[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3424 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Global Pandemic Prevention and
Biosecurity Act''.
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It shall be the policy of the United States Government to--
(1) support improved community health, forest management,
sustainable agriculture, and safety of livestock production in
developing countries;
(2) support the availability of scalable and sustainable
alternative animal and plant-sourced protein for local
communities, where appropriate, in order to minimize human
reliance on the trade in live wildlife and raw or unprocessed
wildlife parts and derivatives;
(3) support foreign governments to--
(A) transition from the sale of such wildlife for
human consumption in markets and restaurants to
alternate protein and nutritional sources;
(B) prevent commercial trade in live wildlife and
raw or unprocessed wildlife parts and derivatives that
risks contributing to zoonotic spillover events between
animals and humans, not to include commercial trade
in--
(i) fish;
(ii) invertebrates;
(iii) amphibians;
(iv) reptiles; or
(v) the meat of game species--
(I) traded in markets in countries
with effective implementation and
enforcement of scientifically based,
nationally implemented policies and
legislation for processing, transport,
trade, marketing; and
(II) sold after being slaughtered
and processed under sanitary
conditions; and
(C) establish and effectively manage protected and
conserved areas, including in tropical landscapes, and
including indigenous and community-conserved areas;
(4) encourage development projects that do not contribute
to the destruction, fragmentation or degradation of forests or
loss of biodiversity; and
(5) respect the rights and needs of indigenous people and
local communities dependent on such wildlife for nutritional
needs and food security.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Committee on Appropriations in the House of
Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on Appropriations in the Senate.
(3) Commercial wildlife trade.--The term ``commercial
wildlife trade'' means trade in wildlife for the purpose of
obtaining economic benefit, whether in cash or otherwise, that
is directed toward sale, resale, exchange, or any other form of
economic use or benefit.
(4) Human consumption.--The term ``human consumption''
means specific use for human food or medicine.
(5) Live wildlife market.--The term ``live wildlife
market'' means a commercial market that sells, processes, or
slaughters live or fresh wildlife for human consumption in
markets or restaurants, irrespective of whether such wildlife
originated in the wild or in a captive situation.
(6) One health.--The term ``One Health'' means a
collaborative, multisectoral, and trans-disciplinary approach
achieving optimal health outcomes that recognizes the
interconnection between--
(A) people, wildlife, and plants; and
(B) the environment shared by such people,
wildlife, and plants.
(7) Outbreak.--The term ``outbreak'' means the occurrence
of disease cases in excess of normal expectancy.
(8) Public health emergency.--The term ``public health
emergency'' means the public health emergency declared by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to section 319
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January
31, 2020, with respect to COVID-19.
(9) Spillover event.--The term ``spillover event'' means
the transmission of a pathogen from one species to another.
(10) Task force.--The term ``Task Force'' means the Global
Zoonotic Disease Task Force established under section 6(a).
(11) USAID.--The term ``USAID'' means the United States
Agency for International Development.
(12) Zoonotic disease.--The term ``zoonotic disease'' means
any disease that is naturally transmissible between animals and
humans.
SEC. 4. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The majority of recent emerging infectious diseases
have originated in wildlife.
(2) There is a rise in the frequency of zoonotic spillover
events and outbreaks of such diseases.
(3) This rise in such spillover events and outbreaks
relates to the increased interaction between humans and
wildlife.
(4) There is a progressive and increasing rise in
interaction between human populations and wildlife related to
deforestation, habitat degradation, and expansion of human
activity into the habitat of such wildlife.
(5) The increase in such interactions due to these factors,
particularly in forested regions of tropical countries where
there is high mammalian diversity, is a serious risk factor for
spillover events.
(6) A serious risk factor for spillover events also relates
to the collection, production, commercial trade, and sale for
human consumption of wildlife that may transmit to zoonotic
pathogens to humans that may then replicate and be transmitted
within the human population.
(7) Such a risk factor is increased if it involves wildlife
that--
(A) does not ordinarily interact with humans; or
(B) lives under a stressful condition, as such
condition exacerbates the shedding of zoonotic
pathogens.
(8) Markets for such wildlife to be sold for human
consumption are found in many countries.
(9) In some communities, such wildlife may be the only
accessible source of high quality nutrition.
(10) The public health emergency has resulted in--
(A) trillions of dollars in economic damage to the
United States; and
(B) the deaths of hundreds of thousands of American
citizens.
SEC. 5. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD ASSISTING COUNTRIES IN PREVENTING
ZOONOTIC SPILLOVER EVENTS.
The Secretary of State and Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, in consultation with the Director
of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Secretary of
Agriculture, and the leadership of other relevant agencies, shall
coordinate, engage, and work with governments, multilateral entities,
intergovernmental organizations, international partners, and non-
governmental organizations to--
(1) prevent commercial trade in live wildlife and raw or
unprocessed wildlife parts and derivatives for human
consumption that risks contributing to zoonotic spillover,
placing a priority focus on tropical countries or countries
with significant markets for live wildlife for human
consumption, which includes such wildlife trade activities as--
(A) high volume commercial trade and associated
markets;
(B) trade in and across well connected urban
centers;
(C) trade for luxury consumption or where there is
no dietary necessity by--
(i) working through existing treaties,
conventions, and agreements to develop a new
protocol, or to amend existing protocols or
agreements; and
(ii) expanding combating wildlife
trafficking programs to support enforcement of
the closure of such markets and new illegal
markets in response to closures, and the
prevention of such trade, including--
(I) providing assistance to improve
law enforcement;
(II) detecting and deterring the
illegal import, transit, sale and
export of wildlife;
(III) strengthening such programs
to assist countries through legal
reform;
(IV) improving information sharing
and enhancing capabilities of
participating foreign governments;
(V) supporting efforts to change
behavior and reduce demand for such
wildlife products; and
(VI) leveraging United States
private sector technologies and
expertise to scale and enhance
enforcement responses to detect and
prevent such trade;
(D) leveraging strong United States bilateral
relationships to support new and existing inter-
ministerial collaborations or task forces that can
serve as regional One Health models; or
(E) building local agricultural capacity by
leveraging expertise from the Department of
Agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and institutions
of higher education with agricultural expertise;
(2) prevent the degradation and fragmentation of forests
and other intact ecosystems, particularly in tropical
countries, to minimize interactions between wildlife and human
and livestock populations that could contribute to spillover
events and zoonotic disease transmission, including by
providing assistance or supporting policies to--
(A) conserve, protect, and restore the integrity of
such ecosystems;
(B) support the rights of indigenous peoples and
local communities and their abilities to continue their
effective stewardships of their traditional lands and
territories;
(C) support the establishment and effective
management of protected areas, prioritizing highly
intact areas; and
(D) prevent activities that result in the
destruction, degradation, fragmentation, or conversion
of intact forests and other intact ecosystems and
biodiversity strongholds, including by governments,
private sector entities, and multilateral development
financial institutions;
(3) offer alternative livelihood and worker training
programs and enterprise development to wildlife traders,
wildlife breeders, and local communities whose members are
engaged in the commercial wildlife trade for human consumption;
(4) work with indigenous peoples and local communities to--
(A) ensure that their rights are respected and
their authority to exercise such rights is protected;
(B) provide education and awareness on animal
handling, sanitation, and disease transmission, as well
as sustainable wildlife management and support to
develop village-level alternative sources of protein
and nutrition;
(C) reduce the risk of zoonotic spillover while
ensuring food security and access to healthy diets; and
(D) improve farming practices to reduce the risk of
zoonotic spillover to livestock;
(5) strengthen global capacity for detection of zoonotic
diseases with pandemic potential; and
(6) support the development of One Health systems at the
community level.
SEC. 6. GLOBAL ZOONOTIC DISEASE TASK FORCE.
(a) Establishment.--There is established a task force to be known
as the ``Global Zoonotic Disease Task Force''.
(b) Duties of Task Force.--The duties of the Task Force shall be
to--
(1) ensure an integrated approach across the Federal
Government and globally to the prevention of, early detection
of, preparedness for, and response to zoonotic spillover and
the outbreak and transmission of zoonotic diseases that may
pose a threat to global health security;
(2) not later than one year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, develop and publish, on a publicly accessible
website, a plan for global biosecurity and zoonotic disease
prevention and response that leverages expertise in public
health, wildlife health, livestock veterinary health,
sustainable forest management, community-based conservation,
rural food security, and indigenous rights to coordinate
zoonotic disease surveillance internationally, including
support for One Health institutions around the world that can
prevent and provide early detection of zoonotic outbreaks; and
(3) expanding the scope of the implementation of the White
House's Global Health Security Strategy to more robustly
support the prevention of zoonotic spillover and respond to
zoonotic disease investigations and outbreaks by establishing a
10-year strategy with specific Federal Government international
goals, priorities, and timelines for action, including to--
(A) recommend policy actions and mechanisms in
developing countries to reduce the risk of zoonotic
spillover and zoonotic disease emergence and
transmission, including in support of the activities
described in section 5;
(B) identify new mandates, authorities, and
incentives needed to strengthen the global zoonotic
disease plan under paragraph (2); and
(C) prioritize engagement in programs that target
tropical countries and regions experiencing high rates
of deforestation, forest degradation, and land
conversion, and countries with significant markets for
live wildlife for human consumption.
(c) Membership.--
(1) In general.--The members of the Task Force established
pursuant to subsection (a) shall be composed of representatives
from each of the following agencies:
(A) One permanent Chairperson at the level of
Deputy Assistant Secretary or above from the following
agencies, to rotate every two years in an order to be
determined by the Administrator:
(i) The Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service of the Department of Agriculture.
(ii) The Department of Health and Human
Services or the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
(iii) The Department of the Interior or the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
(iv) The Department of State or USAID.
(v) The National Security Council.
(B) At least 13 additional members, with at least
one from each of the following agencies:
(i) The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
(ii) The Department of Agriculture.
(iii) The Department of Defense.
(iv) The Department of State.
(v) The Environmental Protection Agency.
(vi) The National Science Foundation.
(vii) The National Institutes of Health.
(viii) The National Institute of Standards
and Technology.
(ix) The Office of Science and Technology
Policy.
(x) The United States Agency for
International Development.
(xi) The United States Fish and Wildlife
Service.
(xii) U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
(xiii) U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement.
(2) Timing of appointments.--Appointments to the Task Force
shall be made not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(3) Terms.--
(A) In general.--Each member of the Task Force
shall be appointed for a term of two years.
(B) Vacancies.--Any member appointed to fill a
vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for
which the member's predecessor was appointed shall be
appointed only for the remainder of that term. A member
may serve after the expiration of that term until a
successor has been appointed.
(d) Meeting.--
(1) Initial meeting.--The Task Force shall hold its initial
meeting not later than 45 days after the final appointment of
all members under subsection (b)(2).
(2) Meetings.--
(A) In general.--The Task Force shall meet at the
call of the Chairperson.
(B) Quorum.--Eight members of the Task Force shall
constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold
hearings.
(e) Compensation.--
(1) Prohibition of compensation.--Except as provided in
paragraph (2), members of the Task Force may not receive
additional pay, allowances, benefits by reason of their service
on the Task Force.
(2) Travel expenses.--Each member shall receive travel
expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in
accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter I of
chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.
(f) Reports.--
(1) Report to task force.--Not later than 6 months after
the enactment of this act and annually thereafter, the Federal
agencies listed in subsection (b), shall submit a report to the
Task Force containing a detailed statement with respect to the
results of any programming within their agencies that addresses
the goals of zoonotic spillover and disease prevention.
(2) Report to congress.--Not later than 12 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the
Task Force shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees and the National Security Advisor a report
containing a detailed statement of the recommendations of the
Council pursuant to subsection (b).
(g) FACA.--Section 14(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Advisory Committee
Act shall not apply to the Task Force. The Task Force is authorized for
seven years beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, and up
to an additional two years at the discretion of the Task Force
Chairperson.
SEC. 7. PREVENTING OUTBREAKS OF ZOONOTIC DISEASES.
(a) Integrated Zoonotic Diseases Program.--There is authorized an
integrated zoonotic diseases program within the United States Agency
for International Development's global health security programs, led by
the Administrator, in consultation with the Director for the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention and other relevant Federal agencies,
to prevent spillover events, epidemics, and pandemics through the
following activities:
(1) Partnering with a consortium that possesses the
following technical capabilities:
(A) Institution with expertise in global wildlife
health and zoonotic pathogen, animal care and
management, combating wildlife trafficking, including
community-based conservation, wildlife trade and
trafficking, wildlife habitat protection, protected
area management, and preventing deforestation and
forest degradation.
(B) Institutions of higher education with
veterinary and public health expertise.
(C) Institutions with public health expertise.
(2) Implementing programs that aim to prevent zoonotic
spillover and expand on the results of the USAID Emerging
Pandemic Threat Outcomes program, including PREDICT and
PREDICT-2, to prioritize the following activities:
(A) Utilizing coordinated information and data
sharing platforms, including information related to
biosecurity threats, in ongoing and future research.
(B) Conducting One Health zoonotic research at
human-wildlife interfaces.
(C) Conducting One Health research into known and
novel zoonotic pathogen detection.
(D) Conducting surveillance, including biosecurity
surveillance, of priority and unknown zoonotic diseases
and the transmission of such diseases.
(E) Preventing spillover events of zoonotic
diseases.
(F) Investing in frontline diagnostic capability at
points of contact.
(G) Understanding global and national-level legal
and illegal wildlife trade routes and value chains, and
their impacts on biodiversity loss on human-wildlife
interfaces.
(H) Understanding the impacts of land-use change
and conversion and biodiversity loss on human-wildlife
interfaces and zoonotic spillover risk.
(I) Supporting development of One Health capacity
and systems at the community level including
integrating activities to improve community health,
promote sustainable management and conservation of
forests, and ensure safety in livestock production and
handling.
(J) Utilizing existing One Health trained workforce
in developing countries to identify high risk or
reoccurring spillover event locations and concentrate
capacity and functionality at such locations.
(K) Continuing to train a One Health workforce in
developing countries to prevent and respond to disease
outbreaks in animals and humans, including training
protected area managers in disease collection
technology linked to existing data sharing platforms.
(b) Termination.--The integrated zoonotic diseases program
authorized under this section shall terminate on the date that is ten
years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 8. USAID MULTISECTORAL STRATEGY FOR FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL HEALTH,
BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION, AND REDUCING DEMAND FOR
WILDLIFE FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.
(a) In General.--The Administrator shall develop, and publish on a
publicly accessible website, a multisectoral strategy for food
security, global health, and biodiversity protection and shall include
information about zoonotic disease surveillance in the reports required
by section 406(b) of the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020.
(b) Multisectoral Strategy.--The Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID), through sectoral and
regional bureaus, shall develop a multisectoral strategy to integrate
and mitigate risks of zoonotic disease emergence and spread, food
insecurity, biodiversity conservation, and wildlife and habitat
destruction. The strategy shall include participation of the following:
(1) The Bureau for Africa.
(2) The Bureau for Asia.
(3) The Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and
Environment.
(4) The Bureau for Global Health.
(5) The Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean.
(6) The Bureau for Resiliency, and Food Security.
(7) The Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance
Bureau.
(c) Contents.--The USAID multisectoral strategy developed pursuant
to subsection (a) shall include--
(1) a statement of the United States intention to
facilitate international cooperation to prevent commercial
trade in live wildlife and raw or unprocessed wildlife parts
and derivatives for human consumption, that risk contributing
to zoonotic spillover and to prevent the degradation and
fragmentation of forests and other intact ecosystems in
tropical countries while ensuring full consideration to the
needs and rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities
that depend on wildlife for their food security;
(2) programs supporting integrated One Health activities to
improve community health, promote the sustainable management,
conservation, and restoration of forests, and ensure safety in
livestock production and handling;
(3) programs and objectives to change wildlife consumers'
behavior, attitudes and consumption of wildlife that risks
contributing to zoonotic spillover;
(4) programs to increase supplies of sustainably and
locally produced alternative animal and plant-based sources of
protein and nutrition;
(5) programs to protect, maintain and restore ecosystem
integrity;
(6) programs to ensure that countries are sufficiently
prepared to detect, report, and respond to zoonotic disease
spillover events;
(7) programs to prevent, prepare for, detect, report, and
respond to zoonotic disease spillover events; and
(8) the identification of Landscape Leaders residing in-
country who will coordinate strategic implementation, the
overseeing of Conservation Corps volunteers, and coordination
with donors and award recipients throughout the term of the
project.
SEC. 9. IMPLEMENTATION OF MULTISECTORAL STRATEGY.
(a) Implementation.--The USAID multisectoral strategy under section
8 shall be implemented--
(1) through USAID bilateral programs through missions and
embassies and will account for half of the portfolio; and
(2) through demonstration projects that meet the
requirements of subsection (b) and account for half of the
portfolio.
(b) Demonstration Projects.--
(1) Purpose.--The purpose of demonstration projects under
subsection (a) shall be to--
(A) pilot the implementation of the USAID
multisectoral strategy by leveraging the international
commitments of the donor community;
(B) prevent pandemics and reduce demand for fresh
and live wildlife source foods as a way to stop
spillover;
(C) establish and increase availability of and
access to sustainably and locally produced animal and
plant-based sources of protein and nutrition to provide
an alternative to the growing wild meat demand in
urban, suburban, and exurban communities; and
(D) realize the greatest impact in low capacity
forested countries with susceptibility to zoonotic
spillover and spread that can lead to a pandemic.
(2) Demonstration project country plans.--
(A) In general.--USAID shall lead a collaborative
effort in coordination with the Department of State,
embassies of the United States, and the International
Development Finance Corporation to consult with in-
country stakeholder and participants in key forested
countries to develop a plan that reflects the local
needs and identifies measures of nutrition, yield gap
analysis, global health safeguards, forest and
biodiversity protection, bushmeat demand reduction and
consumer behavior change, and market development
progress, within 90 days of completion of the
multisectoral strategy.
(B) Eligible projects.--Eligible demonstration
projects shall include small holder backyard production
of animal source foods including poultry, fish, guinea
pigs, and insects.
(C) Stakeholders and participants.--Stakeholder and
participants in the development of the multisectoral
country plans shall include but are not limited to--
(i) recipient countries;
(ii) donors governments;
(iii) multilaterals institutions;
(iv) conservation organizations;
(v) One Health institutions;
(vi) agricultural extension services;
(vii) domestic and international
institutions of higher education;
(viii) food security experts;
(ix) United States grain and animal protein
production experts;
(x) social marketing and behavioral change
experts; and
(xi) financial institutions and micro-
enterprise experts.
(3) Change in livelihoods.--Multisectoral country plans
shall include programs to re-train individuals no longer
engaged in supplying wildlife markets in fundamental components
of commercial animal source food production, including
agriculture extension, veterinary care, sales and marketing,
supply chains, transportation, livestock feed production,
micro-enterprise, and market analysis.
(4) Location of demonstration projects.--Collaboration
between United States Government assistance and other donor
investments shall occur in five demonstration projects, which
shall be in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
(5) Timing.--Five demonstration projects shall be selected
and each shall be tested over four years after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(c) Reporting.--
(1) Agency report.--The Administrator shall annually submit
to the global zoonotic disease task force established pursuant
to section 6, the President, and the appropriate congressional
committees a report regarding the progress achieved and
challenges concerning the development of a multisectoral
strategy for food security, global health, biodiversity, and
reducing demand for wildlife for human consumption required
under this section. Data included in each such report shall be
disaggregated by country, and shall include recommendations to
resolve, mitigate, or otherwise address such challenges. Each
such report shall, to the extent possible, be made publicly
available.
(2) Report to congress.--The Administrator shall submit a
strategy within one year of the enactment of this Act outlining
the implementation of the country plans and identifying
demonstration sites and criteria for pilot programs. Four years
after the enactment, the Administrator shall submit a
reassessment of the strategy to Congress, as well as a
recommendation as to whether and how to expand these programs
globally.
SEC. 10. ESTABLISHMENT OF CONSERVATION CORPS.
(a) In General.--The Administrator shall establish a Conservation
Corps to provide Americans eligible for service abroad, under
conditions of hardship if necessary, to deliver technical and strategic
assistance to in-country leaders of demonstration projects,
stakeholders, and donors implementing and financing the multisectoral
strategy under section 8 to reduce demand for wildlife for human
consumption through food security, global health, and biodiversity and
related demonstration projects.
(b) Persons Eligible To Serve as Volunteers.--The Administrator may
enroll in the Conservation Corps for service abroad qualified citizens
and nationals for short terms of service at the discretion of the
Administrator.
(c) Responsibilities.--The Conservation Corps volunteers shall be
responsible for--
(1) providing training to agricultural producers to
encourage participants to share and pass on to other
agricultural producers in the home communities of the
participants the information and skills obtained from the
training under this section;
(2) identifying areas for the extension of additional
technical resources through farmer-to-farmer exchanges; and
(3) conducting assessments of individual projects and
bilateral strategies and recommend knowledge management
strategies toward building programs to scale and strengthening
projects.
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