[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2291 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2291

 To amend the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 to enable the 
 Secretary of the Interior to more effectively utilize the proceeds of 
                        sales of certain items.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 29, 1997

  Mr. Skaggs introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 to enable the 
 Secretary of the Interior to more effectively utilize the proceeds of 
                        sales of certain items.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (in this 
        Act referred to as the ``Service'') is responsible for storage 
        and disposal of fish and wildlife, including eagles and eagle 
        parts, and other items which have become the property of the 
        United States through abandonment or forfeiture under 
        applicable laws related to fish, wildlife, or plants.
            (2) The Service distributes many items described in 
        paragraph (1) for educational and scientific uses, and in 
        addition is responsible for the collection of dead eagles and 
        for making such eagles or parts thereof available to Native 
        Americans for religious purposes.
            (3) Some of the items described in paragraph (1) that are 
        not distributed as described in paragraph (2) can be disposed 
        of by sale.
            (4) Under current law, not all the proceeds of such sales 
        are available to cover all of the expenses incurred in such 
        sales and distributions.
            (5) Making all proceeds from such sales available to cover 
        costs incurred in such sales and distributions will result in 
        more effective implementation of the laws under which such 
        sales and distributions are carried out, and will permit the 
        Service to make more extensive distributions for educational, 
        scientific, and Native American religious purposes.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to authorize the use of 
proceeds from sales described in subsection (a)(3) for the purposes 
described in subsection (a)(5), and thereby to permit more effective 
use of such proceeds.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT.

    Section 3(c) of the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 (16 
U.S.C. 742l(c)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``Notwithstanding''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) Any revenues received from the disposition of items under 
paragraph (1), and all sums referred to in the first sentence of each 
of the provisions of law codified in sections 1540(d) and 3375(d) of 
title 16, United States Code, shall be available for--
            ``(A) payments under those provisions of law; and
            ``(B) payment of costs associated with--
                    ``(i) shipping items referred to in paragraph (1) 
                to and from storage, sale, or temporary or final 
                disposition, including temporary or permanent loan;
                    ``(ii) storage of such items, including inventory 
                and security thereof;
                    ``(iii) appraisal of such items;
                    ``(iv) sale or other disposal of such items 
                pursuant to applicable law, including auctioneer 
                commissions and related expenses;
                    ``(v) payment of any valid liens or other 
                encumbrances on such items or other steps required in 
                order to clear the title to such items; and
                    ``(vi) processing and shipping of eagles and other 
                migratory birds and parts thereof for Native American 
                religious purposes.''.
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