[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1366 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1366
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 26, 2003
Mr. Allard (for himself, Mr. Feingold, and Mr. Crapo) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
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 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.
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