Chronic Wasting Disease Research Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2081 To amend the Animal Health Protection Act to establish a grant program for research on chronic wasting disease, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 4, 2019 Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. VELA, Mr. JOYCE of Penn- sylvania, and Mr. CUELLAR) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Animal Health Protection Act to establish a grant program for research on chronic wasting disease, 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 ‘‘Chronic Wasting Dis- 4 ease Research Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2081.IH H2081 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2081 IH SEC. 2. CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE RESEARCH GRANT 1 PROGRAM. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Animal Health Protection 3 Act is amended by inserting after section 10409A (7 4 U.S.C. 8308a) the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 10409B. CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE RESEARCH 6 GRANT PROGRAM. 7 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 8 ‘‘(1) a focus on research into the transmission 9 of, resistance to, and epidemiology of chronic wast- 10 ing disease is needed to inform future policies to 11 combat the disease and ensure the health of cervid 12 populations; 13 ‘‘(2) because States have diverse policies for ad- 14 dressing chronic wasting disease, the Federal Gov- 15 ernment should coordinate financial and technical 16 support to States, State departments of agriculture, 17 institutions of higher education, and research cen- 18 ters conducting scientific research on chronic wast- 19 ing disease; 20 ‘‘(3) under current policies, chronic wasting dis- 21 ease remains a systemic threat to cervids; and 22 ‘‘(4) scientific advances that lead to the ability 23 to stop transmission of chronic wasting disease are 24 needed to ensure the long-term viability of cervids. 25 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2081.IH H2081 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2081 IH ‘‘(1) CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE.—The term 1 ‘chronic wasting disease’ means the animal disease 2 afflicting deer, elk, and moose populations that— 3 ‘‘(A) is a transmissible disease of the nerv- 4 ous system resulting in distinctive lesions in the 5 brain; and 6 ‘‘(B) belongs to the group of diseases 7 known as transmissible spongiform encephalop- 8 athies, which includes scrapie, bovine spongi- 9 form encephalopathy, and Cruetzfeldt-Jakob 10 disease. 11 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 12 tity’ means— 13 ‘‘(A) a State department of agriculture; 14 ‘‘(B) a Tribal research facility; 15 ‘‘(C) a Tribal department of agriculture; 16 ‘‘(D) an institution of higher education (as 17 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 18 Act (20 U.S.C. 1001)); and 19 ‘‘(E) a research center conducting sci- 20 entific research on chronic wasting disease. 21 ‘‘(c) GRANT PROGRAM.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 23 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec- 24 retary shall establish a program under which the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2081.IH H2081 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2081 IH Secretary shall award grants on a competitive basis 1 to eligible entities to conduct research on the trans- 2 mission of, resistance to, and diagnosis of chronic 3 wasting disease. 4 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION.—In awarding 5 grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give 6 priority to eligible entities that shall conduct re- 7 search relating to— 8 ‘‘(A) methods and products— 9 ‘‘(i) to effectively detect infectious 10 chronic wasting disease prions in live 11 cervids, the environment, and inorganic 12 surfaces; and 13 ‘‘(ii) to decontaminate those infectious 14 prions; 15 ‘‘(B) the long-term suppression or eradi- 16 cation of chronic wasting disease; or 17 ‘‘(C) determination markers for genetic re- 18 sistance to chronic wasting disease and strate- 19 gies for using genetic resistance to combat the 20 spread of the disease. 21 ‘‘(3) NUMBER OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum ex- 23 tent practicable, subject to subparagraph (B), 24 the Secretary shall select not fewer than 5 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2081.IH H2081 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2081 IH not more than 10 eligible entities to receive 1 grants under paragraph (1). 2 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may 3 award grants under paragraph (1) to fewer 4 than 5 eligible entities if not more than 5 eligi- 5 ble entities have submitted applications for a 6 grant. 7 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS BY ELIGIBLE EN- 8 TITIES.—Not greater than 15 percent of the amount 9 of a grant awarded under paragraph (1) may be 10 used by an eligible entity for administrative costs in- 11 curred by the eligible entity in carrying out the re- 12 search described in that paragraph. 13 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 15 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this sec- 16 tion $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal 17 year thereafter, to remain available until expended. 18 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Secretary 19 may use not greater than 3 percent of the funds 20 made available under paragraph (1) for administra- 21 tive costs incurred by the Secretary in carrying out 22 this section. 23 ‘‘(e) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section shall interfere 24 with or otherwise affect the authority of the Federal Gov- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2081.IH H2081 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2081 IH ernment or States to manage wildlife and livestock, includ- 1 ing managing, surveying, and monitoring the incidence of 2 chronic wasting disease.’’. 3 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 10403(8) of 4 the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8302(8)) is 5 amended by striking ‘‘(25 U.S.C. 450b)’’ and inserting 6 ‘‘(25 U.S.C. 5304)’’. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2081.IH H2081 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS