Global Pandemic Prevention and Biosecurity Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3424 To establish a global zoonotic disease task force, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 20, 2021 Ms. MENG (for herself and Mr. FORTENBERRY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To establish a global zoonotic disease task force, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Pandemic Pre- 4 vention and Biosecurity Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 6 It shall be the policy of the United States Govern- 7 ment to— 8 (1) support improved community health, forest 9 management, sustainable agriculture, and safety of 10 livestock production in developing countries; 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3424 IH (2) support the availability of scalable and sus- 1 tainable alternative animal and plant-sourced protein 2 for local communities, where appropriate, in order to 3 minimize human reliance on the trade in live wildlife 4 and raw or unprocessed wildlife parts and deriva- 5 tives; 6 (3) support foreign governments to— 7 (A) transition from the sale of such wildlife 8 for human consumption in markets and res- 9 taurants to alternate protein and nutritional 10 sources; 11 (B) prevent commercial trade in live wild- 12 life and raw or unprocessed wildlife parts and 13 derivatives that risks contributing to zoonotic 14 spillover events between animals and humans, 15 not to include commercial trade in— 16 (i) fish; 17 (ii) invertebrates; 18 (iii) amphibians; 19 (iv) reptiles; or 20 (v) the meat of game species— 21 (I) traded in markets in coun- 22 tries with effective implementation 23 and enforcement of scientifically 24 based, nationally implemented policies 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3424 IH and legislation for processing, trans- 1 port, trade, marketing; and 2 (II) sold after being slaughtered 3 and processed under sanitary condi- 4 tions; and 5 (C) establish and effectively manage pro- 6 tected and conserved areas, including in tropical 7 landscapes, and including indigenous and com- 8 munity-conserved areas; 9 (4) encourage development projects that do not 10 contribute to the destruction, fragmentation or deg- 11 radation of forests or loss of biodiversity; and 12 (5) respect the rights and needs of indigenous 13 people and local communities dependent on such 14 wildlife for nutritional needs and food security. 15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 16 In this Act: 17 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 18 trator’’ means the Administrator of the United 19 States Agency for International Development. 20 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 21 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 22 mittees’’ means— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3424 IH (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 1 the Committee on Appropriations in the House 2 of Representatives; and 3 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 4 and the Committee on Appropriations in the 5 Senate. 6 (3) COMMERCIAL WILDLIFE TRADE.—The term 7 ‘‘commercial wildlife trade’’ means trade in wildlife 8 for the purpose of obtaining economic benefit, 9 whether in cash or otherwise, that is directed toward 10 sale, resale, exchange, or any other form of economic 11 use or benefit. 12 (4) HUMAN CONSUMPTION.—The term ‘‘human 13 consumption’’ means specific use for human food or 14 medicine. 15 (5) LIVE WILDLIFE MARKET.—The term ‘‘live 16 wildlife market’’ means a commercial market that 17 sells, processes, or slaughters live or fresh wildlife 18 for human consumption in markets or restaurants, 19 irrespective of whether such wildlife originated in the 20 wild or in a captive situation. 21 (6) ONE HEALTH.—The term ‘‘One Health’’ 22 means a collaborative, multisectoral, and trans-dis- 23 ciplinary approach achieving optimal health out- 24 comes that recognizes the interconnection between— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3424 IH (A) people, wildlife, and plants; and 1 (B) the environment shared by such peo- 2 ple, wildlife, and plants. 3 (7) OUTBREAK.—The term ‘‘outbreak’’ means 4 the occurrence of disease cases in excess of normal 5 expectancy. 6 (8) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.—The term 7 ‘‘public health emergency’’ means the public health 8 emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and 9 Human Services pursuant to section 319 of the Pub- 10 lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 11 31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19. 12 (9) SPILLOVER EVENT.—The term ‘‘spillover 13 event’’ means the transmission of a pathogen from 14 one species to another. 15 (10) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘Task Force’’ 16 means the Global Zoonotic Disease Task Force es- 17 tablished under section 6(a). 18 (11) USAID.—The term ‘‘USAID’’ means the 19 United States Agency for International Develop- 20 ment. 21 (12) ZOONOTIC DISEASE.—The term ‘‘zoonotic 22 disease’’ means any disease that is naturally trans- 23 missible between animals and humans. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3424 IH SEC. 4. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) The majority of recent emerging infectious 3 diseases have originated in wildlife. 4 (2) There is a rise in the frequency of zoonotic 5 spillover events and outbreaks of such diseases. 6 (3) This rise in such spillover events and out- 7 breaks relates to the increased interaction between 8 humans and wildlife. 9 (4) There is a progressive and increasing rise in 10 interaction between human populations and wildlife 11 related to deforestation, habitat degradation, and ex- 12 pansion of human activity into the habitat of such 13 wildlife. 14 (5) The increase in such interactions due to 15 these factors, particularly in forested regions of trop- 16 ical countries where there is high mammalian diver- 17 sity, is a serious risk factor for spillover events. 18 (6) A serious risk factor for spillover events 19 also relates to the collection, production, commercial 20 trade, and sale for human consumption of wildlife 21 that may transmit to zoonotic pathogens to humans 22 that may then replicate and be transmitted within 23 the human population. 24 (7) Such a risk factor is increased if it involves 25 wildlife that— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3424 IH (A) does not ordinarily interact with hu- 1 mans; or 2 (B) lives under a stressful condition, as 3 such condition exacerbates the shedding of 4 zoonotic pathogens. 5 (8) Markets for such wildlife to be sold for 6 human consumption are found in many countries. 7 (9) In some communities, such wildlife may be 8 the only accessible source of high quality nutrition. 9 (10) The public health emergency has resulted 10 in— 11 (A) trillions of dollars in economic damage 12 to the United States; and 13 (B) the deaths of hundreds of thousands of 14 American citizens. 15 SEC. 5. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD ASSISTING COUN- 16 TRIES IN PREVENTING ZOONOTIC SPILLOVER 17 EVENTS. 18 The Secretary of State and Administrator of the 19 United States Agency for International Development, in 20 consultation with the Director of the United States Fish 21 and Wildlife Service, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the 22 leadership of other relevant agencies, shall coordinate, en- 23 gage, and work with governments, multilateral entities, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3424 IH intergovernmental organizations, international partners, 1 and non-governmental organizations to— 2 (1) prevent commercial trade in live wildlife and 3 raw or unprocessed wildlife parts and derivatives for 4 human consumption that risks contributing to 5 zoonotic spillover, placing a priority focus on tropical 6 countries or countries with significant markets for 7 live wildlife for human consumption, which includes 8 such wildlife trade activities as— 9 (A) high volume commercial trade and as- 10 sociated markets; 11 (B) trade in and across well connected 12 urban centers; 13 (C) trade for luxury consumption or where 14 there is no dietary necessity by— 15 (i) working through existing treaties, 16 conventions, and agreements to develop a 17 new protocol, or to amend existing proto- 18 cols or agreements; and 19 (ii) expanding combating wildlife traf- 20 ficking programs to support enforcement 21 of the closure of such markets and new il- 22 legal markets in response to closures, and 23 the prevention of such trade, including— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3424 IH (I) providing assistance to im- 1 prove law enforcement; 2 (II) detecting and deterring the 3 illegal import, transit, sale and export 4 of wildlife; 5 (III) strengthening such pro- 6 grams to assist countries through 7 legal reform; 8 (IV) improving information shar- 9 ing and enhancing capabilities of par- 10 ticipating foreign governments; 11 (V) supporting efforts to change 12 behavior and reduce demand for such 13 wildlife products; and 14 (VI) leveraging United States 15 private sector technologies and exper- 16 tise to scale and enhance enforcement 17 responses to detect and prevent such 18 trade; 19 (D) leveraging strong United States bilat- 20 eral relationships to support new and existing 21 inter-ministerial collaborations or task forces 22 that can serve as regional One Health models; 23 or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3424 IH (E) building local agricultural capacity by 1 leveraging expertise from the Department of 2 Agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and insti- 3 tutions of higher education with agricultural ex- 4 pertise; 5 (2) prevent the degradation and fragmentation 6 of forests and other intact ecosystems, particularly 7 in tropical countries, to minimize interactions be- 8 tween wildlife and human and livestock populations 9 that could contribute to spillover events and zoonotic 10 disease transmission, including by providing assist- 11 ance or supporting policies to— 12 (A) conserve, protect, and restore the in- 13 tegrity of such ecosystems; 14 (B) support the rights of indigenous peo- 15 ples and local communities and their abilities to 16 continue their effective stewardships of their 17 traditional lands and territories; 18 (C) support the establishment and effective 19 management of protected areas, prioritizing 20 highly intact areas; and 21 (D) prevent activities that result in the de- 22 struction, degradation, fragmentation, or con- 23 version of intact forests and other intact eco- 24 systems and biodiversity strongholds, including 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3424 IH by governments, private sector entities, and 1 multilateral development financial institutions; 2 (3) offer alternative livelihood and worker train- 3 ing programs and enterprise development to wildlife 4 traders, wildlife breeders, and local communities 5 whose members are engaged in the commercial wild- 6 life trade for human consumption; 7 (4) work with indigenous peoples and local com- 8 munities to— 9 (A) ensure that their rights are respected 10 and their authority to exercise such rights is 11 protected; 12 (B) provide education and awareness on 13 animal handling, sanitation, and disease trans- 14 mission, as well as sustainable wildlife manage- 15 ment and support to develop village-level alter- 16 native sources of protein and nutrition; 17 (C) reduce the risk of zoonotic spillover 18 while ensuring food security and access to 19 healthy diets; and 20 (D) improve farming practices to reduce 21 the risk of zoonotic spillover to livestock; 22 (5) strengthen global capacity for detection of 23 zoonotic diseases with pandemic potential; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3424 IH (6) support the development of One Health sys- 1 tems at the community level. 2 SEC. 6. GLOBAL ZOONOTIC DISEASE TASK FORCE. 3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a task 4 force to be known as the ‘‘Global Zoonotic Disease Task 5 Force’’. 6 (b) DUTIES OF TASK FORCE.—The duties of the 7 Task Force shall be to— 8 (1) ensure an integrated approach across the 9 Federal Government and globally to the prevention 10 of, early detection of, preparedness for, and response 11 to zoonotic spillover and the outbreak and trans- 12 mission of zoonotic diseases that may pose a threat 13 to global health security; 14 (2) not later than one year after the date of the 15 enactment of this Act, develop and publish, on a 16 publicly accessible website, a plan for global biosecu- 17 rity and zoonotic disease prevention and response 18 that leverages expertise in public health, wildlife 19 health, livestock veterinary health, sustainable forest 20 management, community-based conservation, rural 21 food security, and indigenous rights to coordinate 22 zoonotic disease surveillance internationally, includ- 23 ing support for One Health institutions around the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3424 IH world that can prevent and provide early detection 1 of zoonotic outbreaks; and 2 (3) expanding the scope of the implementation 3 of the White House’s Global Health Security Strat- 4 egy to more robustly support the prevention of 5 zoonotic spillover and respond to zoonotic disease in- 6 vestigations and outbreaks by establishing a 10-year 7 strategy with specific Federal Government inter- 8 national goals, priorities, and timelines for action, 9 in [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]