[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 700 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.700

                      One Hundred Seventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
             the third day of January, two thousand and one


                                 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.

    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 ``Animal Disease Risk Assessment, 
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;
        (8) foot-and-mouth disease is endemic to more than \2/3\ 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 subtypes;
        (10) as foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks have occurred, the 
    United States has banned the importation of live 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 Secretary 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 inadequate 
    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;
        (26) scientific experts (including scientists at the Department 
    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 encephalopathies 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 diseases;
        (2) the sufficiency of legislative authority to prevent or 
    control foot-and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, 
    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 of 
    enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to 
    the committees and subcommittees described in paragraph (2) a 
    preliminary report concerning--
            (A) coordinated interagency activities to assess, prevent, 
        and control the spread of foot-and-mouth disease and bovine 
        spongiform encephalopathy in the United States;
            (B) sources of information from the Federal Government 
        available to the public on foot-and-mouth disease and bovine 
        spongiform encephalopathy; and
            (C) any immediate needs for additional legislative 
        authority, appropriations, or product bans to prevent the 
        introduction of foot-and-mouth disease or bovine spongiform 
        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 
        Representatives;
            (B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
        of the Senate;
            (C) the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and 
        Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of the 
        Senate; and
            (D) the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, 
        Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies of the 
        Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
    (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 subsection (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 products, wildlife, 
        and blood products;
            (B) recommendations to reduce and manage the risks of foot-
        and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, 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 encephalopathy, 
        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 encephalopathy, 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 transmission through blood 
        collection and transfusion;
            (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 spongiform 
            encephalopathy, variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, 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 disease, 
            bovine spongiform encephalopathy, variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob 
            disease, and related diseases in the United States;
            (J) plans by Federal agencies (including the Agricultural 
        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 mechanism 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 transmission 
        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 Management 
        Agency; and
            (H) representatives of other appropriate Federal agencies;
        (2) Final report.--In preparing the final report under 
    subsection (b), the Secretary shall consult with--
            (A) the individuals listed in paragraph (1);
            (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 organizations 
        and other interested members of the public.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.