Global Pandemic Prevention and Biosecurity Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1737 To establish a global zoonotic disease task force, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 20, 2021 Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 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 Pandemic Pre- 4 vention and Biosecurity Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 6 It shall be the policy of the United States Govern- 7 ment— 8 (1) to support improved community health, for- 9 est management, sustainable agriculture, and safety 10 of livestock production in developing countries, par- 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1737.IS S1737 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1737 IS ticularly in tropical landscapes where there is an ele- 1 vated risk of zoonotic disease spillover; 2 (2) to support the availability of scalable and 3 sustainable alternative animal and plant-sourced 4 protein for local communities, where appropriate, to 5 minimize human reliance on the trade in live wildlife 6 and raw or unprocessed wildlife parts and deriva- 7 tives; 8 (3) to support foreign governments— 9 (A) to transition from the sale of such 10 wildlife for human consumption in markets and 11 restaurants to alternate protein and nutritional 12 sources; and 13 (B) to prevent commercial trade in live 14 wildlife and raw or unprocessed wildlife parts 15 and derivatives that risks contributing to 16 zoonotic spillover events between animals and 17 humans, excluding commercial trade in— 18 (i) fish; 19 (ii) invertebrates; 20 (iii) amphibians; 21 (iv) reptiles; and 22 (v) the meat of game species— 23 (I) traded in markets in coun- 24 tries with effective implementation 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1737.IS S1737 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1737 IS and enforcement of scientifically 1 based, nationally implemented policies 2 and legislation for processing, trans- 3 port, trade, marketing; and 4 (II) sold after being slaughtered 5 and processed under sanitary condi- 6 tions; and 7 (C) to establish and effectively manage 8 protected and conserved areas, particularly in 9 tropical landscapes where there is an elevated 10 risk of zoonotic disease spillover, including in- 11 digenous and community-conserved areas; 12 (4) to encourage development projects that do 13 not contribute to the destruction, fragmentation, or 14 degradation of forests or the loss of biodiversity; and 15 (5) to respect the rights and needs of indige- 16 nous people and local communities dependent on 17 such wildlife for nutritional 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 17:46 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1737.IS S1737 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1737 IS (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 1 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 2 mittees’’ means— 3 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 4 the Senate; 5 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of 6 the Senate; 7 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 8 the House of Representatives; and 9 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 10 the House of Representatives. 11 (3) COMMERCIAL WILDLIFE TRADE.—The term 12 ‘‘commercial wildlife trade’’ means trade in wildlife 13 for the purpose of obtaining economic benefit 14 (whether in cash or otherwise) that is directed to- 15 ward sale, resale, exchange, or any other form of 16 economic use or benefit. 17 (4) HUMAN CONSUMPTION.—The term ‘‘human 18 consumption’’ means specific use for human food or 19 medicine. 20 (5) LIVE WILDLIFE MARKET.—The term ‘‘live 21 wildlife market’’ means a commercial market that 22 sells, processes, or slaughters live or fresh wildlife 23 for human consumption in markets or restaurants, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1737.IS S1737 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1737 IS regardless of whether such wildlife originated in the 1 wild or in a captive situation. 2 (6) ONE HEALTH.—The term ‘‘One Health’’ 3 means a collaborative, multi-sectoral, and trans-dis- 4 ciplinary approach achieving optimal health out- 5 comes that recognizes the interconnection between— 6 (A) people, wildlife, and plants; and 7 (B) the environment shared by such peo- 8 ple, wildlife, and plants. 9 (7) OUTBREAK.—The term ‘‘outbreak’’ means 10 the occurrence of disease cases in excess of normal 11 expectancy. 12 (8) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.—The term 13 ‘‘public health emergency’’ means the public health 14 emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and 15 Human Services with respect to COVID–19 on Jan- 16 uary 31, 2020, pursuant to section 319 of the Public 17 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d). 18 (9) SPILLOVER EVENT.—The term ‘‘spillover 19 event’’ means the transmission of a pathogen from 20 a species to another species. 21 (10) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘Task Force’’ 22 means the Global Zoonotic Disease Task Force es- 23 tablished under section 6(a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1737.IS S1737 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1737 IS (11) USAID.—The term ‘‘USAID’’ means the 1 United States Agency for International Develop- 2 ment. 3 (12) ZOONOTIC DISEASE.—The term ‘‘zoonotic 4 disease’’ means any disease that is naturally trans- 5 missible between animals and humans. 6 SEC. 4. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds the following: 8 (1) The majority of recent emerging infectious 9 diseases have originated in wildlife. 10 (2) There is a rise in the frequency of zoonotic 11 spillover events and outbreaks of such diseases. 12 (3) This rise in such spillover events and out- 13 breaks relates to the increased interaction between 14 humans and wildlife. 15 (4) There is a progressive and increasing rise in 16 interaction between human populations and wildlife 17 related to deforestation, habitat degradation, and ex- 18 pansion of human activity into the habitat of such 19 wildlife. 20 (5) The increase in such interactions due to 21 these factors, particularly in forested regions of trop- 22 ical countries where there is high mammalian diver- 23 sity, is a serious risk factor for spillover events. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1737.IS S1737 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1737 IS (6) A serious risk factor for spillover events 1 also relates to the collection, production, commercial 2 trade, and sale for human consumption of wildlife 3 that may transmit to zoonotic pathogens to humans 4 that may then replicate and be transmitted within 5 the human population. 6 (7) Such a risk factor is increased if it involves 7 wildlife that— 8 (A) does not ordinarily interact with hu- 9 mans; or 10 (B) lives under a stressful condition, as 11 such condition exacerbates the shedding of 12 zoonotic pathogens. 13 (8) Markets for such wildlife to be sold for 14 human consumption are found in many countries. 15 (9) In some communities, such wildlife may be 16 the only accessible source of high quality nutrition. 17 (10) The public health emergency has resulted 18 in— 19 (A) trillions of dollars in economic damage 20 to the United States; and 21 (B) the deaths of hundreds of thousands of 22 American citizens. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1737.IS S1737 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1737 IS SEC. 5. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD ASSISTING COUN- 1 TRIES IN PREVENTING ZOONOTIC SPILLOVER 2 EVENTS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State and the 4 Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter- 5 national Development, in consultation with the Director 6 of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Sec- 7 retary of Agriculture, and the heads of other relevant 8 agencies, shall coordinate, engage, and work with govern- 9 ments, multilateral entities, intergovernmental organiza- 10 tions, international partners, and nongovernmental orga- 11 nizations— 12 (1) to prevent commercial trade in live wildlife 13 and raw or unprocessed wildlife parts and deriva- 14 tives for human consumption that risks contributing 15 to zoonotic spillover, with a focus on tropical coun- 16 tries and countries with significant markets for live 17 wildlife for human consumption, including— 18 (A) high volume commercial wildlife trade 19 and associated markets; 20 (B) wildlife trade in and across well con- 21 nected urban centers; and 22 (C) wildlife trade for luxury consumption 23 or where there is no dietary necessity; 24 (2) to prevent the degradation and fragmenta- 25 tion of forests and other intact ecosystems, particu- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1737.IS S1737 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1737 IS larly in tropical countries, to minimize interactions 1 between wildlife and human and livestock popu- 2 lations that could contribute to spillover events and 3 zoonotic disease transmission, including by providing 4 assistance or supporting policies that— 5 (A) conserve, protect, and restore the in- 6 tegrity of such ecosystems; 7 (B) support the rights of indigenous people 8 and local communities and their ability to con- 9 tinue their effective stewardship of their tradi- 10 tional lands and territories; 11 (C) support the establishment and effective 12 management of protected areas, prioritizing 13 highly intact areas; and 14 (D) prevent activities that result in the de- 15 struction, degradation, fragmentation, or con- 16 version of intact forests and other intact eco- 17 systems and biodiversity strongholds, including 18 activities carried out by governments, private 19 sector entities, and multilateral development fi- 20 nancial institutions; 21 (3) to offer alternative livelihood and worker 22 training programs and enterprise development to 23 wildlife traders, wildlife breeders, and local commu- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1737.IS S1737 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1737 IS nities whose members are engaged in the commercial 1 wildlife trade for human consumption; 2 (4) to work with indigenous peoples and local 3 communities— 4 (A) to ensure that their rights are re- 5 spected and their authority to exercise such 6 rights is protected; 7 (B) to provide education and awareness re- 8 garding animal handling, sanitation, and dis- 9 ease transmission; 10 (C) to provide sustainable wildlife manage- 11 ment and support for the development of vil- 12 lage-level alternative sources of protein and nu- 13 trition; 14 (D) to reduce the risk of zoonotic spillover, 15 while ensuring food security and access to 16 healthy diets; and 17 (E) to improve farming practices to reduce 18 the risk of zoonotic spillover to livestock; 19 (5) to strengthen global capacity for detection 20 of zoonotic diseases with pandemic potential; and 21 (6) to support the development of One Health 22 systems at the community level. 23 (b) ENGAGEMENT METHODS.—The efforts described 24 in subsection (a) shall be carried out by— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1737.IS S1737 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1737 IS (1) working through existing treaties, conven- 1 tions, and agreements to develop new protocols or 2 amend existing protocols or agreements; 3 (2) expanding combating wildlife trafficking 4 programs to support enforcement of the closure of 5 such markets and new illegal markets in response to 6 closures, and the prevention of such trade, includ- 7 ing— 8 (A) providing assistance to improve law en- 9 forcement; 10 (B) detecting and deterring the illegal im- 11 port, transit, sale, and export of wildlife; 12 (C) strengthening such programs to assist 13 countries through legal reform; 14 (D) improving information sharing and en- 15 hancing capabilities of participating foreign 16 governments; 17 (E) supporting efforts to change behavior 18 and reduce demand for wildlife products de- 19 scribed in subsection (a)(1); and 20 (F) leveraging United States private sector 21 technologies and expertise to scale and enhance 22 enforcement responses to detect and prevent 23 such trade; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1737.IS S1737 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1737 IS (3) leveraging strong bilateral relationships with 1 the United States to support new and existing inter- 2 ministerial collaborations or task forces that can 3 serve as regional One Health models; and 4 (4) building local agricultural capacity by 5 leveraging expertise from the Department of Agri- 6 culture, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 7 and institutions of higher education with agricultural 8 expertise. 9 SEC. 6. GLOBAL ZOONOTIC DISEASE TASK FORCE. 10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 11 ‘‘Global Zoonotic Disease Task Force’’ (referred to in this 12 section as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 13 (b) COMPOSITION.— 14 (1) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall be 15 composed of— 16 (A) a Chairperson, which position shall ro- 17 tate every 2 years, in an order to be determined 18 by the Administrator, among a representative 19 (at the level of Deputy Assistant Secretary or 20 above) of— 21 (i) the Animal and Plant Health In- 22 spection Service of the Department of Ag- 23 riculture; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1737.IS S1737 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1737 IS (ii) the Department of Health and 1 Human Services or the Centers for Disease 2 Control and Prevention; 3 (iii) the Department of the Interior or 4 the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv- 5 ice; 6 (iv) the Department of State or 7 USAID; and 8 (v) the National Security Council; and 9 (B) at least 13 additional members, 10 from— 11 (i) the Centers for Disease Control 12 and Prevention; 13 (ii) the Department of Agriculture; 14 (iii) the Department of Defense; 15 (iv) the Department of Stat [Text truncated for display. 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