[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4848 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4848
To continue the whole-of-government approach to ending global wildlife
poaching and trafficking by permanently reauthorizing the activities of
the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 22 (legislative day, October 19), 2020
Mr. Coons (for himself and Mr. Portman) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To continue the whole-of-government approach to ending global wildlife
poaching and trafficking by permanently reauthorizing the activities of
the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking, 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 ``Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt
Wildlife Trafficking Reauthorization and Improvements Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States Government should continue to work
with international partners, including nations, nongovernmental
organizations, and the private sector, to identify long-
standing and emerging areas of concern in wildlife poaching and
trafficking all along the supply chain; and
(2) the activities and required reporting of the
Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking, established by
Executive Order 13648 (78 Fed. Reg. 40621), should be
reauthorized to minimize the disruption of the work of such
Task Force.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
Section 2 of the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife
Trafficking Act of 2016 (16 U.S.C. 7601) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through (12) as
paragraphs (9) through (13), respectively;
(2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
``(8) Intelligence community.--The term `intelligence
community' has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003).''; and
(3) in paragraph (12), as redesignated, by striking
``section 201'' and inserting ``section 301''.
SEC. 4. FRAMEWORK FOR INTERAGENCY RESPONSE AND REPORTING.
(a) Reauthorization of Report on Major Wildlife Trafficking
Countries.--Section 201 of the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt
Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016 (16 U.S.C. 7621) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``annually'' and
inserting ``biennially''; and
(2) by striking subsection (c).
(b) Reauthorization of the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife
Trafficking Responsibilities.--Section 301(a) of the Eliminate,
Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016 (16 U.S.C.
7631(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (8); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
``(5) pursue programs to expand the role of technology for
anti-poaching and anti-trafficking efforts, in partnership with
the private sector, academia, and nongovernmental organizations
(including technology companies and the transportation and
logistics sectors), including programs that--
``(A) assess the technology needs in focus
countries and promote the use of technology to improve
wildlife protection and investigation and prosecution
of wildlife crimes, while taking into account the
technological limitations within each focus country;
``(B) address wildlife crime and the wildlife
trafficking supply chain;
``(C) promote the shared costs of technology or
resources over cross-cutting sectors for multi-group
and multi-purpose use; and
``(D) support existing and new innovative finance
mechanisms for community and regionally based needs;
``(6) consider programs and initiatives that address the
expansion of the illegal wildlife trade to digital platforms,
including the use of digital currency and payment platforms for
transactions by collaborating with the private sector,
academia, and nongovernmental organizations, including social
media, e-commerce, and search engine companies, as
appropriate--
``(A) to assess how online platforms are used in
wildlife trafficking;
``(B) to identify strategies, including technology
and policy solutions, to combat wildlife trafficking
online;
``(C) to initiate online public awareness and
behavioral change campaigns to educate users of online
programs regarding spotting and reporting illegal
wildlife sale or trade activities; and
``(D) to engage with existing national and
international initiatives to combat wildlife
trafficking online by sharing the expertise of the Task
Force members and the intelligence community;
``(7) establish a procedure for removing from the list in
the biennial report any focus country or country of concern
that no longer meets the definition of a country of concern or
a focus country under paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 2,
which require the Secretary of State, in consultation with
other members of the Task Force, to consider--
``(A) the establishment of appropriate domestic
laws to combat wildlife trafficking and poaching,
including demonstrated progress in implementing such
laws;
``(B) an increase in the number of convictions for
crimes relating to wildlife trafficking;
``(C) the implementation of specialist law
enforcement units or tactics, or demonstrable
cooperative efforts;
``(D) demonstrated compliance with international
treaties or conventions, including the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora, done at Washington March 3, 1973 (27 UST
1087; TIAS 8249) to which the country is a party; and
``(E) other factors used to define focus countries
and countries of concern; and''.
(c) Reauthorization of the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife
Trafficking Strategic Review.--Section 301 of the Eliminate,
Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016 (16 U.S.C.
7631) is amended--
(1) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) an analysis of the indicators developed by the Task
Force, and recommended by the Government Accountability Office,
to track and measure inputs, outputs, law enforcement outcomes,
and public perceptions of wildlife trafficking for each focus
country listed in the report, including baseline measures for
each indicator in each focus country to document progress.'';
and
(2) by striking subsection (e).
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