[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 63 (Wednesday, May 9, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H2051-H2053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  ANIMAL DISEASE RISK ASSESSMENT, PREVENTION, AND CONTROL ACT OF 2001

  Mr. EVERETT. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 700) 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, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Alabama?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate bill, as follows:

                                 S. 700

         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

[[Page H2052]]

     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

[[Page H2053]]

     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.
  Mr. STENHOLM. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this bill 
that deals with two, separate, animal health issues facing our nation. 
While Foot and Mouth Disease and BSE, commonly called ``Mad Cow'' 
disease, are not related, they are both concerns to agricultural 
producers and citizens of this Nation. We are thankful that our efforts 
have successfully prevented the introduction of either of these 
diseases into the United States and we all want to work to maintain our 
disease-free status.
  I am hopeful that reports and the coordination encouraged by this 
bill will help to keep us free from both these diseases. The U.S. 
Department of Agriculture has done an excellent job thus far, but I 
hope that increased thought and coordination will help to make our 
efforts even better.
  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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