Animal Disease Risk Assessment, Prevention, and Control Act of 2001
PL 107-9 (S.700), enacted 05/24/2001

PUBLIC LAW 107-9—MAY 24, 2001 
115 STAT. 11 
Public Law 107-9 
107th Congress 
An Act 
To establish a Federal interagency task force for the purpose of coordinating actions 
to prevent the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (commonly known 
as "mad cow disease") and foot-and-mouth disease in the United States. 
May 24, 2001 
[S. 700] 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
Animal Disease 
; , . , 
Risk Assessment, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
Prevention, and 
. 
. 
1 
«A . 
1 T^. 
-T.. 1 A 
Control Act of 
This Act may be cited as the Animal Disease Risk Assessment, 2001. 
Prevention, and Control Act of 2001", 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) it is in the interest of the United States to maintain 
healthy livestock herds; 
(2) managing the risks of foot-and-mouth disease, bovine 
spongiform encephalopathy, and related diseases in the United 
States may require billions of dollars for remedial activities 
by consumers, producers, and distributors of livestock and 
animal and blood products; 
(3) the potential introduction of those diseases into the 
United States would cause devastating financial losses to— 
(A) the agriculture industry and other economic sectors; 
and 
(B) United States trade in the affected animals and 
animal products; 
(4) foot-and-mouth disease is a severe and highly contagious 
viral infection affecting cattle, deer, goats, sheep, swine, and 
other animals; 
(5) the most effective means of eradicating foot-and-mouth 
disease is by the slaughter of affected animals; 
(6) while foot-and-mouth disease was eradicated in the 
United States in 1929, the virus could be reintroduced by— 
(A) a single infected animal, an animal product, or 
a person carrying the virus; 
(B) an act of terrorism; or 
(C) other means; 
(7) once introduced, foot-and-mouth disease can spread 
quickly through— 
(A) exposure to aerosols from infected animals; 
(B) direct contact with infected animals; and 
(C) contact with contaminated feed, equipment, or 
humans harboring the virus or carrying the virus on their 
clothing; 
89-194 O - 03 - 2 QL 3 Part 1 
115 STAT. 12 
PUBLIC LAW 107-9—MAY 24, 2001 
(8) foot-and-mouth disease is endemic to more than % 
of the world and is considered to be widespread in parts of 
Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America; 
(9) foot-and-mouth disease occurs in over 7 different 
serotypes and 60 subt5^es; 
(10) as foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks have occurred, 
the United States has banned the importation of Hve ruminants 
and swine and many animal products from countries affected 
by foot-and-mouth disease; 
(11) recently, the United States has implemented bans 
in response to outbreaks in Argentina, the European Union, 
and Taiwan; 
(12) although United States exclusion programs have been 
successful at keeping foot-and-mouth disease out of the United 
States since 1929, recent outbreaks in Argentina, the European 
Union, and Taiwan are placing an unprecedented strain on 
our animal health system; 
(13) bovine spongiform encephalopathy is a transmissible, 
neuro-degenerative disease found in cattle; 
(14) in cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the 
active agent is found primarily in the brain and spinal cord 
and has not been found in commonly consumed beef products; 
(15) bovine spongiform encephalopathy is thought to have 
an incubation period of several years but is ultimately fatal 
to cattle within weeks of onset of the active disease; 
(16) bovine spongiform encephalopathy was first widely 
found in 1986 in cattle in the United Kingdom; 
(17) bovine spongiform encephalopathy-carrying cattle have 
been found in cattle in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, 
Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, 
Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland; 
(18) cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy 
originating from the United Kingdom have been found and 
intercepted in Canada; 
(19) since 1989, the Secretary of Agriculture has prohibited 
the importation of live grazing animals from countries where 
bovine spongiform encephalopathy has been found in cattle; 
(20) other products derived from grazing animals, such 
as blood meal, bonemeal, fat, fetal bovine serum, glands, meat-
and-bone meal, and offal, are prohibited from entry, except 
under special conditions or under permits issued by the Sec-
retary of Agriculture for scientific or research purposes; 
(21) on December 12, 1997, the Secretary of Agriculture 
extended those restrictions to include all countries in Europe 
because of concerns about widespread risk factors and inad-
equate surveillance for bovine spongiform encephalopathy; 
(22) on December 7, 2000, the Secretary of Agriculture 
prohibited all imports of rendered animal protein products from 
Europe; 
(23) Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease is a human spongiform 
encephalopathy; 
(24) on March 20, 1996, the Spongiform Encephalopathy 
Advisory Committee of the United Kingdom announced the 
identification of 10 cases of a new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jacob 
disease; 
(25) all 10 patients developed onsets of the disease in 
1994 or 1995; 
PUBLIC LAW 107-9—MAY 24, 2001 
115 STAT. 13 
(26) scientific experts (including scientists at the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human 
Services, and the World Health Organization) are studying 
the possible link (including potential routes of transmission) 
between 
bovine 
spongiform 
encephalopathy 
and 
variant 
Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease; 
(27) from October 1996 to December 2000, 87 cases of 
variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease have been reported in the 
United Kingdom, 3 cases in France, and 1 case in Ireland; 
and 
(28) to reduce the risk of human spongiform encepha-
lopathies in the United States, the Commissioner of Food and 
. 
Drugs has— 
(A) banned individuals who lived in Great Britain for 
at least 180 days since 1980 from donating blood in the 
United States; and 
(B) established regulations that prohibit the feeding 
of most animal-derived proteins to grazing animals. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide the people 
of the United States and Congress with information concerning— 
(1) actions by Federal agencies to prevent foot-and-mouth 
disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and related dis-
eases; 
(2) the sufficiency of legislative authority to prevent or 
control foot-and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform encepha-
lopathy, and related diseases in the United States; 
(3) the economic impacts associated with the potential 
introduction of foot-and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy, and related diseases into the United States; 
and 
(4) the risks to public health from possible links between 
bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy 
and other 
spongiform 
encephalopathies to human illnesses. 
SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
(a) PRELIMINARY REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the date Deadline, 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
submit to the committees and subcommittees described in para-
graph (2) a preliminary report concerning— 
(A) coordinated interagency activities to assess, pre-
vent, and control the spread of foot-and-mouth disease 
and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the United 
States; 
(B) sources of information from the Federal Govern-
ment available to the public on foot-and-mouth disease 
and bovine spongiform encephalopathy; and 
¥9 
(C) any immediate needs for additional legislative 
authority, appropriations, or product bans to prevent the 
« 
introduction of foot-and-mouth disease or bovine spongi-
form encephalopathy into the United States. 
(2) SUBMISSION OF REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 
shall submit the preliminary report to— 
(A) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep-
resentatives; 
(B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For-
estry of the Senate; 
115 STAT. 14 
PUBLIC LAW 107-9—MAY 24, 2001 
Deadline. 
(C) the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Develop-
ment, and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appro-
priations of the Senate; and 
(D) the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Develop-
ment, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 
of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep-
resentatives. 
(b) FINAL REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
submit to the committees and subcommittees described in sub-
section (a)(2) a final report that— 
(A) discusses the economic impacts associated with 
the potential introduction of foot-and-mouth disease, bovine 
spongiform encephalopathy, and related diseases into the 
United States; 
(B) discusses the potential risks to public and animal 
health from foot-and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy, and related diseases; and 
(C) provides recommendations to protect the health 
of animal herds and citizens of the United States from 
those risks including, if necessary, recommendations for 
additional legislation, appropriations, or product bans. 
(2) CONTENTS.—^The report shall contain— 
(A) an assessment of the risks to the public presented 
by the potential presence of foot-and-mouth disease, bovine 
spongiform 
encephalopathy, 
and 
related 
diseases 
in 
domestic and imported livestock, livestock and animal prod-
ucts, wildlife, and blood products; 
(B) recommendations to reduce and manage the risks 
of foot-and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform encepha-
lopathy, and related diseases; 
(C) any plans of the Secretary to identify, prevent, 
and control foot-and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy, and related diseases in domestic and 
imported livestock, livestock products, wildlife, and blood 
products; 
(D) a description of the incidence and prevalence of 
foot-and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, 
variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, and related diseases in 
other countries; 
(E) a description and an analysis of the effectiveness 
of the measures, taken to assess, prevent, and control the 
risks of foot-and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform enceph-
alopathy, variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, and related 
diseases in other countries; 
(F) a description and an analysis of the effectiveness 
of the measures that the public, private, and nonprofit 
sectors have taken to assess, prevent, and control the risk 
of foot-and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform encepha-
lopathy, and related diseases in the United States, 
including controls of ports of entry and other conveyances; 
(G) a description of the measures taken to prevent 
and control the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy 
and 
variant 
Creutzfeldt-Jacob 
disease 
trsmsmission 
through blood collection and transfusion; 
PUBLIC LAW 107-9—MAY 24, 2001 
115 STAT. 15 
(H) a description of any measures (including any 
planning or managerial initiatives such as interagency, 
intergovernmental, international, and public-private sector 
partnerships) that any Federal agency plans to initiate 
or continue to assess, prevent, and control the spread of 
foot-and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, 
variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, and related diseases in 
the United States and other countries; 
(I) plans by Federal agencies (including the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention)— 
(i) to monitor the incidence and prevalence of the 
transmission of foot-and-mouth disease, bovine spongi-
form encephalopathy, variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob dis-
ease, and related diseases in the United States; and 
(ii) to assess the effectiveness of efforts to 
prevent and control the spread of foot-and-mouth dis-
ease, 
bovine 
spongiform 
encephalopathy, 
variant 
Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, and related diseases in the 
United States; 
(J) plans by Federal agencies (including the Agricul-
tural Research Service, the Cooperative State Research, 
Education, and Extension Service, and the National 
Institutes of Health) to carry out, in partnership with the 
private sector— 
(i) research programs into the causes and mecha-
nism of transmission of foot-and-mouth disease and 
bovine spongiform encephalopathy; and 
(ii) diagnostic tools and preventive and therapeutic 
agents for foot-and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy, variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, and 
related diseases; 
(K) plans for providing appropriate compensation for 
affected animals in the event of the introduction of foot-
and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or 
related diseases into the United States; and 
(L) recommendations to Congress for legislation that 
will improve efforts to assess, prevent, or control the trans-
mission of foot-and-mouth disease, bovine 
spongiform 
encephalopathy, variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, and 
related diseases in the United States and in other countries, 
(c) CONSULTATION.— 
(1) PRELIMINARY REPORT.—In preparing the preliminary 
report under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with— 
(A) the Secretary of the Treasury; 
(B) the Secretary of Commerce; 
(C) the Secretary of State; 
(D) the Secretary of Health and Human Services; 
(E) the Secretary of Defense; 
(F) the United States Trade Representative; 
(G) the Director of the Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency; and 
(H) representatives of other appropriate Federal agen-
cies; 
(2) FINAL REPORT.—In preparing the final report under 
subsection (b), the Secretary shall consult with— 
(A) the individuals listed in paragraph (1); 
115 STAT. 16 
PUBLIC LAW 107-9—MAY 24, 2001 
(B) private and nonprofit sector experts in infectious 
disease, research, prevention, and control; 
(C) international. State, and local governmental animal 
health officials; 
(D) private, nonprofit, and public sector livestock 
experts; 
(E) representatives of blood collection and distribution 
entities; and 
(F) representatives of consumer and patient organiza-
tions and other interested members of the public. 
Approved May 24, 2001. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 700: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 147 (2001): 
Apr. 5, considered and passed Senate. 
May 9, considered and passed House. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 37 (2001): 
May 24, Presidential statement.