[House Report 117-567]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress  }                                              {   Report
                         HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session     }                                              { 117-567

======================================================================



 
                GLOBAL AMPHIBIAN PROTECTION ACT OF 2021

                                _______
                                

 November 16, 2022.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Grijalva, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 2026]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 2026) to assist in the conservation of highly 
endangered amphibian species in foreign countries, and for 
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill as 
amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Global Amphibian Protection Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act:
          (1) Convention.--The term ``Convention'' means the Convention 
        on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and 
        Flora (27 UST 1087; TIAS 8249).
          (2) Conservation.--The term ``conservation'' means the 
        protection and restoration of species and the habitat of such 
        species.
          (3) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the Highly Endangered 
        Amphibians Conservation Fund established by section 4.
          (4) Highly endangered amphibian species.--
                  (A) In general.--The term ``highly endangered 
                amphibian species'' means--
                          (i) any amphibian species categorized on the 
                        International Union for Conservation of Nature 
                        Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered, 
                        Critically Endangered, or Extinct in the Wild; 
                        and
                          (ii) any other amphibian species categorized 
                        on the International Union for Conservation of 
                        Nature Red List of Threatened Species as Data 
                        Deficient or under a threat category lower than 
                        Endangered if the Secretary determines that--
                                  (I) the most recent International 
                                Union for Conservation of Nature Red 
                                List assessment indicates that the 
                                population is decreasing; or
                                  (II) such species is facing new or 
                                emerging threats.
                  (B) Inclusions.--The term ``highly endangered 
                amphibian species'' includes--
                          (i) live specimens, at all lifecycle stages, 
                        of species described in subparagraph (A);
                          (ii) dead specimens, or parts or products 
                        thereof, of such species.
          (5) Multinational species conservation fund.--The term 
        ``Multinational Species Conservation Fund'' means the fund 
        established under the heading ``multinational species 
        conservation fund'' in title I of the Department of the 
        Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 
        U.S.C. 4246).
          (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior.

SEC. 3. HIGHLY ENDANGERED AMPHIBIAN SPECIES ASSISTANCE.

  (a) In General.--In consultation with other Federal officials, the 
Secretary shall use amounts in the Fund to carry out a competitive 
grant program to provide financial assistance for the conservation of 
highly endangered amphibian species.
  (b) Project Proposals.--
          (1) Eligible applicants.--A proposal for a grant under 
        subsection (a) may be submitted to the Secretary by--
                  (A) any wildlife management authority of a foreign 
                country that has within its boundaries natural habitat 
                of a highly endangered amphibian species if the 
                activities of the authority directly or indirectly 
                benefit that species' conservation; or
                  (B) any other person or group with the demonstrated 
                expertise and capacity required for the conservation of 
                a highly endangered amphibian species.
          (2) Required elements.--A project proposal shall include--
                  (A) evidence of support for the project by 
                appropriate governmental entities of the country in 
                which the project will be conducted, if the Secretary 
                determines that such support is required for the 
                success of the project;
                  (B) evidence of sensitivity to local historic and 
                cultural resources and compliance with applicable laws;
                  (C) evidence of free, prior, and informed consent by 
                indigenous peoples and local communities in the areas 
                the project will be conducted, if the Secretary, based 
                on the nature of the project, determines that such 
                consent is required for the success of the project;
                  (D) information regarding the source and amount of 
                matching funding available for the project; and
                  (E) any other information that the Secretary 
                determines to be appropriate.
  (c) Evaluation and Approval.--
          (1) Goals.--The Secretary may approve a proposal under this 
        section if the project will--
                  (A) help recover and sustain viable populations in 
                the wild of a highly endangered amphibian species with 
                a range that is, in whole or in part, outside of the 
                United States;
                  (B) enhance compliance with provisions of the 
                Convention and laws of the United States or a foreign 
                country related to the conservation of a highly 
                endangered amphibian species; or
                  (C) develop sound scientific information on that 
                species' habitat, population numbers and trends, 
                reproduction, mortality, and other threats to survival.
          (2) Methods.--The Secretary may approve a proposal under this 
        section if the proposal would achieve one of the goals set 
        forth in paragraph (1) through--
                  (A) protection, restoration, and management of 
                habitat;
                  (B) in situ research and monitoring of populations, 
                habitats, annual reproduction, and species population 
                trends;
                  (C) development, implementation, and improvement of 
                national and regional management plans for a highly 
                endangered amphibian species and the habitat of such 
                species;
                  (D) enforcement and implementation of the Convention 
                or the law of a foreign country to--
                          (i) protect and manage a highly endangered 
                        amphibian species or the habitat of such 
                        species;
                          (ii) prevent illegal or unsustainable removal 
                        of a highly endangered amphibian species from 
                        the wild; or
                          (iii) prevent illegal trade of a highly 
                        endangered amphibian species;
                  (E) training and capacity building for local law 
                enforcement officials in the interdiction and 
                prevention of the illegal killing, removal from the 
                wild, or trade of a highly endangered amphibian 
                species;
                  (F) an initiative to resolve a conflict between 
                humans and a highly endangered amphibian species;
                  (G) research and implementation of projects to 
                address disease and threats to the health of a highly 
                endangered amphibian species;
                  (H) community outreach and education on conservation 
                of a highly endangered amphibian species and the 
                habitat of such species; or
                  (I) strengthening the ability of local communities to 
                implement a conservation program.
          (3) Consultation.--The Secretary shall, prior to approving 
        any proposal under this section, consult with each of the 
        following with respect to such proposal:
                  (A) The Government of each country in which such 
                proposal will be carried out.
                  (B) Any other Federal agency the Secretary determines 
                is appropriate.
          (4) Preferential consideration.--In determining whether to 
        approve a proposal, the Secretary shall give preference to a 
        proposal that--
                  (A) is designed to ensure effective, long-term 
                conservation of highly endangered amphibian species and 
                their habitats; and
                  (B) has matching funds available.
          (5) Approval.--The Secretary shall, within 180 days of 
        receiving a proposal under this section, approve or disapprove 
        of the proposal and provide written notification of such 
        approval or disapproval to--
                  (A) the person who submitted such proposal;
                  (B) any Federal agency the Secretary determines 
                appropriate; and
                  (C) the foreign country in which such proposal would 
                be carried out.
  (d) Project Reporting.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary shall require each person that 
        receives assistance under this section to submit periodic 
        reports including such information as the Secretary may require 
        in order to evaluate the progress and success of each grant 
        issued under this section.
          (2) Availability to the public.--Reports under paragraph (1), 
        and any other documents relating to projects for which 
        financial assistance is provided under this Act except for 
        documents that the Secretary determines to be confidential in 
        nature, shall be made available to the public.
  (e) Limitations on Use for Captive Breeding.--Amounts provided as a 
grant under this Act--
          (1) may not be used for captive breeding of highly endangered 
        amphibian species other than for captive breeding designed for 
        release into the wild; and
          (2) may be used for captive breeding of a species for release 
        into the wild only if no other conservation method for the 
        species is biologically or technically feasible.

SEC. 4. HIGHLY ENDANGERED AMPHIBIAN SPECIES CONSERVATION FUND.

  (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Multinational Species 
Conservation Fund a separate account to be known as the ``Highly 
Endangered Amphibian Species Conservation Fund'', consisting of--
          (1) amounts transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury for 
        deposit into the Fund under subsections (d) and (e);
          (2) amounts appropriated to the Fund under section 5; and
          (3) any interest earned on investment of amounts in the Fund 
        under subsection (c).
  (b) Expenditures From Fund.--
          (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), at the request of 
        the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer 
        from the Fund to the Secretary, without further appropriation, 
        such amounts as the Secretary determines are necessary to carry 
        out section 3.
          (2) Administrative expenses.--Of the amounts in the account 
        available for each fiscal year, the Secretary may expend not 
        more than 3 percent, or up to $150,000, whichever is greater, 
        to pay the administrative expenses necessary to carry out this 
        Act.
  (c) Investment of Amounts.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest 
        such portion of the Fund as is not, in the judgment of the 
        Secretary of the Treasury, required to meet current 
        withdrawals. Investments may be made only in interest-bearing 
        obligations of the United States.
          (2) Acquisition of obligations.--For the purpose of 
        investments under paragraph (1), obligations may be acquired--
                  (A) on original issue at the issue price; or
                  (B) by purchase of outstanding obligations at market 
                price.
          (3) Sale of obligations.--Any obligation acquired by the Fund 
        may be sold by the Secretary of the Treasury at market price.
          (4) Credits to fund.--The interest on, and the proceeds from 
        the sale or redemption of, any obligations held in the Fund 
        shall be credited to and form a part of the Fund.
  (d) Transfers of Amounts.--
          (1) In general.--The amounts required to be transferred to 
        the Fund under this section shall be transferred at least 
        monthly from the general fund of the Treasury to the Fund on 
        the basis of estimates made by the Secretary of the Treasury.
          (2) Adjustments.--Proper adjustment shall be made in amounts 
        subsequently transferred to the extent prior estimates were in 
        excess of or less than the amounts required to be transferred.
  (e) Acceptance and Use of Donations.--The Secretary may accept and 
use donations to provide assistance under section 3. Amounts received 
by the Secretary in the form of donations shall be transferred to the 
Secretary of the Treasury for deposit in the Fund. The Secretary may 
reject a gift under this section when the rejection is in the interest 
of the Government.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

  There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $5,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027.

SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

  Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report on the results and effectiveness of the program carried out 
under this Act.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 2026 is to assist in the conservation 
of highly endangered amphibian species in foreign countries.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Amphibians include some of the oldest species in the world, 
some existing before the dinosaurs. Today, nearly 70% of 
amphibian species are either in decline or at risk of 
extinction due to disease, habitat loss, pollution, and other 
factors. Amphibians serve a critical role in their ecosystems, 
and their disappearance will have dramatic adverse results. 
They also benefit human health by preying on disease-spreading 
insects like mosquitos and by producing compounds that can 
treat diseases, including cancer.
    From 2010 to 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) 
awarded conservation grants through the Amphibians in Decline 
Fund to protect amphibians from extinction. During these six 
years, the program funded 40 projects with $1,034,142 in 25 
countries and leveraged an additional $2,604,122 in matching 
funds. However, despite the unprecedented rate of amphibian 
declines, funding for this program has not been appropriated in 
recent years.
    H.R. 2026 would authorize $5 million for each fiscal year 
2022 through 2027 to assist in conserving International Union 
for Conservation of Nature-listed endangered amphibians. Funds 
would be distributed through a competitive grant program to 
projects that (1) help recover and sustain viable populations 
of highly endangered amphibians whose range is in whole, or 
part, outside of the United States, Canada, or Europe; (2) 
enhance compliance with the provisions of the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and 
Flora and laws of the United States and foreign countries 
related to conservation of endangered amphibians; or (3) 
develop scientific information on a species' habitat, 
population numbers and trends, reproduction, mortality, and 
other threats to survival.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 2026 was introduced on March 18, 2021, by 
Representative Hakeem S. Jeffries (D-NY). The bill was referred 
solely to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the 
Committee to the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife. 
On July 29, 2021, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. 
On November 17, 2021, the Natural Resources Committee met to 
consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous 
consent. Chair Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute. Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-
AR) offered an amendment designated Westerman #1 to the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment was not 
agreed to by a roll call vote of 19 yeas and 21 nays, as 
follows:


    Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) offered an amendment designated 
Rosendale #1 to the amendment in the nature of a substitute. 
The amendment was not agreed to by a roll call vote of 19 yeas 
and 24 nays, as follows:


    Rep. Rosendale offered an amendment designated Rosendale #2 
to the amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment 
was not agreed to by a roll call vote of 19 yeas and 23 nays, 
as follows:


    Rep. Rosendale offered an amendment designated Rosendale #3 
to the amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment 
was not agreed to by a roll call vote of 19 yeas and 24 nays, 
as follows:


    The Grijalva amendment in the nature of a substitute was 
agreed to by a roll call vote of 24 yeas and 19 nays, as 
follows:


    The bill, as amended, was adopted and ordered favorably 
reported to the House of Representatives by a roll call vote of 
25 yeas and 17 nays, as follows:


                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the 
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure: 
hearing by the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife held 
on July 29, 2021.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                  COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND
                        CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT

    1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. 
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, as well as clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee has received the 
following estimate for the bill from the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, April 28, 2022.
Hon. Raul M. Grijalva,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2026, the Global 
Amphibian Protection Act of 2021.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani 
Shankaran.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

    
    

    H.R. 2026 would establish a fund that the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service (USFWS) could use to award grants for 
amphibian conservation. The bill would authorize the 
appropriation of $5million annually over the 2022-2027 period 
for that purpose.
    For this estimate, CBO assumes that the legislation will be 
enacted late in fiscal year 2022. Assuming appropriation of the 
authorized amounts, and based on historical spending patterns 
for similar programs, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2026 
would cost $23 million over the 2022-2026 period and $7 million 
after 2026.
    H.R. 2026 would allow USFWS to accept donations to the 
fund, which would be classified in the budget as offsetting 
receipts (reductions in direct spending). CBO expects that 
those amounts would be insignificant in any year and would be 
spent soon after they are received. The bill also would direct 
the Department of the Treasury to credit interest on unspent 
balances to the fund and USFWS could spend that interest 
without further appropriation. (Credited interest is considered 
an intragovernmental transfer with no budgetary effect, but the 
spending of that interest would increase direct spending.) 
Using the interest rates underlying the July 2021 baseline, CBO 
estimates that the amount of interest credited to the fund and 
subsequently spent would be insignificant over the 2022-2031 
period.
    The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall 
within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).

                                   TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER H.R. 2026
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                         By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                                             -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               2022   2023   2024   2025   2026   2027   2028   2029   2030   2031  2022-2026  2022-2031
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authorization...............................................      5      5      5      5      5      5      0      0      0      0        25         30
Estimated Outlays...........................................      *      6      7      5      5      5      1      1      0      0        23         30
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*=between zero and $500,000.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2026 also would increase direct spending by an insignificant amount over the 2022-2031 period.

    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani 
Shankaran. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
    2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goals and 
objectives of this bill are to assist in the conservation of 
highly endangered amphibian species in foreign countries.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                 UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT

    According to CBO, this bill contains no unfunded mandates 
as defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

                           EXISTING PROGRAMS

    This bill does not establish or reauthorize a program of 
the federal government known to be duplicative of another 
program. Such program was not included in any report from the 
Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section21 of Public Law 111-139. The Highly Endangered 
Amphibians Conservation Fund established by this bill is based 
on the inactive listing Wildlife Without Borders--Amphibians in 
Decline (CFDA No.15.672). The 2015 Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to 31 U.S.C. Sec.  6104 
identified the following programs as related to that listing: 
Wildlife Without Borders--Latin America and the Caribbean (CFDA 
No. 15.640) (now listed as Latin America and Caribbean 
Regional), Wildlife Without Borders--Mexico (CFDA No. 15.641), 
and Wildlife Without Borders--Africa Program (CFDA No. 15.651) 
(now listed as Central Africa Regional).

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

               PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL LAW

    Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or 
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's 
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the 
U.S. Constitution.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing 
law.

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

    H.R. 2026 would create a new ``Highly Endangered Amphibian 
Species Conservation Fund'' at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, authorizing millions of taxpayer dollars for the fund 
each year. Taxpayer dollars deposited into the fund would be 
destined for foreign countries and entities--despite pressing 
endangered species concerns here in the United States.
    For example, H.R. 2026 aims to conserve amphibian species 
categorized as ``Endangered,'' ``Critically Endangered,'' 
``Data Deficient,'' or ``Extinct in the Wild'' on the 
International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of 
Threatened Species. The bill would provide funding directly to 
wildlife management authorities in foreign countries as well as 
groups with the ``expertise and capacity'' to conserve these 
species. Rather than investing in species conservation in the 
United States, funding could be sent to the Chinese government 
to recover the Guangxi Warty Newt or to Iran or Russia to 
recover the Varying Toad.
    At a committee hearing on H.R. 2026, the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service testified that the bill ``could hinder the 
Service's ability to continue to prioritize its work on the 
species with the greatest conservation need through science-
driven decisions.''\1\ Even the Biden Administration agreed 
that there are higher priorities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Stephen Guertin, Testimony of Stephen Guertin, House Committee 
on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife 
Legislative Hearing, July 29, 2021, https://docs.house.gov/meetings/II/
II13/20210729/113985/HHRG-117-II13-Wstate-GuertinS-20210729.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    U.S. taxpayers should not be subsidizing hostile countries 
to recover species and conserve habitats that those countries 
have neglected. This is especially egregious as there are 34 
amphibians native to the United States, such as the Wyoming 
Toad, that would not be eligible for this funding. An amendment 
was offered in Committee markup to ensure that amphibians in 
the U.S. are recovered before any funds authorized in this bill 
can be sent overseas. The Majority unfortunately opposed this 
amendment that would have prioritized species recovery in the 
United States.
    Because this bill would waste taxpayer money on foreign 
species, ignores species within our borders and in light of the 
concerns raised by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, I oppose 
H.R. 2026 as reported by the Committee on Natural Resources.

                                                   Bruce Westerman.