[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 133 (Thursday, October 10, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10361-S10363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself and Mr. Kohl):
  S. 3090. A bill to provide for the testing of chronic wasting disease 
and other infectious disease in deer and elk herds, to establish the 
Interagency Task Force on Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President. I rise today to introduce legislation to 
address two emergent wildlife diseases in my state, chronic wasting 
disease, or CWD, and epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD, both of 
which have been found in Wisconsin's deer. I am pleased to be joined in 
introducing this legislation today by the Senior Senator from 
Wisconsin, Mr. Kohl. CWD was detected in wild deer in my state earlier 
this year, and, unfortunately, has now spread to captive herds. EHD was 
detected in wild deer in the last week of September. These diseases 
have become serious and substantial management problems in my home 
State of Wisconsin.
  To address CWD, the State of Wisconsin has decided to eradicate free-
ranging white tailed deer within eastern Iowa, western Dane, and 
southern Sauk counties in an effort to try to eradicate the disease. 
Wisconsin will sample and test another 50,000 deer statewide. This 
represents an unprecedented eradication and sampling effort in 
Wisconsin. Most likely, it is the largest ever undertaken in the United 
States.
  For months, the Wisconsin delegation has been unified, on a 
bipartisan basis, in seeking Federal assistance from the Administration 
to combat this problem. We have sought assistance from the United 
States Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior. We 
have pursued any and every other Federal agency that might be able to 
provide us with assistance. Some help has been forthcoming, and we are 
grateful for the help that we have received.
  But the help our State has gotten so far to combat CWD isn't near 
enough. We need to be ready for the deer hunt that begins next month. 
We need to expand the availability of CWD testing in our State, and we 
need to expand it now. Wisconsin is undertaking an unprecedented 
testing program, but USDA has refused to allow Wisconsin to certify 
private labs to run CWD tests. That is why I have authored this new 
bill to require USDA to make CWD

[[Page S10362]]

screening tests available to the public, that's the only way 
Wisconsinites can make informed decisions when hunting season arrives.
  USDA is concerned that the public may interpret the results of the 
currently available CWD tests to be more than a determination of 
whether the deer does or does not have CWD. USDA is concerned because 
the current tests have certain limitations and are only accurate in 
determining whether a deer is infected with CWD. No test has yet been 
approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a way of proving that 
deer meat is safe to eat.
  While I understand USDA's concern that an animal screening test for 
CWD should not be viewed by the public as a food safety test, at 
present there is no food safety test for venison. The CWD screening 
tests are the only tests that are available today. We should make the 
public aware of the limitations of today's tests, but we should also 
make those tests available and let the public use their own judgment. 
The World Health Organization has advised that meat from CWD-infected 
deer should not be consumed. The only way Wisconsinites can follow the 
WHO's advice and make an informed decision is to have their deer 
tested.
  This bill addresses Wisconsin's urgent short term need for enhanced 
testing capacity in two ways. First, the bill requires USDA to release, 
within 30 days, protocols both for labs to use in performing tests for 
chronic wasting disease and for the proper collection of animal tissue 
to be tested. Second, the bill requires USDA to develop a certification 
program for Federal and non-federal labs, including private labs, 
allowing them to conduct chronic wasting disease tests within 30 days 
of enactment. I hope these measures will enhance Wisconsin's capacity 
to expand deer testing this year. To address longer-term needs the bill 
directs USDA to accelerate research into the development of live animal 
tests for chronic wasting disease, including field diagnostic tests, 
and to develop testing protocols that reduce laboratory test processing 
time.
  I believe that the alternative to not expanding testing in Wisconsin 
is much worse, and much more challenging than undertaking an effort to 
educate our hunters about the limitations of current tests. The 
alternative, frankly, is the spread of this disease. We should be very 
clear that the Federal Government will be allowing this disease to 
spread if it does not act to make more testing available.
  Concerned hunters, faced with limited information, will simply choose 
not to hunt Already, the lack of testing is affecting the number of 
hunters who will take to the woods in Wisconsin this fall. Registration 
for hunting licenses in my State is already down 30 percent from this 
time last year. If we do not expand testing in Wisconsin, we will 
likely guarantee the spread of the disease.
  Failure to aggressively work to eradicate CWD before it spreads could 
allow the very resilient prions that spread the disease to survive in 
the environment for years, further complicating eradication efforts. 
And although CWD has never spread to other species, scientists have not 
ruled out that possibility, and more deer with the disease may well 
increase the risk.
  The bill also addresses another issue, the emergence of another 
animal disease, this time a viral disease, EHD. This disease has 
apparently killed eighteen deer in Iowa County, and could have spread 
beyond the deer population in Iowa County.
  This disease affects not only our deer population, but could also 
harm our world famous dairy industry. While I am told that cows don't 
frequently die from EHD, they can carry the disease, and some are 
worried that this disease could subject our dairy herds to quarantine 
if they were found to have EHD.
  Our hunters and dairy industry do seem to have caught a break when it 
comes to EHD. I understand that colder weather will kill off the biting 
insects that spread the EHD virus. This should provide some protection 
for deer and dairy cattle for the next few months. In the meantime, 
however, we must take steps to prevent the spread of this disease now 
before it becomes a problem in the spring and to prevent its possibly 
spreading to our dairy industry.
  The Administration has simply not taken sufficient steps on CWD, and 
I am concerned that it will again fail to do enough if EHD becomes a 
problem. That's why my legislation today also includes a provision to 
create an action plan to address concerns about EHD. It would require 
that the Secretary of Agriculture create a federal working group to 
outline what actions the federal government is taking now, and to 
determine the future actions that are important to take in addressing 
EHD.
  My legislation is also budget neutral. It won't cost taxpayers a 
dime. It asks USDA to undertake these activities using current funds. I 
refuse to accept that USDA cannot find the resources within its budget 
of over seventy three billion dollars to take these actions. The 
Department must find the means to develop an efficient and accurate way 
to certify private labs to conduct CWD tests following the standards 
that the USDA labs use.
  Legislative action on this problem is urgently needed. We cannot 
afford to wait, or we will allow these wildlife diseases to spread. 
This legislation is a necessary step in ensuring that we can bring 
these diseases under control and I urge its swift consideration.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 3090

       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 ``Comprehensive Wildlife 
     Disease Testing Acceleration Act of 2002''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Chronic wasting disease.--The term ``chronic wasting 
     disease'' means the animal disease that afflicts deer and 
     elk--
       (A) that is a transmissible disease of the nervous system 
     resulting in distinctive lesions in the brain; and
       (B) that belongs to the group of diseases--
       (i) that is known as transmissible spongiform 
     encephalopathies; and
       (ii) that includes scrapie, bovine spongiform 
     encephalopathy, and Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease.
       (2) Epizootic hemorrhagic disease.--The term ``epizootic 
     hemorrhagic disease'' means the animal disease afflicting 
     deer and other wild ruminants--
       (A) that is an insect-borne transmissible viral disease; 
     and
       (B) that results in spontaneous hemorraging in the muscles 
     and organs of the afflicted animals.
       (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Agriculture.
       (4) Task force.--The term ``Task Force'' means the 
     Interagency Task Force on Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease 
     established by section 4(a).

     SEC. 3. CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE SAMPLING GUIDELINES AND 
                   TESTING PROTOCOL.

       (a) Sampling Guidelines.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue guidelines 
     for the collection of animal tissue by Federal, State, 
     tribal, and local agencies for testing for chronic wasting 
     disease.
       (2) Requirements.--Guidelines issued under paragraph (1) 
     shall--
       (A) include procedures for the stabilization of tissue 
     samples for transport to a laboratory for assessment; and
       (B) be updated as the Secretary determines to be 
     appropriate.
       (b) Testing Protocol.--Not later than 30 days after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a 
     protocol to be used in the laboratory assessment of samples 
     of animal tissue that may be contaminated with chronic 
     wasting disease.
       (c) Laboratory Certification and Inspection Program.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a 
     program for the certification and inspection of Federal and 
     non-Federal laboratories (including private laboratories) 
     under which the Secretary shall authorize laboratories 
     certified under the program to conduct tests for chronic 
     wasting disease.
       (2) Verification.--In carrying out the program established 
     under paragraph (1), the Secretary may require that the 
     results of any tests conducted by private laboratories shall 
     be verified by Federal laboratories.
       (d) Development of New Tests.--Not later than 45 days after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
     accelerate research into--
       (1) the development of animal tests for chronic wasting 
     disease, including--
       (A) tests for live animals; and
       (B) field diagnostic tests; and
       (2) the development of testing protocols that reduce 
     laboratory test processing time.

[[Page S10363]]

     SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON EPIZOOTIC HEMORRHAGIC 
                   DISEASE.

       (a) In General.--There is established a Federal interagency 
     task force to be known as the ``Interagency Task Force on 
     Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease'' to coordinate activities to 
     prevent the outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease and 
     related diseases in the United States.
       (b) Membership.--The Task Force shall be composed of--
       (1) the Secretary, who shall serve as the chairperson of 
     the Task Force;
       (2) the Secretary of the Interior;
       (3) the Secretary of Commerce;
       (4) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
       (5) the Secretary of the Treasury;
       (6) the Commissioner of Food and Drugs;
       (7) the Director of the National Institutes of Health;
       (8) the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention;
       (9) the Commissioner of Customs; and
       (10) the heads of any other Federal agencies that the 
     President determines to be appropriate.
       (c) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Task Force shall submit to 
     Congress a report that--
       (1) describes any activities that are being carried out, or 
     that will be carried out, to prevent--
       (A) the outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease and 
     related diseases in the United States; and
       (B) the spread or transmission of epizootic hemorrhagic 
     disease and related diseases to dairy cattle or other 
     livestock; and
       (2) includes recommendations for--
       (A) legislation that should be enacted or regulations that 
     should be promulgated to prevent the outbreak of epizootic 
     hemorrhagic disease and related diseases in the United 
     States; and
       (B) coordination of the surveillance of and diagnostic 
     testing for epizootic hemorrhagic disease, chronic wasting 
     disease, and related diseases.

     SEC. 5. FUNDING.

       To carry out this Act, the Secretary may use funds made 
     available to the Secretary for administrative purposes.
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