[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1912 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1912

 To establish a global network for avian influenza surveillance among 
wild birds nationally and internationally to combat the growing threat 
                  of bird flu, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 24, 2005

 Mr. Lieberman introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a global network for avian influenza surveillance among 
wild birds nationally and internationally to combat the growing threat 
                  of bird flu, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Global Network for Avian Influenza 
Surveillance Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the ongoing panzootic of highly pathogenic avian 
        influenza strain H5N1 in Asia and Eurasia is a threat to global 
        human health and the global poultry industry;
            (2) the HPAI virus is capable of causing massive avian die-
        offs, and response can easily involve the culling of tens of 
        millions of domestic poultry or domestic waterfowl, resulting 
        in significant economic losses;
            (3) the fatality rate due to infection in humans may be 30 
        to 50 percent or more;
            (4) recent outbreaks in 2005 of H5N1 in waterfowl in 
        western China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Romania, and Turkey suggest 
        that the virus may have entered the Central Asian Flyway and 
        may consequently spread throughout central and southern Asia, 
        Europe, and Africa, as well as spanning the Arctic to reach 
        North America;
            (5) it has long been known that wild birds are a reservoir 
        host for avian influenza viruses worldwide;
            (6) the 1918 pandemic, the most lethal of the 3 pandemics 
        that killed over 40,000,000 people worldwide, was caused by an 
        influenza virus that initially jumped directly from birds to 
        humans and subsequently evolved an ability to transmit from 
        human-to-human;
            (7) this precedent for an avian influenza virus to transmit 
        directly from birds to humans, then spread among humans, 
        significantly raises the concern about the current H5N1 
        influenza strain;
            (8) increased surveillance, including on migratory birds, 
        is critical to controlling avian influenza;
            (9) the capacity to proactively detect the threats could 
        result in significantly improved disease prediction and 
        prevention capabilities;
            (10) international wildlife health surveillance does not 
        clearly fall under the jurisdiction of any Federal or 
        international agency;
            (11) there is a continued inability to share real-time data 
        across the human, agricultural, wildlife, and veterinary 
        agencies on zoonotic threats;
            (12) while surveillance at domestic poultry and domestic 
        waterfowl production facilities and farms is an immediate and 
        on-going monitoring need and is being supported through 
        relevant agencies, surveillance in wild bird populations that 
        may have been exposed to the virus has now become a critical 
        component to determine the spread of the virus, implement 
        control measures, and protect human, livestock, and wildlife 
        health;
            (13) monitoring and surveillance of wild migratory and 
        resident water birds are critically important to identifying 
        all strains of influenza viruses in wild birds as a library of 
        possible genotypes, determining their role in spread of the 
        virus, and anticipating where outbreaks may occur to enhance 
        preparedness; and
            (14) improving surveillance of wildlife health around the 
        world would close significant jurisdictional and scientific 
        gaps in current global influenza preparedness.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to establish a Global Network for Avian 
Influenza Surveillance--
            (1) to more rapidly and efficiently detect, verify, and 
        report on the presence of infectious diseases, such as highly 
        pathogenic avian influenza, in migratory birds and resident 
        waterfowl around the world;
            (2) to use information on viral strains found during 
        surveillance of wild birds to better delineate any mutations in 
        the virus that may be detectable within wild bird populations;
            (3) to use information on when and where HPAI and other 
        pathogens of concern are identified in migratory birds--
                    (A) to better guide preparedness in the United 
                States and around the world; and
                    (B) to carry out a comprehensive migratory bird 
                disease surveillance initiative that will provide 
                regions, countries, and specific locations with early 
                warning information that will help target resources 
                toward enhancement of poultry biosecurity and 
                surveillance, heightened public health vigilance, and 
                related areas;
            (4) to create an open access database within which 
        information on HPAI and other pathogens of interest identified 
        in migratory birds can be shared as close to real time as 
        possible;
            (5) to protect the health and safety of United States 
        citizens and officials traveling or living abroad; and
            (6) to protect the economic interests of the United States 
        and its partners from threats to health, agriculture, and 
        natural resources.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Eligible organization.--The term ``eligible 
        organization'' means a nongovernmental wildlife conservation 
        organization chartered in the United States with--
                    (A) extensive global wildlife health experience in 
                tracking disease in wild birds, including free-ranging, 
                captive, and wild bird species;
                    (B) proven ability in identifying avian influenza 
                in wild birds; and
                    (C) accredited zoological facilities in the United 
                States.
            (2) GNAIS.--The term ``GNAIS'' means the Global Network for 
        Avian Influenza Surveillance established under section 5(a).
            (3) GNAIS partners.--The term ``GNAIS partners'' means the 
        partners of the GNAIS described in section 5(c).
            (4) HPAI.--The term ``HPAI'' means highly pathogenic avian 
        influenza.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services, acting--
                    (A) through the Influenza Branch of the Centers for 
                Disease Control and Prevention; and
                    (B) in partnership with an eligible organization.

SEC. 5. GLOBAL NETWORK FOR AVIAN INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall offer to enter into a 
contract with 1 or more eligible organizations to establish a Global 
Network for Avian Influenza Surveillance.
    (b) Partners.--In administering the GNAIS, the Secretary and the 
eligible organization shall collaborate with appropriate--
            (1) Federal and State agency partners, including--
                    (A) the Department of Agriculture, acting through--
                            (i) the Agricultural Research Service; and
                            (ii) the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
                        Service;
                    (B) the Department of the Interior, acting 
                through--
                            (i) the United States Geological Survey; 
                        and
                            (ii) the United States Fish and Wildlife 
                        Service; and
                    (C) various State wildlife agencies in the United 
                States;
            (2) multilateral agency partners, including--
                    (A) the Food and Agriculture Organization;
                    (B) the World Health Organization;
                    (C) the Office International des Epizooties, the 
                world animal health organization; and
                    (D) the World Conservation Union;
            (3) conservation organizations with expertise in 
        international and domestic bird monitoring and surveillance;
            (4) accredited colleges of veterinary medicine; and
            (5) other national and international partners, as 
        necessary.
    (c) International Surveillance.--The eligible organization, in 
coordination with the Influenza Branch of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, shall manage an international surveillance 
program under which Federal GNAIS partners shall, and non-Federal GNAIS 
partners are encouraged to--
            (1) monitor and test for the presence or arrival of avian 
        influenza and other significant avian pathogens at important 
        bird areas around the world and in marketplaces with intense 
        trade in wild birds;
            (2) use trained professionals to collect samples and other 
        data and send samples to appropriate diagnostic centers;
            (3) use the GNAIS, in partnership with relevant agencies 
        and organizations, for conducting--
                    (A) disease surveillance activities on migratory 
                birds worldwide;
                    (B) domestic and international field investigations 
                on migratory birds;
                    (C) training and capacity-building activities 
                related to the relationships between human health, 
                domestic animal health, and wildlife health; and
                    (D) research on methods and approaches for 
                detection and enhanced surveillance of HPAI and other 
                pathogens in migratory birds; and
            (4) send samples for avian influenza testing to certified 
        laboratories that--
                    (A) meet internationally established methods 
                standards;
                    (B) are located at--
                            (i) the Influenza Branch of the Centers for 
                        Disease Control and Prevention;
                            (ii) the Office International des 
                        Epizooties, the world animal health 
                        organization;
                            (iii) the Food and Agriculture 
                        Organization;
                            (iv) National Veterinary Services 
                        Laboratories of the Department of Agriculture; 
                        or
                            (v) the Agricultural Research Service; and
                    (C) report the findings back to the eligible 
                organization and GNAIS partners.
    (d) Network.--
            (1) Partners.--Federal GNAIS partners shall, and non-
        Federal GNAIS partners are encouraged to, transmit information 
        related to global distribution and characteristics of avian 
        influenza to the Secretary acting through the eligible 
        organization.
            (2) Administration.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        eligible organization, shall--
                    (A) use surveillance reports and other formal and 
                informal sources of information to identify and 
                investigate local disease outbreaks of avian influenza, 
                in coordination with GNAIS partners;
                    (B) develop a long-term baseline of regional data 
                related to HPAI and pathogens in migratory birds for 
                analysis between and across sites to create a system to 
                identify when and where outbreaks might occur and paths 
                of dispersal;
                    (C) provide technical assistance for disease 
                prevention and control programs based on scientific 
                understanding of the relationships between wildlife 
                health, domestic animal health, and human health;
                    (D) provide analytical disease findings regularly 
                to the Influenza Branch of the Centers for Disease 
                Control and Prevention and other Federal GNAIS partners 
                to prevent or combat human diseases;
                    (E) conduct other activities as are necessary to 
                support the GNAIS network and GNAIS partners; and
                    (F) coordinate GNAIS surveillance results at the 
                headquarters of the eligible organization.
    (e) Database.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the eligible 
        organization, shall manage, map, and make available on a 
        database on the Internet all results and information gathered 
        under this Act.
            (2) Requirements.--The database shall--
                    (A) provide geographic data on wild bird 
                populations and the movements of the populations and 
                laboratory test results; and
                    (B) be available for viewing by any Federal agency, 
                foreign country, multilateral institution, 
                organization, or individual.
    (f) Training.--The Secretary shall request accredited colleges of 
veterinary medicine and other GNAIS partners to train members of the 
GNAIS network to--
            (1) monitor important bird areas around the world; and
            (2) test for the presence or arrival of avian influenza and 
        other significant avian pathogens of zoonotic concern.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010.
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