RAWR Act

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 97 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 16, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations AN ACT To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize rewards for thwarting wildlife traf- ficking linked to transnational organized crime, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H97.RFS H97 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 97 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rescuing Animals 2 With Rewards Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘RAWR Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Wildlife trafficking is a major transnational 6 crime that is estimated to generate over $10 billion 7 a year in illegal profits and which is increasingly 8 perpetrated by organized, sophisticated criminal en- 9 terprises, including known terrorist organizations. 10 (2) Wildlife trafficking not only threatens en- 11 dangered species worldwide, but also jeopardizes 12 local security, spreads disease, undermines rule of 13 law, fuels corruption, and damages economic devel- 14 opment. 15 (3) Combating wildlife trafficking requires a co- 16 ordinated and sustained approach at the global, re- 17 gional, national, and local levels. 18 (4) Congress stated in the Eliminate, Neu- 19 tralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016 20 that it is the policy of the United States to take im- 21 mediate actions to stop the illegal global trade in 22 wildlife and wildlife products and associated transna- 23 tional organized crime. 24 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 25 gress that the Department of State’s rewards program is 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H97.RFS H97 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 97 RFS a powerful tool in combating sophisticated international 1 crime and that the Department of State and Federal law 2 enforcement should work in concert to offer rewards that 3 target wildlife traffickers. 4 SEC. 3. REWARDS FOR JUSTICE. 5 Subparagraph (B) of section 36(k)(5) of the State 6 Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 7 2708(k)(5)) is amended by inserting ‘‘wildlife trafficking 8 (as defined by section 2(12) of the Eliminate, Neutralize, 9 and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016 (16 U.S.C. 10 7601(12); Public Law 114–231)) and’’ after ‘‘includes’’. 11 Passed the House of Representatives July 15, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H97.RFS H97 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS