[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2094 Referred in House (RFH)]

  2d Session
                                S. 2094


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 14, 1998

                 Referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To amend the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 to enable the 
Secretary of the Interior to more effectively use 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fish and Wildlife Revenue 
Enhancement Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (referred 
        to in this Act as the ``Service'')--
                    (A) is responsible for storage and disposal of 
                items derived from fish, wildlife, and plants, 
                including eagles and eagle parts, and other items that 
                have become the property of the United States through 
                abandonment or forfeiture under applicable laws 
                relating to fish, wildlife, or plants;
                    (B) distributes many of those items for educational 
                and scientific uses and for religious purposes of 
                Native Americans; and
                    (C) unless otherwise prohibited by law, may dispose 
                of some of those items by sale, except items derived 
                from endangered or threatened species, marine mammals, 
                and migratory birds;
            (2) under law in effect on the date of enactment of this 
        Act, the revenue from sale of abandoned items is not available 
        to the Service, although approximately 90 percent of the items 
        in possession of the Service have been abandoned; and
            (3) making revenue from the sale of abandoned items 
        available to the Service will enable the Service--
                    (A) to cover costs incurred in shipping, storing, 
                and disposing of items derived from fish, wildlife, and 
                plants; and
                    (B) to make more extensive distributions of those 
                items for educational, scientific, and Native American 
                religious purposes.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to make proceeds from 
sales of abandoned items derived from fish, wildlife, and plants 
available to the Service and to authorize the use of those proceeds to 
cover costs incurred in shipping, storing, and disposing of those 
items.

SEC. 3. USE OF PROCEEDS OF CERTAIN SALES.

    Section 3(c) of the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 (16 
U.S.C. 742l(c)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Notwithstanding'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), 
        notwithstanding''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Prohibition on sale of certain items.--In carrying 
        out paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Interior and the 
        Secretary of Commerce may not sell any species of fish, 
        wildlife, or plant, or derivative thereof, for which the sale 
        is prohibited by another Federal law.
            ``(3) Use of revenues.--The Secretary of the Interior and 
        the Secretary of Commerce may each expend any revenues received 
        from the disposal of items under paragraph (1), and all sums 
        referred to in the first sentence of section 11(d) of the 
        Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1540(d)) and the 
        first sentence of section 6(d) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 
        1981 (16 U.S.C. 3375(d))--
                    ``(A) to make payments in accordance with those 
                sections; and
                    ``(B) to pay costs associated with--
                            ``(i) shipping items referred to in 
                        paragraph (1) to and from the place of storage, 
                        sale, or temporary or final disposal, including 
                        temporary or permanent loan;
                            ``(ii) storage of the items, including 
                        inventory of, and security for, the items;
                            ``(iii) appraisal of the items;
                            ``(iv) sale or other disposal of the items 
                        in accordance with applicable law, including 
                        auctioneer commissions and related expenses;
                            ``(v) payment of any valid liens or other 
                        encumbrances on the items and payment for other 
                        measures required to clear title to the items; 
                        and
                            ``(vi) in the case of the Secretary of the 
                        Interior only, processing and shipping of 
                        eagles and other migratory birds, and parts of 
                        migratory birds, for Native American religious 
                        purposes.''.

            Passed the Senate September 11, 1998.

            Attest:

                                                    GARY SISCO,

                                                             Secretary.