[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6765 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6765

    To create a coordinated domestic wildlife disease surveillance 
   framework for State, Tribal, and local governments to monitor and 
  respond to wildlife disease outbreaks to prevent pandemics, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 13, 2023

Ms. Porter (for herself, Mr. Grijalva, and Mr. Huffman) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Energy 
    and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To create a coordinated domestic wildlife disease surveillance 
   framework for State, Tribal, and local governments to monitor and 
  respond to wildlife disease outbreaks to prevent pandemics, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Wildlife Disease 
Surveillance for Pandemic Prevention Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Funding for State and Tribal wildlife disease surveillance.
Sec. 4. Grant program.
Sec. 5. Wildlife Disease Surveillance Program.
Sec. 6. Wildlife Disease Emergency Response Program.
Sec. 7. Centers for Study and Diagnostics of Wildlife Diseases.
Sec. 8. Federal One Health Interagency Working Group.
Sec. 9. Wildlife Disease Surveillance Advisory Committee.
Sec. 10. National Wildlife Disease Database.
Sec. 11. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Advisory committee.--The term ``Advisory Committee'' 
        means the Wildlife Disease Surveillance Advisory Committee 
        established under section 9.
            (2) Database.--The term ``Database'' means the National 
        Wildlife Diseases Database established under section 10(a).
            (3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
            (4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
            (5) Interagency working group.--The term ``Interagency 
        Working Group'' means the Federal One Health Interagency 
        Working Group established under section 8.
            (6) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001(a)).
            (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (8) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, and each of the United States 
        Territories.
            (9) Task force.--The term ``Task Force'' means the Disease 
        in Wildlife Trade Task Force established under section 5(b).
            (10) Wildlife.--The term ``wildlife'' means any animal that 
        is not livestock or poultry (as such terms are defined in 
        section 2(a) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 
        183(a)).
            (11) Wildlife diseases.--The term ``wildlife diseases'' 
        means any infectious disease of wildlife that can be 
        transmitted, directly or indirectly, from an infected animal, 
        host or vector, inanimate source, or other sources.
            (12) Wildlife disease surveillance program.--The term 
        ``Wildlife Disease Surveillance Program'' means the program 
        established under section 5(a).

SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR STATE AND TRIBAL WILDLIFE DISEASE SURVEILLANCE.

    (a) Purposes.--The purposes described in this subsection are the 
following:
            (1) Monitoring wildlife for wildlife diseases.
            (2) Research and development of monitoring methods and 
        technologies to detect and diagnose wildlife diseases.
            (3) Participating in information sharing through the 
        Database.
            (4) The establishment and maintenance of programs, 
        facilities, and workforce development programs to carry out the 
        purposes described in paragraphs (1) through (3).
    (b) Wildlife Health Action Plan.--
            (1) Submission for approval.--A State or Tribe may submit a 
        wildlife health action plan, including each of the following, 
        to the Director in such form, time, and manner as the Director 
        determines appropriate:
                    (A) Descriptions of wildlife disease surveillance 
                actions proposed for monitoring wildlife disease in the 
                full array of the State or Tribe's wildlife and 
                priorities for implementing such actions.
                    (B) Plans for adapting these wildlife disease 
                surveillance actions to respond to new information or 
                changing conditions.
                    (C) Plans for managing a wildlife disease outbreak, 
                including potential containment measures and 
                appropriate biosafety and biosecurity measures.
                    (D) A plan to coordinate with relevant Federal, 
                Tribal, State, and local governments, institutes of 
                higher education, and private organizations.
                    (E) Procedures for reviewing such plan not less 
                frequently than every 5 years.
            (2) Approval process.--The Director shall, not later than 
        90 days after receiving a submission under paragraph (1), 
        approve or deny such wildlife health action plan and, in the 
        case of a denial, provide feedback to the submitting entity.
            (3) Pilot funding for wildlife health planning.--
                    (A) Establishment.--The Director and the Director 
                of the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall jointly establish 
                a program through which--
                            (i) the Director shall provide grants to 
                        States with a demonstrated financial need or 
                        lack of institutional incapacity to develop a 
                        wildlife health action plan under paragraph 
                        (1); and
                            (ii) the Director of the Bureau of Indian 
                        Affairs shall provide grants to Indian Tribes 
                        with a demonstrated financial need or lack of 
                        institutional incapacity to develop a wildlife 
                        health action plan under paragraph (1).
                    (B) Use of funds.--A recipient may use grant funds 
                received under this paragraph to develop a wildlife 
                health action plan to be submitted under paragraph (1).
                    (C) Limitation on amount of funds.--
                            (i) State funds.--The Director may not 
                        distribute under subparagraph (A) an amount in 
                        any fiscal year that exceeds 20 percent of the 
                        total amount of funds available for 
                        distribution to States under this section in 
                        such fiscal year.
                            (ii) Funds for indian tribes.--The Director 
                        of the Bureau of Indian Affairs may not 
                        distribute under subparagraph (A)) an amount in 
                        any fiscal year that exceeds 75 percent of the 
                        total amount of funds available for 
                        distribution to Indian Tribes under this 
                        section in such fiscal year.
    (c) Distribution to States.--The Director shall, in each fiscal 
year beginning after the date that is 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, distribute not less than $15,500,000 to the 
States with a wildlife health action plan for the applicable fiscal 
year approved under subsection (b)(1). In determining the allocation of 
such amount among such States, the Director shall take into account--
            (1) the land area of each such State;
            (2) the population of each such as determined in the most 
        recent census;
            (3) the presence of any source of increased risk or 
        occurrence of wildlife diseases affecting a State; and
            (4) the need to develop capacity to surveil wildlife 
        diseases in each State.
    (d) Distribution to Indian Tribes.--
            (1) In general.--The Director of the Bureau of Indian 
        affairs shall, in each fiscal year beginning after the date 
        that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
        distribute not less than $3,000,000 to Indian Tribes through a 
        noncompetitive grant program.
            (2) Criteria.--The Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
        shall, in consultation with Indian Tribes, establish criteria 
        for the distribution of funds under paragraph (1).
    (e) Participation in Information Sharing.--Each State, Indian 
Tribe, and grant recipient under this section shall participate in the 
Wildlife Disease Surveillance Program and contribute wildlife disease 
data to the Database.

SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Director shall establish a grant program to 
provide grants to eligible entities for the purposes described in 
section 3(a).
    (b) Administrative Expenses.--The Director may not expend more than 
3 percent of the amounts made available to carry out this section for 
administrative expenses.
    (c) Eligible Entities.--For the purposes of this subsection, the 
term ``eligible entities'' means an entity with expertise in carrying 
out the purposes described in section 3(a) that is--
            (1) an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under 
        section 501(a) of such Code;
            (2) an institution of higher education (as such term is 
        defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
        (20 U.S.C. 1001(a));
            (3) a part B institution (as such term is defined in 
        section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        1061));
            (4) a Tribal College or University (as such term is defined 
        in section 317(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1059d(d));
            (5) a partnership of State, local, and Tribal agencies or 
        governments that includes at representation from not less than 
        2 States or 1 State and 1 Tribe; or
            (6) a partnership between entities described in paragraph 
        (1) or (2).

SEC. 5. WILDLIFE DISEASE SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Director, acting through the Wildlife 
Health Office of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and in 
consultation with the Director of the United States Geological Survey, 
shall establish a program to--
            (1) monitor wildlife disease threats to evaluate the risk 
        posed by and impact of such diseases on the United States;
            (2) conduct research and development to create 
        statistically supported sampling frameworks for broad-scale 
        surveillance of wildlife disease threats;
            (3) conduct research on wildlife disease transmission and 
        on effective outreach to stakeholders to help manage wildlife 
        disease;
            (4) conduct statistical modeling to understand and predict 
        wildlife disease movement; and
            (5) develop testing protocols for samples suspected of 
        carrying wildlife diseases.
    (b) Wildlife Trade Task Force.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall, not later than 90 
        days after the date of the enactment of this Act, establish the 
        Disease in Wildlife Trade Task Force to carry out the following 
        purposes:
                    (A) Develop a comprehensive surveillance system of 
                wildlife imports to the United States.
                    (B) Perform risk analysis of wildlife diseases.
                    (C) Perform data analysis relating to wildlife 
                disease surveillance.
                    (D) Provide technical assistance to Federal, State, 
                Tribal, and local governments carrying out wildlife 
                disease prevention and enforcement with respect to the 
                wildlife trade.
            (2) Membership.--The Task Force shall be composed of a 
        representative of each of the following:
                    (A) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
                    (B) The United States Geological Survey.
                    (C) The Secretary of State.
                    (D) The Administrator of the United States Agency 
                for International Development.
                    (E) The Secretary of Homeland Security.
                    (F) Such State and Tribal wildlife agencies that 
                submit a request to the Secretary to participate in the 
                Task Force as do not exceed 1 State representative per 
                regions of the United States as identified by the 
                Director and 1 Tribal representative per region of the 
                United States identified by the Director of the Bureau 
                of Indian Affairs.
                    (G) The Director of the Centers for Disease 
                Control.
                    (H) The Secretary of Agriculture.
                    (I) The Secretary of Commerce.
            (3) Report.--The Task Force shall, not later than 1 year 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, submit to Congress 
        a report on--
                    (A) the available quarantine facilities for animals 
                with wildlife diseases, including through public-
                private partnerships;
                    (B) the sufficiency of such facilities to fulfill 
                the purposes of this Act; and
                    (C) legislative and regulatory recommendations, 
                determined in consultation with the Advisory Committee, 
                to improve the availability of such facilities for 
                Federal, State, and Tribal users.

SEC. 6. WILDLIFE DISEASE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Director shall establish the Wildlife 
Disease Emergency Response Program to--
            (1) provide and coordinate Federal incident command 
        training, operations, and resources specific to wildlife health 
        issues;
            (2) support emergency containment and research activities 
        in response to wildlife disease emergencies; and
            (3) establish and provide training to Federal, State, and 
        Tribal agencies on animal welfare best practices during 
        wildlife disease emergency planning and response activities.
    (b) Federal Wildlife Disease Emergency Response Fund.--There is 
hereby established in the Treasury an account to be known as the 
``Federal Wildlife Disease Emergency Response Fund'' which shall be 
available to the Secretary for the purposes described in subsection 
(c).
    (c) Authority.--
            (1) Declaration of emergency.--The Secretary may declare a 
        wildlife health emergency at the request of a Governor of a 
        State or the head of a Tribal Government. During the period of 
        such an emergency, the Secretary may--
                    (A) use the authorities and the resources granted 
                to the Secretary under Federal law to support State, 
                Tribal, and local wildlife disease emergency management 
                efforts relating to such emergency;
                    (B) coordinate emergency assistance (including 
                voluntary assistance) provided by Federal agencies, 
                private organizations, and State, Tribal, and local 
                governments relating to such emergency;
                    (C) provide technical and advisory assistance to 
                affected State, Tribal, and local governments relating 
                to--
                            (i) wildlife health and safety measures;
                            (ii) issuance of warnings of risks or 
                        hazards; and
                            (iii) providing public information relating 
                        to wildlife health and safety;
                    (D) authorize Federal spending from the Federal 
                Wildlife Disease Emergency Response fund established 
                under subsection (b) to carry out the activities 
                described in this paragraph or distributions of funds 
                from such fund to States and Tribes to carry out such 
                activities.
            (2) Federal share.--The Federal share of emergency costs 
        for the activities described in paragraph (1) with respect to 1 
        emergency may not exceed the lesser of--
                    (A) 80 percent of such costs; or
                    (B) $3,000,000, or such amount as the Secretary 
                determines appropriate if the Secretary determines, in 
                consultation with relevant Federal agencies with 
                responsibilities relating to human health, that there 
                is an immediate risk to human health or that no other 
                source of assistance is available to address such 
                emergency in a timely manner.
    (d) Wildlife Disease Emergency.--The term ``wildlife disease 
emergency'' means the occurrence of a wildlife disease that has been 
identified by an appropriate State agency that--
            (1) is caused by--
                    (A) a newly discovered pathogen;
                    (B) a known wildlife disease that is expanding its 
                geographic range; or
                    (C) a wildlife disease that is affecting a 
                previously unaffected population of a wildlife species;
            (2) poses significant threats to the sustainability of 
        wildlife populations; or
            (3) poses a significant threat to ecosystem function, 
        including ecosystem processes or resilience.

SEC. 7. CENTERS FOR STUDY AND DIAGNOSTICS OF WILDLIFE DISEASES.

    (a) Application.--Institutions of Higher Education may submit an 
application to the Director of the United States Geological Survey in 
such time, place, and manner as the Director determines appropriate to 
enter into a cooperative agreement to operate a Center for the Study 
and Diagnostics of Wildlife Diseases.
    (b) Criteria for Evaluation.--The Director of the United States 
Geological Survey, in consultation with the Interagency Working Group 
and the Advisory Committee, shall establish criteria for evaluation of 
applications submitted under subsection (a), including--
            (1) including laboratory capabilities;
            (2) strength of veterinary, public health, and ecology 
        programs;
            (3) dedicated expert staff; and
            (4) working relationships with State agencies, Indian 
        Tribes, and other key partners.
    (c) Minimum Number of Centers.--The Director shall, not later than 
2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, approve not less 
than 3 complete applications submitted under subsection (a).
    (d) Geographic Distribution.--In approving applications under this 
section, the Director shall ensure that the centers are geographically 
distributed across the United States.
    (e) Purpose.--Each center established under this section shall--
            (1) provide technical assistance to States and Indian 
        Tribes to carry out the purposes described in section 3(a);
            (2) establish partnerships with local institutions of 
        higher education to conduct surveillance and treatment of 
        wildlife diseases and research, including relevant ecological 
        research;
            (3) advance wildlife disease surveillance workforce 
        development;
            (4) develop, validate, and deploy diagnostic tests for 
        wildlife diseases;
            (5) provide diagnostic services to Federal, State, and 
        Tribal government agencies.

SEC. 8. FEDERAL ONE HEALTH INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of the Interior, the Director of 
the Centers for Disease Control, the Secretary of Commerce, and the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall establish the Federal One Health 
Interagency Working Group to strengthen One Health collaboration 
related to the prevention, detection, control, and response for the 
prioritized zoonotic diseases and related One Health work across the 
Federal Government.
    (b) Chair.--The members of the Interagency Working Group shall 
rotate serving as Chair of such Unit at a frequency to be determined 
jointly by such members.
    (c) Determination of Agency Responsibility.--The Interagency 
Working Group shall determine the responsibilities of each member 
agency with respect to the surveillance and treatment of and research 
and development programs relating to wildlife diseases.
    (d) Participation of Other Federal Agencies.--The Interagency 
Working Group may invite a Federal agency with a mission related to the 
purposes of this Act to participate as a member in such working group.
    (e) Unit Coordinator.--Each Federal agency that is a member of the 
Interagency Working Group shall appoint a dedicated coordinator to 
coordinate the activities of such agency with such working group.
    (f) Coordinator for Secretary of Interior.--The Coordinator 
appointed by the Secretary of the Interior under subsection (e) shall 
be a direct subordinate of such Secretary.

SEC. 9. WILDLIFE DISEASE SURVEILLANCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish the Wildlife 
Disease Surveillance Advisory Committee within the Department of the 
Interior.
    (b) Appointment of Members.--The Advisory Committee shall be 
composed of--
            (1) representatives of--
                    (A) the Chairperson of the Association of Fish and 
                Wildlife Agencies' Fish and Wildlife Health Committee;
                    (B) the Director of the United States Geological 
                Survey;
                    (C) the Director of the Animal and Plant Health 
                Inspection Service;
                    (D) the Director of the National Oceanic and 
                Atmospheric Administration;
                    (E) the Director;
                    (F) each of the regional Associations of Fish And 
                Wildlife Agencies;
                    (G) each of the Wildlife Disease Centers; and
                    (H) Indian Tribes from each region of the United 
                States identified by the Director of the Bureau of 
                Indian Affairs;
            (2) 4 academic representatives from institutions of higher 
        education appointed by the Secretary for expertise in wildlife 
        population health, epidemiology, biology, ecology, 
        conservation, or natural resource management; and
            (3) 1 representative of a relevant public or private 
        organization appointed by the Secretary for expertise in 
        wildlife population health, epidemiology, biology, ecology, 
        conservation, or natural resource management.
    (c) Term of Appointment.--Each council member appointed under 
paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b) shall serve a term of up to 4 
years.

SEC. 10. NATIONAL WILDLIFE DISEASE DATABASE.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish and maintain the 
National Wildlife Disease Database to centralize data relating to 
wildlife diseases.
    (b) Required Submission of Information.--Each Federal agency and 
each recipient of a grant under section 4 with information relating to 
domestic wildlife diseases shall submit such data to the Database as 
the Secretary, in consultation with the Advisory Committee, determines 
appropriate.
    (c) Format of Information.--The Advisory Committee shall establish 
a uniform format for data submissions to the Database.
    (d) Diseases Included.--The Advisory Committee and the Interagency 
Working Group shall jointly, not later than 18 months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, establish and maintain a list of diseases 
subject to reporting under this section.
    (e) Federal Agency Access.--The Secretary shall provide access to 
the database to--
            (1) the Director of the Centers for Disease Control;
            (2) the Secretary of Agriculture;
            (3) the Secretary of Commerce; and
            (4) such other heads of Federal, State, and Tribal agencies 
        as the Secretary determines appropriate.
    (f) Regulations.--The Secretary may issue such regulations as the 
Secretary determines appropriate to carry out this section.
    (g) Study.--The Secretary shall, not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, submit a report to Congress on the 
most appropriate way to structure the National Wildlife Disease 
Database to make data as available to the public as possible without 
disclosing sensitive data relating to Tribal sovereign data, data that 
poses a threat to national security or public health, or sensitive 
State or private data.

SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for 
fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter the following amounts:
            (1) to the Director--
                    (A) $19,505,000 to carry out section 3;
                    (B) $15,000,000 to carry out section 5;
                    (C) $5,000,000 to carry out section 6; and
                    (D) $10,000,000, to remain available until 
                expended, to be deposited in the Federal Wildlife 
                Disease Emergency Response Fund established under 
                section 6(b);
            (2) to the Director of the United States Geological 
        Survey--
                    (A) $20,000,000 to be distributed to the Centers 
                for the Study and Diagnostics of Wildlife Diseases 
                established under section 7; and
                    (B) $10,000,000 million to carry out section 5;
            (3) to the Secretary--
                    (A) $400,000 to carry out section 9; and
                    (B) $10,000,000 for the purposes of carrying out 
                section 10.
    (b) Grant Program.--There is hereby authorized to be appropriated 
to the Director $27,000,000 for fiscal years 2024 through 2026 to carry 
out section 4.
    (c) Report.--There is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 to 
the Secretary for fiscal year 2024, to remain available until expended, 
to carry out section 5(b)(3).
                                 <all>