Global Wildlife Trade Biosecurity Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8678 To establish a global zoonotic disease task force, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 23, 2020 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 Wildlife Trade 4 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 scalable and sustainable availability 9 for local communities of alternative animal and 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8678.IH H8678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8678 IH plant-sourced protein in order to minimize human 1 reliance on the live and fresh wildlife trade; 2 (2) support foreign governments to— 3 (A) transition from the sale of such wildlife 4 for human consumption in markets and res- 5 taurants to alternate protein sources; and 6 (B) ban the commercial trade of such wild- 7 life, except for the meat of game species— 8 (i) traded in markets in countries with 9 effective implementation and enforcement 10 of scientifically based, nationally imple- 11 mented policies and legislation for proc- 12 essing, transport, trade, marketing; and 13 (ii) sold after being slaughtered and 14 processed under sanitary conditions; and 15 (3) consider the needs of indigenous people and 16 local communities dependent on such wildlife for nu- 17 tritional needs and food security. 18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 19 In this Act: 20 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 21 trator’’ means the Administrator of the United 22 States Agency for International Development. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8678.IH H8678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8678 IH (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 1 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 2 mittees’’ means— 3 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 4 the Committee on Appropriations in the House 5 of Representatives; and 6 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 7 and the Committee on Appropriations in the 8 Senate. 9 (3) COMMERCIAL WILDLIFE TRADE.—The term 10 ‘‘commercial wildlife trade’’ means trade in wildlife 11 can be considered as commercial when its purpose is 12 to obtain economic benefit, whether in cash or other- 13 wise, and is directed toward sale, resale, exchange, 14 or any other form of economic use or benefit. 15 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 16 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 17 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 18 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 19 (5) LIVE WILDLIFE MARKET.—The term ‘‘live 20 wildlife market’’ means a commercial market that 21 sells, processes, or slaughters live or fresh wildlife 22 for human consumption in markets or restaurants, 23 irrespective of whether such wildlife originated in the 24 wild or in a captive situation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8678.IH H8678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8678 IH (6) ONE HEALTH.—The term ‘‘One Health’’ 1 means a collaborative, multi-sectoral, and trans-dis- 2 ciplinary approach to achieving optimal health out- 3 comes that recognizes the interconnection between— 4 (A) people, wildlife, and plants; and 5 (B) the environment shared by such peo- 6 ple, wildlife, and plants. 7 (7) OUTBREAK.—The occurrence of disease 8 cases in excess of normal expectancy. 9 (8) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.—The term 10 ‘‘public health emergency’’ means the public health 11 emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and 12 Human Services pursuant to section 319 of the Pub- 13 lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 14 31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19. 15 (9) SPILLOVER EVENTS.—The term ‘‘spillover 16 events’’ means the transmission of a pathogen from 17 one species to another. 18 (10) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘Task Force’’ 19 means the Global Zoonotic Disease Task Force es- 20 tablished under section 6(a). 21 (11) USAID.—The term ‘‘USAID’’ means the 22 United States Agency for International Develop- 23 ment. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8678.IH H8678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8678 IH (12) WILDLIFE.—The term ‘‘wildlife’’ means 1 mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians of wild or- 2 igin, whether removed directly from the wild or born 3 or bred in captivity. 4 (13) ZOONOTIC DISEASE.—The term ‘‘zoonotic 5 disease’’ means any disease that is naturally trans- 6 missible between vertebrate wildlife and humans. 7 SEC. 4. FINDINGS. 8 Congress makes the following findings: 9 (1) The majority of recent emerging infectious 10 diseases have originated in wildlife. 11 (2) There is a rise in zoonotic spillover events 12 and outbreaks of such diseases. 13 (3) This rise in such spillover events and out- 14 breaks relates to the increased interaction between 15 human and wildlife. 16 (4) There is a rise in interaction between 17 human and wildlife related to deforestation, habitat 18 degradation, and expansion into the habitat of such 19 wildlife. 20 (5) A serious risk factor for spillover events re- 21 lates to the collection, production, commercial trade, 22 and sale of wildlife for human consumption. 23 (6) Such a risk factor is increased if it involves 24 wildlife that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8678.IH H8678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8678 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 (7) Markets for such wildlife to be sold for 6 human consumption are found in many countries. 7 (8) In some local, rural communities, such wild- 8 life is the only accessible source of high quality nu- 9 trition. 10 (9) The public health emergency is an example 11 of the human, economic, and security costs of global 12 pandemics and regional epidemics of zoonotic dis- 13 eases and emerging infectious diseases. 14 (10) The public health emergency may result 15 in— 16 (A) trillions of dollars in damage to the 17 economy of the United States; and 18 (B) hundreds of thousands of deaths of 19 citizens. 20 (11) PREDICT and PREDICT–2, previous 21 zoonotic disease prevention programs, resulted in co- 22 operation over 10 years with more than 60 countries 23 to strengthen zoonotic pathogen surveillance and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8678.IH H8678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8678 IH identified at least 931 novel virus species from 1 145,000 samples of wildlife, livestock, and humans. 2 SEC. 5. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD LIVE AND FRESH 3 WILDLIFE MARKETS FOR HUMAN CONSUMP- 4 TION. 5 The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Ad- 6 ministrator and the Director of the United States Fish 7 and Wildlife Service, shall work with governments, multi- 8 lateral entities, intergovernmental organizations, inter- 9 national partners, and non-governmental organizations— 10 (1) to work through existing treaties, conven- 11 tions, and agreements to develop a new protocol to 12 close live wildlife markets and end commercial wild- 13 life trade for human consumption; 14 (2) expand combating wildlife trafficking pro- 15 grams to support enforcement of the closure of such 16 markets and the end of such trade by— 17 (A) providing assistance to improve law en- 18 forcement; 19 (B) detecting and deterring the illegal im- 20 port, transit, and export of wildlife; 21 (C) strengthening such programs to assist 22 countries through legal reform; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8678.IH H8678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8678 IH (D) improving information sharing and en- 1 hancing capabilities of participating foreign 2 governments; 3 (3) reduce the demand for the human consump- 4 tion of wildlife by— 5 (A) supporting targeted social marketing 6 campaigns to change the behavior of wildlife 7 consumers; and 8 (B) increasing consumer access to afford- 9 able, culturally appropriate, and sustainable 10 produced alternative animal source foods, in 11 areas where wildlife is a dietary necessity; 12 (4) to minimize the interaction between humans 13 and wildlife in order to prevent the degradation of 14 intact ecosystems with the goal of protecting and re- 15 storing the integrity of such ecosystems by— 16 (A) supporting Indigenous People and local 17 communities to continue their effective steward- 18 ship of their intact traditional territories; 19 (B) supporting establishment and effective 20 management of protected areas, prioritizing 21 highly intact areas; 22 (C) halting industrial scale degradation, 23 deforestation, and fragmentation of intact eco- 24 systems, including by private sector entities and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8678.IH H8678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8678 IH multilateral development financial institutions; 1 and 2 (D) halting extractive industries practices 3 that encroach into nature strongholds and in- 4 crease human-wildlife interfaces where spillover 5 events occur and can result in zoonotic disease 6 outbreaks; 7 (5) offering alternative livelihood and worker 8 training programs and enterprise development for 9 local communities previously engaged in the com- 10 mercial wildlife trade for human consumption; and 11 (6) ensuring that the rights of Indigenous Peo- 12 ples and local communities, are respected and their 13 authority to exercise these rights is protected. 14 SEC. 6. GLOBAL ZOONOTIC DISEASE TASK FORCE. 15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a task 16 force to be known as the ‘‘Global Zoonotic Disease Task 17 Force’’. 18 (b) DUTIES OF TASK FORCE.—The duties of the 19 Task Force shall be to— 20 (1) ensure an integrated response to the early 21 detection, prevention, preparedness, and response 22 across the Federal Government and globally to a 23 global zoonotic disease spillover or outbreak; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8678.IH H8678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8678 IH (2) develop and publish, on a publicly accessible 1 website, a global biosecurity zoonotic disease plan 2 not later than one year after the date of the enact- 3 ment of this Act that leverages public health, wildlife 4 health, and livestock veterinary expertise to coordi- 5 nate zoonotic disease surveillance internationally, in- 6 cluding support for One Health institutions around 7 the world that can prevent and provide early detec- 8 tion of zoonotic outbreaks; and 9 (3) expanding the scope of the implementation 10 of the White House’s Global Health Security Strat- 11 egy to more robustly respond to zoonotic disease in- 12 vestigations and outbreaks by establishing a ten-year 13 strategy with specific Federal Government inter- 14 national goals, priorities, and timelines for action, 15 including to— 16 (A) recommend policy actions and mecha- 17 nisms in developing countries to reduce the risk 18 of zoonotic disease emergence and transmission, 19 including coordinating a whole of government 20 response to live and fresh wildlife market clo- 21 sures and ending the global trade in live and 22 fresh wildlife for human consumption; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8678.IH H8678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8678 IH (B) identify new mandates, authorities, 1 and incentives needed to strengthen the global 2 zoonotic disease plan under paragraph (1); and 3 (C) prioritize engagement in programs that 4 target countries with threat of spillover derived 5 from high levels of human expansion into wild 6 places for land conversion and extractive indus- 7 tries, and where remote wildlife protected areas 8 and corridors must be protected. 9 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The members of the task 11 force established pursuant to subsection (a) shall be 12 composed of representatives from each of the fol- 13 lowing agencies: 14 (A) One permanent Chairperson at the 15 level of Deputy Assistant Secretary or above 16 from the following agencies, to rotate every two 17 years in an order to be determined by the Ad- 18 ministrator: 19 (i) The Animal and Plant Health In- 20 spection Service of the Department of Ag- 21 riculture. 22 (ii) The Department of Health and 23 Human Services or the Centers for Disease 24 Control and Prevention. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8678.IH H8678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8678 IH (iii) The Department of the Interior 1 or the United States Fish and Wildlife 2 Service. 3 (iv) The Department of State or the 4 United States Agency for International 5 Development. 6 (v) The National Security Council. 7 (B) At least 13 additional members, with 8 at least one from each of the following agencies: 9 (i) The Centers for Disease Control 10 and Prevention. 11 (ii) The Department of Agriculture. 12 (iii) The Department of Defense. 13 (iv) The Department of State. 14 (v) The Environmental Protection 15 Agency. 16 (vi) The National Science Foundation. 17 (vii) The National Institutes of 18 Health. 19 (viii) The National Institute of Stand- 20 ards and Technology. 21 (ix) The Office of Science and Tech- 22 nology Policy. 23 (x) The United States Agency for 24 International Development. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8678.IH H8678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 8678 IH (xi) The United States Fish and Wild- 1 life Service. 2 (xii) U.S. Customs and Border Pro- 3 tection. 4 (xiii) U.S. Immigration and Customs 5 Enforcement. 6 (2) TIMING OF APPOINTMENTS.—Appointments 7 to the Task Force shall be made not later than 30 8 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 9 (3) TERMS.— 10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall be 11 appointed for a term of 2 years. 12 (B) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed 13 to fill a vacancy occurring before the ex [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]