text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Animal Disease Risk Assessment, 
  Prevention, and Control Act of 2001''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
  
      (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
              (1) it is in the interest of the United States to maintain 
          healthy livestock herds;
              (2) managing the risks of foot and mouth disease, bovine 
          spongiform encephalopathy, and related diseases in the United 
          States may require billions of dollars for remedial activities 
          by consumers, producers, and distributors of meat and blood 
          products;
              (3) the potential introduction of those diseases into the 
          United States would cause devastating financial losses to--
                      (A) the agriculture industry and other economic 
                  sectors; and
                      (B) United States trade in the affected animals and 
                  animal products;
              (4) foot and mouth disease is a severe and highly 
          contagious viral infection affecting cattle, deer, goats, 
          sheep, swine, and other animals;
              (5) the most effective means of eradicating foot and mouth 
          disease is by the slaughter of affected animals;
              (6) while foot and mouth disease was eradicated in the 
          United States in 1929, the virus could be reintroduced by--
                      (A) a single infected animal, an animal product, or 
                  a person carrying the virus;
                      (B) an act of terrorism; or
                      (C) other means;
              (7) once introduced, foot and mouth disease can spread 
          quickly through--
                      (A) exposure to aerosols from infected animals;
                      (B) direct contact with infected animals; and
                      (C) contact with contaminated feed, equipment, or 
                  humans harboring the virus or carrying the virus on 
                  their clothing;
              (8) foot and mouth disease is endemic to more than \2/3\ of 
          the world and is considered to be widespread in parts of 
          Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America;
              (9) foot and mouth disease occurs in over 7 different 
          serotypes and 60 subtypes;
              (10) as foot and mouth disease outbreaks have occurred, the 
          United States has banned the importation of live ruminants and 
          swine and many animal products from countries affected by foot 
          and mouth disease;
              (11) recently, the United States has implemented bans in 
          response to outbreaks in Argentina, the European Union, and 
          Taiwan;
              (12) although United States exclusion programs have been 
          successful at keeping foot and mouth disease out of the United 
          States since 1929, recent outbreaks in Argentina, the European 
          Union, and Taiwan are placing an unprecedented strain on our 
          animal health system;
              (13) bovine spongiform encephalopathy is a transmissible, 
          neuro-degenerative disease found in cattle;
              (14) in cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the 
          active agent is found primarily in the brain and spinal cord 
          and has not been found in commonly consumed beef products;
              (15) bovine spongiform encephalopathy is thought to have an 
          incubation period of several years but is ultimately fatal to 
          cattle within weeks of onset of the active disease;
              (16) bovine spongiform encephalopathy was first widely 
          found in 1986 in cattle in the United Kingdom;
              (17) bovine spongiform encephalopathy-carrying cattle have 
          been found in cattle in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, 
          Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, 
          Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland;
              (18) cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy 
          originating from the United Kingdom have been found and 
          intercepted in Canada;
              (19) since 1989, the Secretary of Agriculture has 
          prohibited the importation of live grazing animals from 
          countries where bovine spongiform encephalopathy has been found 
          in cattle;
              (20) other products derived from grazing animals, such as 
          blood meal, bonemeal, fat, fetal bovine serum, glands, meat-
          and-bone meal, and offal, are prohibited from entry, except 
          under special conditions or under permits issued by the 
          Secretary of Agriculture for scientific or research purposes;
              (21) on December 12, 1997, the Secretary of Agriculture 
          extended those restrictions to include all countries in Europe 
          because of concerns about widespread risk factors and 
          inadequate surveillance for bovine spongiform encephalopathy;
              (22) on December 7, 2000, the Secretary of Agriculture 
          prohibited all imports of rendered animal protein products from 
          Europe;
              (23) Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease is a human spongiform 
          encephalopathy;
              (24) on March 20, 1996, the Spongiform Encephalopathy 
          Advisory Committee of the United Kingdom announced the 
          identification of 10 cases of a new variant of Creutzfeldt-
          Jacob disease;
              (25) all 10 patients developed onsets of the disease in 
          1994 or 1995;
              (26) scientific experts (including scientists at the 
          Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human 
          Services, and the World Health Organization) are studying the 
          possible link (including potential routes of transmission) 
          between bovine spongiform encephalopathy and variant 
          Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease;
              (27) from October 1996 to December 2000, 87 cases of 
          variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease have been reported in the 
          United Kingdom, 3 cases in France, and 1 case in Ireland; and
              (28) to reduce the risk of human spongiform 
          encephalopathies in the United States, the Commissioner of Food 
          and Drugs has--
                      (A) banned individuals who lived in Great Britain 
                  for at least 180 days since 1980 from donating blood in 
                  the United States; and
                      (B) established regulations that prohibit the 
                  feeding of most animal-derived proteins to grazing 
                  animals.
      (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide the people of 
  the United States and Congress with information concerning--
              (1) actions by Federal agencies to prevent foot and mouth 
          disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and related 
          diseases;
              (2) the sufficiency of legislative authority to prevent or 
          control foot and mouth disease, bovine spongiform 
          encephalopathy, and related diseases in the United States;
              (3) the economic impacts associated with the potential 
          introduction of foot and mouth disease, bovine spongiform 
          encephalopathy, and related diseases into the United States; 
          and
              (4) the risks to public health from possible links between 
          bovine spongiform encephalopathy and other spongiform 
          encephalopathies to human illnesses.
  
  SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
  
      (a) Preliminary Report.--
              (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
          enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
          submit to the Committees and Subcommittees described in 
          paragraph (2) a preliminary report concerning--
                      (A) coordinated interagency activities to assess, 
                  prevent, and control the spread of foot and mouth 
                  disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the 
                  United States;
                      (B) sources of information from the Federal 
                  Government available to the public on foot and mouth 
                  disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy; and
                      (C) any immediate needs for additional legislative 
                  authority, appropriations, or product bans to prevent 
                  the introduction of foot and mouth disease or bovine 
                  spongiform encephalopathy into the United States.
              (2) Submission of report to congress.--The Secretary shall 
          submit the preliminary report to--
                      (A) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
                  Representatives;
                      (B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
                  Forestry of the Senate;
                      (C) the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
                  Development, and Related Agencies of the Committee on 
                  Appropriations of the Senate; and
                      (D) the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
                  Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related 
                  Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of the 
                  House of Representatives.
      (b) Final Report.--
              (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
          enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
          submit to the Committees and Subcommittees described in 
          subsection (a)(2) a final report that--
                      (A) discusses the economic impacts associated with 
                  the potential introduction of foot and mouth disease, 
                  bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and related diseases 
                  into the United States;
                      (B) discusses the potential risks to public and 
                  animal health from foot and mouth disease, bovine 
                  spongiform encephalopathy, and related diseases; and
                      (C) provides recommendations to protect the health 
                  of animal herds and citizens of the United States from 
                  those risks including, if necessary, recommendations 
                  for additional legislation, appropriations, or product 
                  bans.
              (2) Contents.--The report shall contain--
                      (A) an assessment of the risks to the public 
                  presented by the potential presence of foot and mouth 
                  disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and related 
                  diseases in domestic and imported livestock, livestock 
                  and animal products, wildlife, and blood products;
                      (B) recommendations to reduce and manage the risks 
                  of foot and mouth disease, bovine spongiform 
                  encephalopathy, and related diseases;
                      (C) any plans of the Secretary to identify, 
                  prevent, and control foot and mouth disease, bovine 
                  spongiform encephalopathy, and related diseases in 
                  domestic and imported livestock, livestock products, 
                  wildlife, and blood products;
                      (D) a description of the incidence and prevalence 
                  of foot and mouth disease, bovine spongiform 
  encephalopathy, variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, and related diseases 
  in other countries;
                      (E) a description and an analysis of the 
                  effectiveness of the measures taken to assess, prevent, 
                  and control the risks of foot and mouth disease, bovine 
                  spongiform encephalopathy, variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob 
                  disease, and related diseases in other countries;
                      (F) a description and an analysis of the 
                  effectiveness of the measures that the public, private, 
                  and nonprofit sectors have taken to assess, prevent, 
                  and control the risk of foot and mouth disease, bovine 
                  spongiform encephalopathy, and related diseases in the 
                  United States, including controls of ports of entry and 
                  other conveyances;
                      (G) a description of the measures taken to prevent 
                  and control the risk of bovine spongiform 
                  encephalopathy and variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease 
                  transmission through blood collection and transfusion;
                      (H) a description of any measures (including any 
                  planning or managerial initiatives such as interagency, 
                  intergovernmental, international, and public-private 
                  sector partnerships) that any Federal agency plans to 
                  initiate or continue to assess, prevent, and control 
                  the spread of foot and mouth disease, bovine spongiform 
                  encephalopathy, variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, and 
                  related diseases in the United States and other 
                  countries;
                      (I) plans by Federal agencies (including the 
                  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)--
                              (i) to monitor the incidence and prevalence 
                          of the transmission of foot and mouth disease, 
                          bovine spongiform encephalopathy, variant 
                          Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, and related diseases 
                          in the United States; and
                              (ii) to assess the effectiveness of efforts 
                          to prevent and control the spread of foot and 
                          mouth disease, bovine spongiform 
                          encephalopathy, variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob 
                          disease, and related diseases in the United 
                          States;
                      (J) plans by Federal agencies (including the 
                  Agricultural Research Service, the Cooperative State 
                  Research, Education, and Extension Service, and the 
                  National Institutes of Health) to carry out, in 
                  partnership with the private sector--
                              (i) research programs into the causes and 
                          mechanism of transmission of foot and mouth 
                          disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy; 
                          and
                              (ii) diagnostic tools and preventive and 
                          therapeutic agents for foot and mouth disease, 
                          bovine spongiform encephalopathy, variant 
                          Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, and related 
                          diseases;
                      (K) plans for providing appropriate compensation 
                  for affected animals in the event of the introduction 
                  of foot and mouth disease, bovine spongiform 
                  encephalopathy, or related diseases into the United 
                  States; and
                      (L) recommendations to Congress for legislation 
                  that will improve efforts to assess, prevent, or 
                  control the transmission of foot and mouth disease, 
                  bovine spongiform encephalopathy, variant Creutzfeldt-
                  Jacob disease, and related diseases in the United 
                  States and in other countries.
      (c) Consultation.--
              (1) Preliminary report.--In preparing the preliminary 
          report under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with--
                      (A) the Secretary of the Treasury
                      (B) the Secretary of Commerce;
                      (C) the Secretary of State;
                      (D) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
                      (E) the Secretary of Defense;
                      (F) the United States Trade Representative;
                      (G) the Director of the Federal Emergency 
                  Management Agency; and
                      (H) representatives of other appropriate Federal 
                  agencies;
              (2) Final report.--In preparing the final report under 
          subsection (b), the Secretary shall consult with--
                      (A) the individuals listed in paragraph (1);
                      (B) private and nonprofit sector experts in 
                  infectious disease, research, prevention, and control;
                      (C) international, State, and local governmental 
                  animal health officials;
                      (D) private, nonprofit, and public sector livestock 
                  experts;
                      (E) representatives of blood collection and 
                  distribution entities; and
                      (F) representatives of consumer and patient 
                  organizations and other interested members of the 
                  public.
target: Animal Disease Risk Assessment, Prevention, and Control Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to submit a preliminary report to specified congressional committees concerning: (1) interagency measures to assess, prevent, and control the spread of foot and mouth disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy ("mad cow disease") in the United States; (2) related Federal information sources available to the public; and (3) the need for any additional legislative authority or product bans.Directs the Secretary to submit a final report to such committees that discusses such diseases' economic impacts, public and animal health risks, and related legislative authority or product bans.
feat_title: A bill to provide the citizens of the United States and Congress with a report on coordinated actions by Federal agencies to prevent the introduction of foot and mouth disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy into the United States and other information to assess the economic and public health impacts associated with the potential threats presented by those diseases.