund or support gross violations 
  of internationally recognized human rights, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 19, 2019

Mr. Bishop of Utah introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
from awarding grants to entities that fund or support gross violations 
  of internationally recognized human rights, 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. INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION GRANT RESTRICTIONS.

    (a) Certification.--The Director may not award a covered grant to a 
covered recipient unless such recipient certifies that it will meet the 
requirements described in subsection (b).
    (b) Requirements.--The requirements described in this subsection 
are as follows:
            (1) Certification.--A covered recipient may only award 
        funds to a subgrantee if such subgrantee certifies that it will 
        meet the requirements described in this subsection.
            (2) Prohibition.--A covered recipient may not use funds 
        from a covered grant to fund or support a prohibited entity.
            (3) Reporting.--A covered recipient shall report to the 
        Director any credible allegation of a gross violation of 
        internationally recognized human rights by any entity such 
        recipient has funded or supported within 30 days of the date on 
        which such recipient knew or should have known of such 
        allegation.
            (4) Cease funding.--A covered recipient that reports a 
        credible allegation under paragraph (3) to the Director shall, 
        not more than 30 days after the date of such reporting, cease 
        funding or supporting the prohibited entity alleged to have 
        committed such violation.
    (c) Penalties.--The Director shall apply the following penalties to 
a covered recipient or successor to such recipient that fails to meet 
the requirements of this Act:
            (1) The Director may not award a single source award of a 
        covered grant to a covered recipient or successor to such 
        recipient that has violated a provision of subsection (b).
            (2) The Director may not award a covered grant to a covered 
        recipient or successor to such recipient that violated 
        subsection (b)(3) for a 3-year period beginning on the later 
        of--
                    (A) the date of the violation; or
                    (B) the date on which the Director became aware of 
                such violation.
            (3) The Director may not award a covered grant to a covered 
        recipient or successor to such recipient that violated 
        subsection (b)(4) for a 5-year period beginning on the later 
        of--
                    (A) the date of the violation; or
                    (B) the date on which the Director became aware of 
                such violation.
            (4) In addition to any penalties under paragraphs (1) 
        through (3), the Director may not award a covered grant to a 
        covered recipient or successor to such recipient that has 
        violated any provision of this Act unless such recipient paid 
        back any funds from the grant under which such recipient 
        received funds which were used in a manner that violated 
        subsection (b).
            (5) The Director shall report a covered recipient that 
        violated a provision of subsection (b) to the Department of 
        Justice.
    (d) High-Risk Areas.--
            (1) Waiver required.--The Director may not award a covered 
        grant with respect to a high-risk country unless the recipient 
        of such grant has received a waiver under paragraph (2).
            (2) Waiver requirements.--The Director may issue a waiver 
        to operate in a high-risk country to an applicant that the 
        Director determines has taken sufficient measures to prevent 
        the violation of this Act. In making such a determination, the 
        Director shall require the applicant to--
                    (A) describe the safeguards such applicant employs 
                to protect human rights;
                    (B) describe the accountability such applicant 
                employs to ensure proper use of funds;
                    (C) provide any training materials used by the 
                organization with respect to protecting human rights; 
                and
                    (D) provide such other information as the Director 
                determines appropriate.
            (3) Audits.--The Secretary of the Interior shall perform, 
        or cause an independent third party to perform, audits of any 
        recipient that receives grant funds from the Director issued 
        with respect to a high-risk country.
    (e) Risk Analysis.--In performing a risk assessment analysis for a 
covered grant, the Director shall include the occurrence of human 
rights violations as a factor in such analysis.
    (f) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Covered grant.--The term ``covered grant'' means a 
        grant awarded by the Director under which funds will be 
        expended outside the United States, including grants issued 
        pursuant to--
                    (A) section 2101 of the African Elephant 
                Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4211);
                    (B) section 4 of the Great Ape Conservation Act of 
                2000 (16 U.S.C. 6303);
                    (C) section 4 of the Marine Turtle Conservation Act 
                of 2004 (16 U.S.C. 6603); and
                    (D) section 5 of the Rhinoceros and Tiger 
                Conservation Act of 1994 (16 U.S.C. 5304).
            (2) Covered recipient.--The term ``covered recipient'' 
        means any entity that is a grantee, subgrantee, or applicant 
        with respect to a covered grant.
            (3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
            (4) Gross violations of internationally recognized human 
        rights.--The term ``gross violations of internationally 
        recognized human rights'' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 502B(d)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
        U.S.C. 2304(d)(1)).
            (5) High-risk country.--The term ``high-risk country'' 
        means a country with respect to which the most recent report 
        issued pursuant to section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act 
        of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)) includes reports of extrajudicial, 
        arbitrary, or unlawful killings by security forces.
            (6) Prohibited entity.--The term ``prohibited entity'' 
        means a person or entity that is credibly alleged to have 
        committed a gross violation of internationally recognized human 
        rights--
                    (A) during the 10-year period ending on the date of 
                issuance of the relevant covered grant; or
                    (B) after the date of issuance of the relevant 
                covered grant.
            (7) Successor.--The term ``successor'' means an entity that 
        the Director determines is substantially owned by persons who 
        owned a prohibited entity at the time such entity became a 
        prohibited entity.
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