[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4074 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4074
To prevent future pandemics, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 7, 2022
Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Mr. Booker, Mr. Portman, Mr. Coons, Mr.
Graham, and Mr. Carper) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prevent future pandemics, 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 ``Preventing Future Pandemics Act of
2022''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate;
(B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives; and
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Commercial trade in live wildlife.--The term
``commercial trade in live wildlife''--
(A) means commercial trade in live wildlife for
human consumption as food or medicine, whether the
animals originated in the wild or in a captive
environment; and
(B) does not include--
(i) fish;
(ii) invertebrates;
(iii) amphibians and reptiles; and
(iv) the meat of ruminant game species--
(I) traded in markets in countries
with effective implementation and
enforcement of scientifically based,
nationally implemented policies and
legislation for processing, trans-port,
trade, and marketing; and
(II) sold after being slaughtered
and processed under sanitary
conditions.
(3) One health.--The term ``One Health'' means a
collaborative, multi-sectoral, and transdisciplinary approach
working at the local, regional, national, and global levels
with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes that
recognizes the interconnection between--
(A) people, animals, both wild and domestic, and
plants; and
(B) the environment shared by such people, animals,
and plants.
(4) Wildlife market.--The term ``wildlife market''--
(A) means a commercial market or subsection of a
commercial market--
(i) where live mammalian or avian wildlife
is held, slaughtered, or sold for human
consumption as food or medicine whether the
animals originated in the wild or in a captive
environment; and
(ii) that delivers a product in communities
where alternative nutritional or protein
sources are readily available and affordable;
and
(B) does not include--
(i) markets in areas where no other
practical alternative sources of protein or
meat exists, such as wildlife markets in rural
areas on which indigenous people and rural
local communities rely to feed them-selves and
their families; and
(ii) processors of dead wild game and fish.
SEC. 3. COUNTRY-DRIVEN APPROACH TO END THE COMMERCIAL TRADE IN LIVE
WILDLIFE AND ASSOCIATED WILDLIFE MARKETS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the completion of
the first report required under section 6, the Secretary of State, in
coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development and the heads of other relevant Federal
departments and agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of the
Interior, and after consideration of the results of best available
scientific findings of practices and behaviors occurring at the source
of zoonoses spillover and spread, shall publicly release a list of
countries the governments of which express willingness to end the
domestic and international commercial trade in live wildlife and
associated wildlife markets for human consumption, as defined for
purposes of this Act--
(1) immediately;
(2) after a transitional period; and
(3) aspirationally, over a long-term period.
(b) Global Health Security Zoonosis Plans.--The Secretary of State
and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development shall work bilaterally with the governments of the
countries listed pursuant to subsection (a) to establish Global Health
Security Zoonoses Plans that--
(1) outline actions to address novel pathogens of zoonotic
origin that have the potential to become epidemics or
pandemics;
(2) identify incentives and strengthened policies; and
(3) provide technical support to communities, policy
makers, civil society, law enforcement, and other stakeholders
to--
(A) end the domestic and international commercial
trade in live wildlife and associated wildlife markets
for human consumption immediately, during a
transitional period, or aspirationally; and
(B) improve the biosecurity and sanitation
conditions in markets.
(c) Updates.--The list of countries required by subsection (a), the
corresponding Global Health Security Zoonosis plans established
pursuant to subsection (b), and any actions taken under such plans to
end the commercial trade in live wildlife and associated wildlife
markets for human consumption immediately, during a transitional
period, or aspirationally, shall be reviewed, updated, and publicly
released annually by the Secretary and Administrator, following review
of the most recent scientific data.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that global institutions, including the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World
Organisation for Animal Health, the World Health Organization, and the
United Nations Environment Programme, together with leading
intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, veterinary and
medical colleges, the Department of State, and the United States Agency
for International Development, should--
(1) promote the paradigm of One Health as an effective and
integrated way to address the complexity of emerging disease
threats; and
(2) support improved community health, biodiversity
conservation, forest conservation and management, sustainable
agriculture, and the safety of livestock, domestic animals, and
wildlife in developing countries, particularly in tropical
landscapes where there is an elevated risk of zoonotic disease
spill over.
SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to--
(1) support the availability of scalable and sustainable
alternative sources of protein and nutrition for local
communities, where appropriate, in order to minimize human
reliance on the commercial trade in live wildlife for human
consumption;
(2) support foreign governments to--
(A) reduce commercial trade in live wildlife for
human consumption;
(B) transition from the commercial trade in live
wildlife for human consumption to sustainably produced
alternate protein and nutritional sources;
(C) establish and effectively manage and protect
natural habitat, including protected and conserved
areas and the lands of Indigenous peoples and local
communities, particularly in countries with tropical
forest hotspots for emerging diseases;
(D) strengthen veterinary and agricultural
extension capacity to improve sanitation along the
value chain and biosecurity of live animal markets; and
(E) strengthen public health capacity, particularly
in countries where there is a high risk of emerging
zoonotic viruses and other infectious diseases;
(3) respect the rights and needs of indigenous peoples and
local communities dependent on such wildlife for nutritional
needs and food security; and
(4) facilitate international cooperation by working with
international partners through intergovernmental,
international, and nongovernmental organizations such as the
United Nations to--
(A) lead a resolution at the United Nations
Security Council or General Assembly and World Health
Assembly outlining the danger to human and animal
health from emerging zoonotic infectious diseases, with
recommendations for implementing the closure of
wildlife markets and prevention of the commercial trade
in live wildlife for human consumption, except where
the consumption of wildlife is necessary for local food
security or where such actions would significantly
disrupt a readily available and irreplaceable food
supply;
(B) raise awareness and build stakeholder
engagement networks, including civil society, the
private sector, and local and regional governments on
the dangerous potential of wildlife markets as a source
of zoonotic diseases and reduce demand for the
consumption of wildlife through evidence-based behavior
change programs, while ensuring that existing wildlife
habitat is not encroached upon or destroyed as part of
this process;
(C) encourage and support alternative forms of
sustainable food production, farming, and shifts to
sustainable sources of protein and nutrition instead of
terrestrial wildlife, where able and appropriate, and
reduce consumer demand for terrestrial and freshwater
wildlife through enhanced local and national food
systems, especially in areas where wildlife markets
play a significant role in meeting subsistence needs
while ensuring that existing wildlife habitat is not
encroached upon or destroyed as part of this process;
and
(D) strive to increase biosecurity and hygienic
standards implemented in farms, gathering centers,
transport, and market systems around the globe,
especially those specializing in the provision of
products intended for human consumption.
SEC. 6. PREVENTION OF FUTURE ZOONOTIC SPILLOVER EVENT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State and the 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, the Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, and the heads of other relevant departments and
agencies, shall work with foreign governments, multilateral entities,
intergovernmental organizations, international partners, private sector
partners, and nongovernmental organizations to carry out activities
supporting the following objectives, recognizing that multiple
interventions will likely be necessary to make an impact, and that
interventions will need to be tailored to the situation to--
(1) pursuant to section 3, close wildlife markets and
prevent associated commercial trade in live wildlife, placing a
priority focus on countries with significant markets for live
wildlife for human consumption, high-volume commercial trade
and associated markets, trade in and across urban centers, and
trade for luxury consumption or where there is no dietary
necessity--
(A) through existing treaties, conventions, and
agreements;
(B) by amending existing protocols or agreements;
(C) by pursuing new protocols; or
(D) by other means of international coordination;
(2) improve regulatory oversight and reduce commercial
trade in live wildlife and eliminate practices identified to
contribute to zoonotic spillover and emerging pathogens;
(3) prevent commercial trade in live wildlife through
programs that combat wildlife trafficking and poaching,
including--
(A) providing assistance to improve law
enforcement;
(B) detecting and deterring the illegal import,
transit, sale, and export of wildlife;
(C) strengthening such programs to assist countries
through legal reform;
(D) improving information sharing and enhancing
capabilities of participating foreign governments;
(E) supporting efforts to change behavior and
reduce demand for such wildlife products;
(F) leveraging United States private sector
technologies and expertise to scale and enhance
enforcement responses to detect and prevent such trade;
and
(G) strengthening collaboration with key private
sector entities in the transportation industry to
prevent and report the transport of such wildlife and
wildlife products;
(4) leverage strong United States bilateral relationships
to support new and existing inter-Ministerial collaborations or
Task Forces that can serve as regional One Health models;
(5) build local agricultural and food safety capacity by
leveraging expertise from the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) and institutions of higher education with
agricultural or natural resource expertise;
(6) work through international organizations to help
develop a set of objective risk-based metrics that provide a
cross-country comparable measure of the level of risk posed by
wildlife trade and marketing and can be used to track progress
nations make in reducing risks, identify where resources should
be focused, and potentially leverage a peer influence effect;
(7) increase efforts to prevent the degradation and
fragmentation of forests and other intact ecosystems 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, for example--
(A) conserve, protect, and restore the integrity of
such ecosystems;
(B) support the rights and needs of Indigenous
People and local communities and their ability to
continue their effective stewardship 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;
(8) offer appropriate alternative livelihood and worker
training programs and enterprise development to wildlife
traders, wildlife breeders, and local communities whose members
are engaged in the commercial trade in live wildlife for human
consumption;
(9) ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples and local
communities are respected and their authority to exercise these
rights is protected;
(10) strengthen global capacity for prevention, prediction,
and detection of novel and existing zoonoses with pandemic
potential, including the support of innovative technologies in
coordination with the United States Agency for International
Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
and other relevant departments and agencies; and
(11) support the development of One Health systems at the
local, regional, national, and global levels in coordination
with the United States Agency for International Development,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other
relevant departments and agencies, particularly in emerging
infectious disease hotspots, through a collaborative,
multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach that recognizes
the interconnections among people, animals, plants, and their
shared environment to achieve equitable and sustainable health
outcomes.
(b) Activities May Include.--
(1) Global cooperation.--The United States Government,
working through the United Nations and its components, as well
as international organization such as Interpol, the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the World
Organisation for Animal Health, and in furtherance of the
policies described in section 5, shall--
(A) collaborate with other member States, issue
declarations, statements, and communiques urging
countries to close wildlife markets, and prevent
commercial trade in live wildlife for human
consumption; and
(B) urge increased enforcement of existing laws to
end wildlife trafficking.
(2) International coalitions.--The Secretary of State shall
seek to build new, and support existing, international
coalitions focused on closing wildlife markets and preventing
commercial trade in live wildlife for human consumption, with a
focus on the following efforts:
(A) Providing assistance and advice to other
governments in the adoption of legislation and
regulations to close wildlife markets and associated
trade over such timeframe and in such manner as to
minimize the increase of wildlife trafficking and
poaching.
(B) Creating economic and enforcement pressure for
the immediate shut down of uncontrolled, unsanitary, or
illicit wildlife markets and their supply chains to
prevent their operation.
(C) Providing assistance and guidance to other
governments on measures to prohibit the import, export,
and domestic commercial trade in live wildlife for the
purpose of human consumption.
(D) Implementing risk reduction interventions and
control options to address zoonotic spillover along the
supply chain for the wildlife market system.
(E) Engaging and receiving guidance from key
stakeholders at the ministerial, local government, and
civil society level, including Indigenous Peoples, in
countries that will be impacted by this Act and where
wildlife markets and associated wildlife trade are the
predominant source of meat or protein, in order to
mitigate the impact of any international efforts on
food security, nutrition, local customs, conservation
methods, or cultural norms.
(c) United States Agency for International Development.--
(1) Sustainable food systems funding.--
(A) Authorization of appropriations.--In addition
to any other amounts provided for such purposes, there
is authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary
for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2032 to the
United States Agency for International Development to
reduce demand for consumption of wildlife from wildlife
markets and support shifts to diversified alternative
and sustainably produced sources of nutritious food and
protein in communities that rely upon the consumption
of wildlife for food security, while ensuring that
existing wildlife habitat is not encroached upon or
destroyed as part of this process, using a
multisectoral approach and including support for
demonstration programs.
(B) Activities.--The Bureau for Development,
Democracy and Innovation (DDI), the Bureau for
Resilience and Food Security (RFS), and the Bureau for
Global Health (GH) of the United States Agency for
International Development shall, in partnership with
United States and international institutions of higher
education and nongovernmental organizations, co-develop
approaches focused on safe, sustainable food systems
that support and incentivize the replacement of
terrestrial wildlife in diets, while ensuring that
existing wildlife habitat is not encroached upon or
destroyed as part of this process.
(2) Addressing threats and causes of zoonotic disease
outbreaks.--The Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development, in consultation with the Secretary
of the Interior, shall increase activities in United States
Agency for International Development programs related to
conserving biodiversity, combating wildlife trafficking,
sustainable landscapes, global health, food security, and
resilience in order to address the threats and causes of
zoonotic disease outbreaks, including through--
(A) education;
(B) capacity building;
(C) strengthening human, livestock, and wildlife
health monitoring systems of pathogens of zoonotic
origin to support early detection and reporting of
novel and known pathogens for emergence of zoonotic
disease and strengthening cross-sectoral collaboration
to align risk reduction approaches in consultation with
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and the
Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(D) improved domestic and wild animal disease
monitoring and control at production and market levels;
(E) development of alternative livelihood
opportunities where possible;
(F) preventing degradation and fragmentation of
forests and other intact ecosystems and restoring the
integrity of such ecosystems, particularly in tropical
countries, to prevent the creation of new pathways for
zoonotic pathogen transmission that arise from
interactions among wildlife, humans, and livestock
populations;
(G) minimizing interactions between domestic
livestock and wild animals in markets and captive
production;
(H) supporting shifts from wildlife markets to
diversified, safe, affordable, and accessible
alternative sources of protein and nutrition through
enhanced local and national food systems while ensuring
that existing wildlife habitat is not encroached upon
or destroyed as part of this process;
(I) improving community health, forest management
practices, and safety of livestock production in
tropical landscapes, particularly in hotspots for
zoonotic spillover and emerging infectious diseases;
(J) preventing degradation and fragmentation of
forests and other intact ecosystems, particularly in
tropical countries, to minimize interactions between
wildlife, human, and livestock populations that could
contribute to spillover events and zoonotic disease
transmission, including by providing assistance or
supporting policies to--
(i) conserve, protect, and restore the
integrity of such ecosystems; and
(ii) support the rights of Indigenous
People and local communities and their ability
to continue their effective steward ship of
their intact traditional lands and territories;
(K) supporting development and use of multi-data
sourced predictive models and decisionmaking tools to
identify areas of highest probability of zoonotic
spillover and to determine cost-effective monitoring
and mitigation approaches; and
(L) other relevant activities described in this
section that are within the mandate of the United
States Agency for International Development.
(d) Staffing Requirements.--The Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, in collaboration with the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service, the United States Department of
Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, and other Federal entities as
appropriate, is authorized to hire additional personnel--
(1) to undertake programs aimed at reducing the risks of
endemic and emerging infectious diseases and exposure to
antimicrobial resistant pathogens;
(2) to provide administrative support and resources to
ensure effective and efficient coordination of funding
opportunities and sharing of expertise from relevant United
States Agency for International Development bureaus and
programs, including emerging pandemic threats;
(3) to award funding to on-the-ground projects;
(4) to provide project oversight to ensure accountability
and transparency in all phases of the award process; and
(5) to undertake additional activities under this Act.
(e) Reporting Requirements.--
(1) Department of state and united states agency for
international development.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually
thereafter until 2030, the Secretary of State and the
Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report--
(i) describing--
(I) the actions taken pursuant to
this Act and the provision of United
States technical assistance;
(II) the impact and effectiveness
of international cooperation on
shutting down wildlife markets;
(III) partnerships developed with
other institutions of higher learning
and nongovernmental organizations; and
(IV) the impact and effectiveness
of international cooperation on
preventing the import, export, and
domestic commercial trade in live
wildlife for the purpose of human use
as food or medicine, while accounting
for the differentiated needs of
vulnerable populations who depend upon
such wildlife as a predominant source
of meat or protein;
(ii) identifying--
(I) foreign countries that continue
to enable the operation of wildlife
markets as defined by this Act and the
associated trade of wildlife products
for human use as food or medicine that
feeds such markets;
(II) recommendations for
incentivizing or enforcing compliance
with laws and policies to close
wildlife markets pursuant to section 3
and uncontrolled, unsanitary, or
illicit wildlife markets and end the
associated commercial trade in live
wildlife for human use as food or
medicine, which may include visa
restrictions and other diplomatic or
economic tools; and
(III) summarizing additional
personnel hired with funding authorized
under this Act, including the number
hired in each bureau.
(B) Initial report.--The first report submitted
under subparagraph (A) shall include, in addition to
the elements described in such subparagraph, a summary
of existing research and findings related to the risk
live wildlife markets pose to human health through the
emergence or reemergence of pathogens and activities to
reduce the risk of zoonotic spillover.
(C) Form.--The report required under this paragraph
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may
include a classified annex.
SEC. 7. LAW ENFORCEMENT ATTACHE DEPLOYMENT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the
Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and in
consultation with the Secretary of State, shall require the Chief of
Law Enforcement of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to hire,
train, and deploy not fewer than 50 new United States Fish and Wildlife
Service law enforcement attaches, and appropriate additional support
staff, at 1 or more United States embassies, consulates, commands, or
other facilities--
(1) in 1 or more countries designated as a focus country or
a country of concern in the most recent report submitted under
section 201 of the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife
Trafficking Act of 2016 (16 U.S.C. 7621); and
(2) in such additional countries or regions, as determined
by the Secretary of the Interior, that are known or suspected
to be a source of illegal trade of species listed--
(A) as a threatened species or an endangered
species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or
(B) under appendix I of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora, done at Washington March 3, 1973 (27 UST
1087; TIAS 8249).
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $150,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2023 through 2032.
SEC. 8. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS.
Nothing in this Act shall restrict or otherwise prohibit--
(1) legal and regulated hunting, fishing, or trapping
activities for subsistence, sport, or recreation; or
(2) the lawful domestic and international transport of
legally harvested fish or wildlife trophies.
<all>