[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 96 (Thursday, June 26, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8760-S8761]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ALLARD (for himself, Mr. Feingold, and Mr. Crapo):
  S. 1366. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to make 
grants to State and tribal governments to assist State and tribal 
efforts to manage and control the spread of chronic wasting disease in 
deer and elk herds, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, 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. 1366

       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 ``Chronic Wasting Disease 
     Financial Assistance Act of 2003''.

      SEC. 2. DEFINITION AND FINDINGS.

       (a) Chronic Wasting Disease Defined.--In this Act, the term 
     ``chronic wasting disease'' means the animal disease 
     afflicting deer and elk that--
       (1) is a transmissible disease of the nervous system 
     resulting in distinctive lesions in the brain; and
       (2) belongs to the group of diseases known as transmissible 
     spongiform encephalopathies, which group includes scrapie, 
     bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and Cruetzfeldt-Jakob 
     disease.
       (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) The States retain undisputed primacy and policy-making 
     authority with regard to wildlife management, and nothing in 
     this Act interferes with or otherwise affects the primacy of 
     the States in managing wildlife generally, or managing, 
     surveying, and monitoring the incidence of chronic wasting 
     disease in animal populations.
       (2) Chronic wasting disease is a fundamental threat to the 
     health and vibrancy of deer and elk populations, and the 
     increased occurrence of chronic wasting disease in the United 
     States necessitates government action to manage and eradicate 
     this lethal disease.
       (3) As the States and tribal government move to manage 
     existing incidence of chronic wasting disease and insulate 
     non-infected wild cervid populations from the disease, it is 
     appropriate for the Federal Government to support their 
     efforts with financial assistance.

     SEC. 3. STATE CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE MANAGEMENT CAPACITY 
                   BUILDING GRANTS.

       (a) Grants Authorized.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
     make grants to State wildlife management agencies to assist 
     States in developing and implementing long term management 
     strategies to address chronic wasting disease in wild 
     cervids.
       (b) Eligibility.--A wildlife management agency of a State 
     whose comprehensive wildlife conservation plan include 
     chronic wasting disease management activities is eligible for 
     a grant under this section.
       (c) Funding Priorities.--In determining the amount of grant 
     funds to be provided to eligible applicants under this 
     section, the Secretary shall prioritize applicants based on 
     the following criteria:
       (1) States in which chronic wasting disease has been 
     detected and States located adjacent or in proximity to 
     States in which chronic wasting disease has been detected.
       (2) States that have expended State funds for chronic 
     wasting disease management, monitoring, surveillance, and 
     research, with additional priority given to those States

[[Page S8761]]

     that have shown the greatest financial commitment to 
     managing, monitoring, surveying, and researching chronic 
     wasting disease.
       (3) States with comprehensive and integrated policies and 
     programs focused on chronic wasting disease management 
     between involved State wildlife and agricultural agencies and 
     tribal governments, with additional priority given to States 
     that have integrated the programs and policies of all 
     involved agencies related to chronic wasting disease 
     management.
       (4) States that are seeking to develop a rapid response 
     capacity to address outbreaks of chronic wasting disease, 
     whether occurring in States in which chronic wasting disease 
     is already found or States with first infections, for the 
     purpose of containing the disease in any new area of 
     infection.
       (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated $7,500,000 to carry out this section.

      SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR STATES WITH CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE 
                   OUTBREAKS.

       (a) Grants Authorized.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
     make grants to State wildlife management agencies to assist 
     States in responding to chronic wasting disease outbreaks in 
     wild cervids.
       (b) Eligibility.--A wildlife management agency of a State 
     whose comprehensive wildlife conservation plan include 
     chronic wasting disease management activities is eligible for 
     a grant under this section.
       (c) Funding Priorities.--In determining the amount of grant 
     funds to be provided to eligible applicants under this 
     section, the Secretary shall prioritize applicants based on 
     the following criteria:
       (1) State expenditures on chronic wasting disease 
     management, monitoring, surveillance, and research in 
     response to management of an on-going outbreak.
       (2) The number of chronic wasting disease cases detected in 
     the State.
       (3) The wild cervid population of the State.
       (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out this section.

     SEC. 5. TRIBAL CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE MANAGEMENT GRANTS.

       (a) Grants Authorized.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
     make grants to tribal wildlife management agencies to assist 
     Indian tribes in developing and implementing long term 
     management strategies to address chronic wasting disease in 
     wild cervids.
       (b) Eligibility.--A wildlife management agency of an Indian 
     tribe whose comprehensive wildlife conservation plan include 
     chronic wasting disease management activities is eligible for 
     a grant under this section.
       (c) Funding Priorities.--In determining the amount of grant 
     funds to be provided to eligible applicants under this 
     section, the Secretary shall prioritize applicants based on 
     the following criteria:
       (1) Tribal governments managing lands on which cervids with 
     chronic wasting disease have been detected, or managing lands 
     located adjacent or in proximity to lands on which cervids 
     with chronic wasting disease have been detected.
       (2) Tribal governments that have expended tribal funds for 
     chronic wasting disease management, monitoring, surveillance, 
     and research, with additional priority given to tribal 
     governments that have shown the greatest financial commitment 
     to managing, monitoring, and surveying chronic wasting 
     disease.
       (3) Tribal governments with cooperative arrangements with 
     Federal and State wildlife and agricultural agencies and 
     State governments, with additional priority given to tribal 
     governments that are working with other involved agencies on 
     issues of chronic wasting disease management.
       (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated $3,000,000 to carry out this section.

     SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION.

       The Secretary of the Interior shall carry out this Act 
     acting through the Director, United States Fish and Wildlife 
     Service. Funds appropriated to carry out this Act shall be 
     administered through the Federal Assistance Program in the 
     United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Not more than three 
     percent of such funds may be expended for administrative 
     expenses of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to 
     carry out this Act.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with my colleague 
from Colorado, Mr. Allard, as a cosponsor of the Chronic Wasting 
Disease Financial Assistance Act of 2003. This legislation is similar 
to legislation, S. 1036, the Chronic Wasting Disease Support Act of 
2003, that we introduced earlier this year.
  The House Resources Committee held a hearing on June 19, 2003 on the 
issue of chronic wasting disease, or CWD. At that hearing, state agency 
representatives argued strongly that Congress should create a new grant 
program to provide assistance to states for the management of CWD. They 
also expressed an interest in having those funds distributed using an 
existing distribution mechanism. This legislation responds directly to 
these comments. In total, the bill directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service to provide $20.5 million in Federal grants to State and tribal 
governments for CWD management in wild deer and elk, $10.5 million more 
in resources than were included in the bill Senator Allard and I 
introduced earlier this year.
  The bill creates three new Federal CWD grant programs. The first 
program is a new nationwide CWD capacity grant, authorized at a total 
of $7.5 million. This program would provide grants to States so that 
they can fund CWD management programs. Preference would be given to 
States with comprehensive and integrated chronic wasting disease 
management programs involving all relevant state agencies.
  The second grant program would provide additional $10 million in 
grant assistance to states like Colorado and Wisconsin that already 
have detected chronic wasting disease in their wild deer and elk. These 
States need additional help. Wisconsin has undertaken significant 
measures to combat CWD at significant expense, and this program 
acknowledges that outbreaks are expensive to manage and require Federal 
financial assistance.
  Finally, the bill would create a third $3 million grant program to 
provide CWD management grants directly to tribal governments. To be 
eligible for these programs, States and tribes are given the ability 
under the bill to use an existing mechanism, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service Federal Assistance Act procedures to expedite the receipt of 
grant funds.
  This bill is needed because State wildlife departments and tribal 
governments do not have the financial resources to adequately confront 
the problem. Their resources are spread too thin as they attempt to 
prevent the disease from spreading. Federal help in the form of 
management funding is urgently needed. Federal funding will help States 
and tribes to protect and safeguard our valued wild deer and elk from 
this disease.
  I look forward to working with the Senate to secure passage of this 
measure. This is a good bill, and it deserves the Senate's support.
                                 ______