[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 24 (Thursday, February 7, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1135-S1137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Jones, Ms. Baldwin, 
        Mr. Boozman, Mrs. Capito, Ms. Collins, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Cramer, 
        Mr. Enzi, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Gardner, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Hoeven, 
        Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Johnson, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Manchin, 
        Mr. Peters, Ms. Smith, Mr. Thune, Mr. Udall, Mr. Wicker, and 
        Mr. Wyden):
  S. 382. A bill to authorize a special resource study on the spread 
vectors of chronic wasting disease in Cervidae, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I have spoken many times in this Chamber 
about human health from my perspective as an orthopedic surgeon. Today, 
I am here to talk about a different crisis that is facing our Nation.
  Earlier today, 24 of my colleagues joined me in introducing a bill to 
combat chronic wasting disease in cervid populations across this 
country. Chronic wasting disease is a terrible degenerative brain 
disease. It affects captive and wild deer, elk, moose, and caribou in 
at least 26 States and several Canadian Provinces. It is highly 
contagious and always fatal.
  In my home State of Wyoming, chronic wasting disease was first 
detected back in 1985. Since then, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department 
has partnered with scientists, State wildlife managers, and Federal 
Agencies to understand how the disease spreads. Many other state 
agencies have forged similar partnerships to study the same things. 
Over the last 34 years, their work has shown that the disease is spread 
by prions, but how these prions actually infect animals remains a 
mystery.
  The disease can be transmitted through nose-to-nose contact, through

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animal waste, or through carcasses of infected animals. Some studies 
have suggested that prions can remain in affected soil for up to 16 
years.
  Well, there is a lot we still don't know about the disease, including 
the risk to humans. Chronic wasting disease is a type of transmissible 
spongiform encephalopathy, like bovine spongiform encephalopathy and 
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
  There are a number of diseases I studied in medical school from a 
human standpoint that now seem to be affecting animals as well.
  There have been no reported cases of this chronic wasting disease in 
humans as of this time, but the Centers for Disease Control takes the 
risk of human infection quite seriously. The CDC developed a list of 
things people can do to reduce their own risk of consuming meat from an 
infected animal. Across the country, many people rely on meat they 
harvest from deer, moose, and elk to feed their families. For them 
hunting is not a recreational activity but an important part of their 
way of life.
  Hunting also contributes tens of billions of dollars in economic 
activity each year. Those dollars fund important wildlife research and 
habitat conservation and contribute nearly 10,000 jobs in Wyoming 
alone. Dollars derived from the sales of tags or hunting licenses and 
hunting equipment are used by State wildlife agencies to carry out 
important monitoring, management, and conservation work.
  If this disease persists and we cannot instill confidence in the 
public that the risk can be controlled, hunting will decrease. Fewer 
licenses sold means less money for our wildlife agencies, which means 
less research. So we need to act now.
  Chronic wasting disease threatens the iconic deer, elk, and moose 
herds that roam our State. It is a threat to our western heritage, but 
it is not just a western problem. Chronic wasting disease has found its 
way to Alabama, New York, and Pennsylvania. After finding the disease 
late last year, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency now requires 
hunters to check in their deer at physical locations to check for 
infection. The Muley Fanatic Foundation in Wyoming, which does 
fantastic work, told me there is no bigger threat to our big game 
populations than the spread of chronic wasting disease.
  The bill is being introduced today. Senator Jones from Alabama is on 
the floor and is going to speak next. The bill we have introduced today 
requires the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service and the U.S. Geological Survey to work with the 
National Academies of Science to answer some important questions about 
chronic wasting disease. They will review gaps in current scientific 
knowledge about transmission. They will review where Federal and State 
best management practices can better align, and they will review the 
areas at greatest risk for new infections.
  State wildlife managers need answers to these questions so they can 
coordinate prevention and control efforts among their States and so 
they can target their research to fill in any gaps in current 
knowledge.
  Chronic wasting disease is not a new threat, but it is one that has 
fundamentally changed our efforts to manage and conserve wildlife. 
Unchecked, this disease can truly be catastrophic for wildlife and for 
local economies. Across our Nation, whole industries are built around 
wildlife, tourism, wildlife watching, and deer and elk farming.
  I believe this bill and this research can make a real difference. So 
I am glad that so many of my colleagues agree and have cosponsored this 
legislation.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. President, first, I would like to thank my colleague 
from Wyoming for his work today and for his work on this very, very 
important issue of chronic wasting disease and prevention. This is an 
issue of great importance not only to Alabama but to 26 other States--
from Wyoming to Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. This is an issue 
which, if we fail to act, will result in an environmental and economic 
crisis.
  Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, is truly a terrible, contagious 
neurological illness that affects all deer, elk, and moose populations 
nationwide. It is a disease that is as bad as it sounds. It functions 
much like mad cow disease.
  Senator Barrasso gave all of the scientific words. He has a little 
bit more training in that than I do. So I will just call it what it 
is--mad cow disease and neurological disorders.
  It attacks an animal's nervous system and, over time, renders the 
animal weak and emaciated, with little control over its body. The 
disease has a fatality rate of 100 percent. Every single animal that 
contracts this disease dies. It is highly communicable, spreading not 
only through physical contact but also through contaminated 
environments where infected animals have been.
  The jury is still out on whether chronic wasting disease may be 
transmitted to humans, but the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention recommend against consuming animals contaminated with the 
disease. In 2017, a Canadian study documented transmission through 
consumption of contaminated meat to a nonhuman primate. Clearly, this 
is something to be very concerned and cautious about because of the 
clear and concrete evidence that it could be transmitted to humans.
  The fact is, the disease is spreading, and it is spreading fast. Even 
if it does not pose an immediate health threat to humans or at least a 
documented health threat right now, it poses a serious significant 
financial threat to Alabama and many other States.
  The total annual economic contribution of deer hunting to the U.S. 
economy is close to $40 billion. In fact, as a hunting company, if it 
were a publicly-traded company, it would fall in the top 100 on the 
Fortune 500 list.
  The hunting industry in Alabama generates $2.6 billion every year for 
the State's economy, and according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, deer hunting alone generates nearly $2 billion or roughly 80 
percent of that amount. Obviously, this makes deer hunting sound like a 
very big business, and it is. It is a big business in Alabama, and it 
is a big business across the country.
  But make no mistake. It is more than just that. It is more than just 
an economy. It is more than money that comes into our community. Any 
hunter in Alabama will tell you that hunting is not only a time-honored 
tradition and a recreational pastime. It is in our State and in so many 
others a way of life.
  Hunters in Alabama will also tell you about the devastating effect 
that CWD can have in the State of Alabama. They use the word 
``disaster,'' and they are not exaggerating.
  Chronic wasting disease is spreading throughout the country, and it 
is closing in on Alabama. Cases have already been confirmed in southern 
Tennessee and northeastern Mississippi. A study out of the University 
of Tennessee in Knoxville on the projected impacts of chronic wasting 
disease in Tennessee has predicted a nearly $100 million total loss to 
that State alone.
  We are thankful currently that no deer in Alabama have yet tested 
positive for CWD, which is a testament to the hard work being done by 
groups like the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural 
Resources, but State agencies alone cannot address this problem. Their 
budgets are already strained by the activities that they currently 
undertake to monitor and manage the disease as well as the many other 
fine programs they manage in my State and elsewhere.
  Adequate resources must be devoted to studying the transmission of 
this disease and developing strategies for its containment. If it 
doesn't happen, then CWD, or chronic wasting disease, in Alabama and in 
other States not yet affected becomes not a question of if but when.
  That is why today, along with Senator Barrasso from Wyoming and 
Senator Bennet from Colorado, we are proud to introduce the Chronic 
Wasting Disease Transmission in Cervidae Study Act.
  Once again, I want to commend Senator Barrasso, in particular, as the 
chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee for his 
leadership in this space. I know he cares deeply about Wyoming's 
wildlife population, but clearly he cares about the population and 
conservation efforts throughout the country.
  Despite its widespread prevalence, very little is known about CWD and 
how it is transmitted. Our bipartisan

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legislation tasks the USDA and the Department of the Interior to work 
with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a review of the 
existing science, how it is spread, and current best-management 
practices in order to get a better handle on what we already know about 
the disease and its transmission.
  More specifically, this legislation will allow us to identify the 
most effective techniques for prevention, surveillance, and management 
of the disease. It will also enable us to get a better understanding of 
the total economic cost of CWD to our State economies, to wildlife 
agencies, to landowners, and to hunters.
  A review conducted under this legislation will allow us to gather 
essential data that will enable us to conduct better research into the 
future and to better formulate our policy goals in order to mitigate 
and manage this devastating disease.
  Like many Alabamians, I love spending time outdoors, taking in the 
breathtaking nature and wildlife of my State. Alabama is a gorgeous 
State with an incredibly diverse array of fauna and wildlife. It is an 
amazing place. I am also a pretty avid hunter, and, in fact, this 
weekend is the last weekend for deer season in my State, and I am 
hoping to get out there this Sunday, the very last day, for the last 
deer hunt of the season as this season comes to a close. This has 
really been a cherished pastime for me and my youngest child, my son 
Christopher, for many, many years.
  Taking action to find a solution to stop the spread of CWD will help 
to ensure that countless other outdoors men and women--because women 
are a big part of the hunting population in the State of Alabama--can 
continue to enjoy this tradition.
  We have to do everything we can to combat what is truly an 
existential threat to the deer hunting industry in my State and around 
the country. Our legislation is an essential step forward in protecting 
the health of our wildlife, protecting the health of our environment, 
and, ultimately, protecting the way of life for millions of hunting 
Americans.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
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