[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4963 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4963

   To support Federal, State, and Tribal coordination and management 
efforts relating to wildlife disease and zoonotic disease surveillance 
    and ongoing and potential wildlife disease and zoonotic disease 
                   outbreaks, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2024

  Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Mr. Lujan, Ms. Smith, and Ms. Klobuchar) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To support Federal, State, and Tribal coordination and management 
efforts relating to wildlife disease and zoonotic disease surveillance 
    and ongoing and potential wildlife disease and zoonotic disease 
                   outbreaks, 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 ``Wildlife-Agriculture Disease 
Prevention Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) zoonotic diseases are a significant threat to human 
        populations, livestock, domestic animals, and wildlife, which 
        is evidenced by the fact that--
                    (A) more than 6 out of every 10 known infectious 
                diseases in human populations originated in animals; 
                and
                    (B) 3 out of every 4 new or emerging infectious 
                diseases in human populations originate from animals;
            (2) zoonotic diseases are capable of transmitting between 
        wildlife, livestock, domestic animals, and human populations;
            (3) the majority of recent emerging infectious diseases 
        have originated in wildlife;
            (4) zoonotic disease spillover events are occurring more 
        frequently;
            (5) many wildlife diseases and zoonotic diseases, such as 
        highly pathogenic avian influenza, are highly transmissible and 
        have spilled over to livestock and domestic animals;
            (6) chronic wasting disease is transmissible between wild 
        and captive deer and elk;
            (7) bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis spilled over from 
        cattle to wildlife;
            (8) outbreaks of wildlife diseases and zoonotic diseases 
        have significant adverse effects on the United States economy, 
        with the 2022 avian flu outbreak resulting in economic costs of 
        $3,000,000,000;
            (9) outbreaks of wildlife diseases and zoonotic diseases 
        pose a significant public health threat and may lead to a 
        public health emergency;
            (10) the Department of Agriculture, Department of the 
        Interior, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention play 
        distinct but complementary roles in the prevention, detection, 
        control, and response to wildlife diseases and zoonotic 
        diseases;
            (11) State fish and wildlife agencies exercise primary 
        statutory authority over the management of fish and wildlife as 
        public trust resources within their borders;
            (12) the Department of Agriculture is primarily responsible 
        for safeguarding the health of livestock, developing and 
        conducting monitoring and surveillance for livestock diseases, 
        and preventing the spread of diseases that pose a threat to the 
        agricultural industry;
            (13) the Department of the Interior has a responsibility to 
        develop monitoring and surveillance techniques for highly 
        pathogenic avian influenza and other emerging wildlife 
        diseases, including diseases with zoonotic potential;
            (14) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the 
        leading public health agency responsible for--
                    (A) monitoring and responding to human health 
                threats posed by wildlife diseases and zoonotic 
                diseases; and
                    (B) conducting surveillance and research and 
                providing guidance to prevent and control the spread of 
                wildlife diseases and zoonotic diseases to and among 
                humans;
            (15) increased coordination and collaboration between 
        Federal, State, and Tribal agencies with respect to wildlife 
        disease and zoonotic disease efforts is necessary to adequately 
        monitor and respond to ongoing and potential wildlife disease 
        and zoonotic disease outbreaks;
            (16) establishing a Agriculture-Wildlife Disease 
        Coordinator as an intermediary between the Department of 
        Agriculture, the Department of the Interior, and the Centers 
        for Disease Control and Prevention would facilitate 
        communication, information sharing, and coordinated efforts to 
        prevent, detect, and respond to wildlife disease and zoonotic 
        disease outbreaks; and
            (17) the coordinated efforts described in paragraph (16) 
        are essential to protect public health, wildlife populations, 
        and agricultural interests from the impacts of wildlife 
        diseases and zoonotic diseases.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Agriculture-wildlife disease coordinator.--The term 
        ``Agriculture-Wildlife Disease Coordinator'' means the 
        individual appointed to the position established by section 
        4(a).
            (2) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
            (3) Livestock.--The term ``livestock'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 10403 of the Animal Health Protection 
        Act (7 U.S.C. 8302).
            (4) Wildlife disease.--The term ``wildlife disease'' means 
        any infectious disease originating in wildlife that can be 
        transmitted, directly or indirectly, from an infected animal, 
        host or vector, inanimate source, or any other source to non-
        human animals, including wildlife, livestock, and domestic 
        animals.
            (5) Zoonotic disease.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``zoonotic disease'' 
                means any disease that is naturally transmissible 
                between animals and humans.
                    (B) Inclusion.--The term ``zoonotic disease'' 
                includes a wildlife disease.

SEC. 4. AGRICULTURE-WILDLIFE DISEASE COORDINATOR.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established within the United States 
Fish and Wildlife Service a position, to be known as the ``Agriculture-
Wildlife Disease Coordinator'', to be jointly appointed by the Director 
of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Administrator of 
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, to serve as a liaison 
between the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of 
Homeland Security, and other relevant Federal, State, and Tribal 
agencies, as determined necessary by the Director of the United States 
Fish and Wildlife Service and the Administrator of the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service.
    (b) Qualification.--The Agriculture-Wildlife Disease Coordinator 
shall have expertise in wildlife health, agricultural animal veterinary 
science, epidemiology, or another related field.
    (c) Duties.--The Agriculture-Wildlife Disease Coordinator shall--
            (1) establish relationships with relevant Federal, State, 
        and Tribal agencies to carry out the purposes of this Act;
            (2) facilitate information sharing about existing and 
        emerging wildlife disease, including disease in livestock and 
        domestic animals, and zoonotic disease outbreaks between 
        States, including State departments of agriculture, 
        environment, natural resources, fish and wildlife, and public 
        health and State animal health officials, Indian Tribes, the 
        National Animal Health Laboratory Network, the National 
        Wildlife Health Center of the United States Geological Survey, 
        the Department of Agriculture, the United States Fish and 
        Wildlife Service, the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, the Department of Homeland Security, and other 
        relevant Federal agencies, as determined by the Director of the 
        United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Administrator 
        of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service;
            (3) assist States and Indian Tribes in accessing resources, 
        including applying for funding, to work on wildlife disease 
        issues, including diseases--
                    (A) with potential to transmit between wildlife and 
                livestock or domestic animals; and
                    (B) with zoonotic potential;
            (4) coordinate--
                    (A) between States, including State departments of 
                agriculture, environment, natural resources, fish and 
                wildlife, and public health and State animal health 
                officials, and Federal agencies; and
                    (B) with other relevant entities engaged in 
                wildlife disease and zoonotic disease testing, 
                monitoring, surveillance, and management activities, 
                including entities convened by the Association of Fish 
                and Wildlife Agencies;
            (5) develop and share best management practices relating to 
        wildlife diseases and zoonotic diseases prepared by the 
        Department of Agriculture, the United States Fish and Wildlife 
        Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 
        State and Tribal agencies between those Federal agencies and 
        State and Tribal agencies, including State departments of 
        agriculture, environment, natural resources, fish and wildlife, 
        and public health and State animal health officials; and
            (6) submit to Congress a report on recommendations for 
        improving interagency coordination and additional resources 
        necessary to address and prevent wildlife disease and zoonotic 
        disease outbreaks.
    (d) Best Management Practices.--Best management practices developed 
and shared under subsection (c)(5) may include voluntary guidance 
relating to the humane dispatch of animals in the field, surveillance 
and monitoring techniques, biosecurity and biosafety measures, public 
education, and other information, as determined necessary by the 
Agriculture-Wildlife Disease Coordinator.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as are necessary for 
fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter.
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