S. Rept. 105-285 - FISH AND WILDLIFE REVENUE ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 1998105th Congress (1997-1998)
Committee Report
Hide Overview icon-hide| Report Type: | Senate Report |
|---|---|
| Accompanies: | S.2094 |
| Committees: |
Report text available as:
- TXT
(PDF provides a complete and accurate display of this text.) Tip?
[Senate Report 105-285]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 522
105th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 105-285
_______________________________________________________________________
FISH AND WILDLIFE REVENUE ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 1998
_______
July 31, 1998.--Ordered to be printed
_______________________________________________________________________
Mr. Chafee, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 2094]
The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was
referred the bill (S. 2094), to amend the Fish and Wildlife
Improvement Act of 1978 to enable the Secretary of the Interior
to more effectively use the proceeds of sales of certain items,
having considered the same, reports favorably with amendments
and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
General Statement and Background
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service), in
conjunction with other Federal and State agencies, implements
and enforces the Federal laws relating to fish, wildlife and
plants in the United States. In enforcing these laws, the
Service may obtain forfeited or abandoned items derived from
fish, wildlife and plants. These items include, for example,
boots, belts, wallets, and jackets, made from skins and furs.
The large majority of items are derived from python, monitor
lizard and caiman. After being acquired by the Service, almost
all of these items are shipped to the National Wildlife
Property Repository in Commerce City, Colorado. The Repository
serves as a central location for storage and disposal of
wildlife and related property items, and currently houses
approximately 450,000 items, with another 50,000 items in
possession by the Service but stored elsewhere.
The Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act (16 U.S.C. 742l et
seq.) gives the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Commerce broad authority to dispose of the forfeited or
abandoned property in any manner that the Secretary deems
appropriate, including donation, loan, sale, or destruction.
Other laws, such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) (16
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA)
(16 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), prohibit the sale of items derived
from endangered or threatened species, marine mammals, and
migratory birds.
With respect to the sale of property, forfeited and
abandoned property receive disparate treatment under existing
law. While both forfeited and abandoned items may be sold, only
revenues generated from the sale of forfeited items go the
Service. Revenues generated from the sale of abandoned items go
to the General Treasury. This difference arises from provisions
in the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3375(d) )and the
ESA (16 U.S.C. 1540(d)), which provide that sums received from
penalties, fines, or forfeiture of property may be used to pay
rewards and costs for temporary care of fish, wildlife, or
plants pending disposition of civil or criminal proceedings.
One manner in which the Service disposes of items derived
from fish, wildlife or plants is to loan them to scientific and
educational institutions, such as schools, universities,
museums and zoos, as well as other conservation agencies, for
educational and research purposes. The Service currently runs
two programs for this purpose: Cargo for Conservation, for
schools, and Suitcase for Survival, for scientific and higher
educational institutions. The Service pays all shipping and
handling costs, approximately $50 per education kit. The
programs are relatively small: of the almost 150,000 items
received by the Repository between July 1, 1995 and December
31, 1997, the Service distributed only 7,200 items in 383
education kits to various organizations.
Under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C.
668a et seq.), the Service also loans eagle carcasses and their
parts to Native Americans for religious and ceremonial
purposes. The Service has established the National Eagle
Repository, also located at Commerce City, Colorado, to
receive, process, and distribute these items. In 1997, the
National Eagle Repository filled 1,459 requests from Native
Americans for eagles (984 requests), eagle feathers (229
requests) and other raptors (246 requests). The Service covers
all expenses associated with shipping and processing the
eagles.
Apart from these programs, the items remain in storage at
the National Wildlife Property Repository. The volume of items
received at the Repository far exceeds the amount of material
needed for scientific, educational, and related programs. The
Repository currently has more than 200,000 forfeited and
abandoned wildlife items that are surplus to the needs for
educational or scientific use and that can legally be sold.
This excludes wildlife or related property for which the sale
is prohibited by any other Federal law, such as threatened or
endangered species, marine mammals, and migratory birds.
However, abandoned items constitute approximately 90
percent of the inventory of the Repository, so that any revenue
generated from a sale of these items would go to the General
Treasury, rather than to the Service. Consequently, the Service
has no funds to sell the items, which slowly deteriorate in
storage. In fiscal year 1997, the Service received $310,000 in
appropriated funds to operate and maintain the National
Wildlife Property Repository and the National Eagle Repository.
After salaries and benefits, $61,000 remained for operations,
and of this, only $30,000 was available for the Cargo for
Conservation and Suitcase for Survival programs and loans to
Native Americans.
If the Service were to hold a sale through a public
auction, it would expect to sell the 200,000 items currently
available for sale. This represents a ten year backlog of
items, and the Service has estimated that proceeds of a sale of
these items through an auction would exceed $1 million.
Proceeds and frequency of subsequent sales will depend on
future inventories and market prices of items.
Objectives of the Legislation
S. 2094 would amend the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act
of 1978 to make proceeds from the disposal of abandoned fish,
wildlife, plants, and other property available to the
Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce. In addition, it would
expand the use of funds received pursuant to the Lacey Act, the
ESA, and the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act to pay costs
associated with appraisal, sale, storing, and shipping of
forfeited and abandoned items, as well as for rewards under the
Lacey Act and the ESA.
The purpose of this bill is only to redirect proceeds from
actions already authorized under existing law, in order to make
it financially viable for the Service to sell items derived
from fish, wildlife and plants. In deciding which of these
items should be sold, the Secretary should remain cognizant of
the purposes of fish and wildlife conservation laws. For
example, a majority of the items in the Repository that can be
sold legally are derived from species that are listed on
Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade of
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). These
species, while not necessarily threatened with extinction, may
become so in the future unless trade is subject to strict
regulation. Other species may be legally sold even though they
may be rare or declining species, or species that are likely to
become endangered or threatened in the future, such as
candidates for listing as endangered or threatened.
The Secretary should develop guidance for determining what
items should be sold. The guidance should ensure that no items
are sold that may undermine species conservation efforts
domestically or overseas. It is likely that these
determinations will most appropriately be made by relevant
biologists within the Service, such as the CITES scientific
authority. In addition, the list of items to be sold should be
made available to the public prior to the date of sale.
Section-by-Section analysis
Section 1. Short Title
This section provides that the Act may be cited as the
``Fish and Wildlife Revenue Enhancement Act of 1998.''
Section 2. Findings and purposes
This section contains the findings and purposes of the
bill. Congress finds that the Service is responsible for
storage and disposal of items derived from fish, wildlife, and
plants that have become the property of the United States, and
distributes many of these items for educational and scientific
uses, and for religious purposes of Native Americans. Unless
otherwise prohibited by law, the Service may dispose of some of
those items by sale. Congress also finds that the revenue from
the sale of abandoned items is not available to the Service,
and in making such revenue available, the Service will be able
to cover costs incurred in shipping, storing, and disposing of
these items, and to make more extensive distributions of these
items for educational, scientific, and Native American
religious purposes. The purposes of the bill are to make
proceeds from sales of abandoned items derived from fish,
wildlife, and plants available to the Service and to authorize
the use of those proceeds to cover costs incurred in shipping,
storing, and disposing of them.
Section 3. Use of proceeds of certain sales
This section amends section 3(c) of the Fish and Wildlife
Improvement Act of 1978 by providing that the Secretary of the
Interior and the Secretary of Commerce may each expend any
revenues received from the disposal of fish, wildlife, plants
or other items abandoned or forfeited to the United States
under any laws administered by either Secretary relating to
fish, wildlife, or plants, as well as all sums referred to in
the first sentence of section 11(d) of the Endangered Species
Act and the first sentence of section 6(d) of the Lacey Act
Amendments of 1981 for certain uses. These uses are: (1) to
make payments in accordance with those sections; and (2) to pay
costs associated with: shipping those items to and from the
place of storage, sale, or temporary or final disposal; storage
of those items; appraisal of those items; sale or other
disposal of those items in accordance with applicable law;
payment of any valid liens or other encumbrances on those
items; and, in the case of the Secretary of the Interior,
processing and shipping of eagles and other migratory birds for
Native American religious purposes.
The bill provides six broad categories for which funds may
be utilized. Shipping includes the cost of shipping, packaging
material, and related supplies. Storage includes species
identification, property appraisals, inventories and security.
Presently, items are manually shelved and stored on open
warehouse shelving, making them susceptible to rapid
deterioration, rodents and insects. It is expected that
proceeds would be used to improve current storage facilities
and operations. Appraisal includes costs associated with
appraisals, either by the Service or a contractor, in
preparation for a sale. Sale or disposal includes costs
associated with various means of disposing of the items, such
as auctioneer commissions or landfill fees. Payment of valid
liens and other encumbrances includes Federal payment of any
outstanding balance of a lien, in order to declare the item
property of the United States and avoid returning it to either
the lien holder or the defendant.
This section also amends section 3(c) of the Fish and
Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 to explicitly prohibit the
sale of any species of fish, wildlife, or plant, or derivative
thereof, if the sale is prohibited by another law. As
previously noted, the ESA, the MMPA, and the MBTA prohibit the
sale of endangered and threatened species, marine mammals, and
migratory birds, respectively. However, the Fish and Wildlife
Improvement Act does not explicitly refer to these laws, and
indeed, provides that all fish, wildlife, and plants or other
items abandoned or forfeited shall be disposed of by the
Secretary in such a manner as he deems appropriate,
notwithstanding any other provision of law. This new paragraph
is intended to ensure that this broad authority does not
supersede other Federal laws protecting fish, wildlife, and
plants.
The bill does not delete the phrase ``notwithstanding any
other provision of law.'' The committee refrained from deleting
this phrase because there are other Federal laws that might
inappropriately interfere with the implementation of the Fish
and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978. Significant examples are
laws relating to Government properties generally codified in
title 40 of the United States Code, and laws relating to
customs laws generally codified in title 19 of the United
States Code.
Hearings
The committee held a hearing on S. 2094 on July 7, 1998.
Testimony was received from Mr. John Rogers, Deputy Director of
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Ms. Ginette Hemley, Vice
President for Species Conservation, World Wildlife Fund; Mr.
Wayne Pacelle, Senior Vice President, The Humane Society of the
United States, and Ms. Kristin Vehrs, Deputy Director, American
Zoo and Aquarium Association.
Legislative History
S. 2094 was introduced by Senator Allard on May 20, 1998,
cosponsored by Senator Chafee, and was referred to the
Committee on Environment and Public Works. On July 22, 1998,
the committee held a business meeting to consider this bill.
Senator Allard offered an amendment to prohibit the sale of
items derived from any species of fish, wildlife or plants, or
derivative thereof, whose sale is prohibited by another Federal
law. The amendment was adopted by voice vote, and the bill, as
amended, was favorably reported by voice vote.
Regulatory Impact Statement
In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact of the bill. The bill does
not create any additional regulatory burdens, and will not have
any effect on the personal privacy of individuals.
Mandates Assessment
In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(Public Law 104-4), the Committee finds that this bill would
impose no Federal intergovernmental unfunded mandates on State,
local, or tribal governments. All of its governmental
directives are imposed on Federal agencies. The bill does not
directly impose any private sector mandates.
Cost of Legislation
Section 403 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act requires that a statement of the cost of the
reported bill, prepared by the Congressional Budget Office, be
included in the report. That statement follows:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, July 24, 1998.
Hon. John H. Chafee, Chairman,
Committee on Environment and Public Works,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2094, the Fish and
Wildlife Revenue Enhancement Act of 1998.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis
(for Federal costs), who can be reached at 226-2860.
Sincerely,
June E. O'Neill,
Director.
------
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
S. 2094, Fish and Wildlife Revenue Enhancement Act of 1998, as
ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Environment and
Public Works on July 22, 1998
CBO estimates that enacting S. 2094 would increase
offsetting receipts and direct spending (of such receipts) by
about $1 million in fiscal year 1999 and less than $100,000
annually thereafter. Because the bill would affect direct
spending, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply, but the net
impact on the federal budget would be minimal because both
offsetting receipts and spending from such collections would
increase by similar amounts each year. S. 2094 contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets
of state, local, or tribal governments.
S. 2094 would allow the Secretaries of Commerce and the
Interior to spend, without further appropriation, any
offsetting receipts earned from the sale of certain items
forfeited or abandoned to the United States under laws such as
the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act. The agencies that
administer these laws--the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) could
use the new receipts to pay for costs of storing forfeited and
abandoned goods, shipping them to and from storage facilities,
appraising their value, selling or otherwise disposing of them,
and other related activities.
Under current law, the USFWS and the NMFS may already sell
both forfeited and abandoned items. The agencies may only
retain and spend the receipts from forfeited goods, however;
receipts derived from abandoned goods are deposited into the
general fund of the Treasury from which they must be
appropriated to be spent. As a consequence, the agencies rarely
sell abandoned items. By allowing the agencies to retain and
spend the proceeds from sales of both types of items, S. 2094
would provide the incentive and means to auction off both the
existing inventory of goods and those collected in the future.
Based on information provided by the USFWS, CBO estimates that
that agency would raise additional offsetting receipts of about
$1 million in 1999 from selling the existing inventory of
abandoned goods. We estimate that future sales (once the
existing backlog has been disposed of) would bring in about
one-tenth of this amount annually. Information provided by the
NMFS indicates that the effect on its receipts and spending
would be much smaller because that agency does not generally
seize or keep the types of abandoned goods that could be sold
under the bill's authority.
The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis, who can be reached
at 226-2860. This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing
Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill
as reported are shown as follows: Existing law proposed to be
omitted is enclosed in [black brackets], new matter is printed
in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown
in roman:
United States Code
Title 16--Conservation
Chapter 9--Fish and Wildlife Service
* * * * * * *
Sec. 742l. Enforcement authority for the protection of fish
and wildlife resources.--
(a) Law enforcement training programs.--(1) In order to
provide for and encourage training, research, and development
for the purpose of improving fish and wildlife law enforcement
and developing new methods for the prevention, detection, and
reduction of violation of fish and wildlife laws, and the
apprehension of violators of such laws, the Secretary of the
Interior and the Secretary of Commerce may each--
(A) establish and conduct national training
programs to provide, at the request of any
State, training for State fish and wildlife law
enforcement personnel;
(B) develop new or improved approaches,
techniques, systems, equipment, and service to
improve and strengthen fish and wildlife law
enforcement; and
(C) assist in conducting, at the request of
any appropriate State official, local or
regional training programs for the training of
State fish and wildlife law enforcement
personnel. Such training programs shall be
conducted to the maximum extent practicable
through established programs.
(2) There are authorized to be appropriated
beginning with fiscal year 1980 such funds as may be
necessary to carry out the purposes of subsection (b)
of this section, and the Secretary of the Interior and
the Secretary of Commerce may each require
reimbursement from the States for expenditures made
pursuant to subsections (b)(1)(A) and (C) of this
section.
(b) Law enforcement cooperative agreement.--Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Interior and
the Secretary of Commerce may each utilize by agreement, with
or without reimbursement, the personnel, services and
facilities of any other Federal or State agency to the extent
he deems it necessary and appropriate for effective enforcement
of any Federal or State laws on lands, waters, or interests
therein under his jurisdiction which are administered or
managed for fish and wildlife purposes and for enforcement of
any laws administered by him relating to fish and wildlife.
Persons so designated by either Secretary, who are not
employees of another Federal agency--
(1) shall not be deemed a Federal employee and
shall not be subject to the provisions of law relating
to Federal employment, including those relating to
hours of work, competitive examination, rates of
compensation, and Federal employee benefits, but may be
considered eligible for compensation for work injuries
under subchapter III of chapter 81 of title 5;
(2) shall be considered to be investigative or law
enforcement officers of the United States for the
purposes of the tort claim provisions of title 28;
(3) may, to the extent specified by either
Secretary, search, seize, arrest, and exercise any
other law enforcement functions or authorities under
Federal laws relating to fish and wildlife, where such
authorities are made applicable by this or any other
law to employees, officers, or other persons designated
or employed by either Secretary; and
(4) shall be considered to be officers or employees
of the Department of the Interior or the Department of
Commerce, as the case may be, within the meaning of
sections 111 and 1114 of title 18.
(c) Disposal of abandoned or forfeited property.--
[Notwithstanding] (1) In general._Subject to paragraph (2),
notwithstanding any other provision of law, all fish, wildlife,
plants, or any other items abandoned or forfeited to the United
States under any laws administered by the Secretary of the
Interior or the Secretary of Commerce relating to fish,
wildlife, or plants, shall be disposed of by either Secretary
in such a manner as he deems appropriate (including, but not
limited to, loan, gift, sale, or destruction).
(2) Prohibition on sale of certain items._In
carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary of the
Interior and the Secretary of Commerce may not sell any
species of fish, wildlife, or plant, or derivative
thereof, for which the sale is prohibited by another
Federal law.
(3) Use of revenues._The Secretary of the Interior
and the Secretary of Commerce may each expend any
revenues received from the disposal of items under
paragraph (1), and all sums referred to in the first
sentence of section 11(d) of the Endangered Species Act
of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1540(d)) and the first sentence of
section 6(d) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16
U.S.C. 3375(d))--
(A) to make payments in accordance with
those sections; and
(B) to pay costs associated with--
(i) shipping items referred to in
paragraph (1) to and from the place of
storage, sale, or temporary or final
disposal, including temporary or
permanent loan;
(ii) storage of the items,
including inventory of, and security
for, the items;
(iii) appraisal of the items;
(iv) sale or other disposal of the
items in accordance with applicable
law, including auctioneer commissions
and related expenses;
(v) payment of any valid liens or
other encumbrances on the items and
payment for other measures required to
clear title to the items; and
(vi) in the case of the Secretary
of the Interior only, processing and
shipping of eagles and other migratory
birds, and parts of migratory birds,
for Native American religious purposes.
* * * * * * *