,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #chb  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,february #g1       
#bjai,mr4 ,barrasso 7for himself1 ,mr4  
,bennet1 ,mr4 ,jones1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1    
,mr4 ,boozman1 ,mrs4 ,capito1 ,ms4      
,collins1 ,mr4 ,cornyn1 ,mr4 ,cramer1   
,mr4 ,enzi1 ,mrs4 ,fischer1 ,mr4        
,gardner1 ,ms4 ,hassan1 ,mr4 ,hoeven1   
,mr4 ,inhofe1 ,mr4 ,johnson1 ,mr4 ,king1
 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,manchin1 ,mr4   
,peters1 ,ms4 ,smith1 ,mr4 ,thune1 ,mr4 
,udall1 ,mr4 ,wicker1 and ,mr4 ,wyden7  
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 
and ,forestry  ,a ,,bill  ,to authorize 
a special resource study on the spread  
vectors of chronic wasting disease in   
,cervidae1 and for other purposes4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,chronic ,wasting ,disease          
,transmission in ,cervidae ,study ,act4 
#b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3  7#a7   
,academy ,the term ,academy means the   

,national ,academy of ,sciences4  7#b7  
,cervid ,the term cervid means any      
species within the family ,cervidae4    
7#c7 ,chronic wasting disease ,the term 
chronic wasting disease means the animal
 disease afflicting deer1 elk1 and moose
 populations that-- 7,a7 is a           
transmissible disease of the nervous    
system resulting in distinctive lesions 
in the brain2 and  7,b7 belongs to the  
group of diseases known as transmissible
 spongiform encephalopathies1 which     
group includes scrapie1 bovine          
spongiform encephalopathy1 and          
,creutzfeldt-,jakob disease4  7#d7      
,secretaries ,the term ,secretaries     
means-- 7,a7 the ,secretary of          
,agriculture1 acting through the        
,administrator of the ,animal and ,plant
 ,health ,inspection ,service2 and  7,b7
 the ,secretary of the ,interior1 acting
 through the ,director of the ,united   
,states ,geological ,survey4  #c4       
,chronic wasting disease transmission in
 cervidae resource study  7a7 ,study    

7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretaries shall
 enter into an arrangement with the     
,academy under which the ,academy shall 
conduct1 and submit to the ,secretaries 
a report describing the findings of1 a  
special resource study to identify the  
predominant pathways and mechanisms of  
the transmission of chronic wasting     
disease in wild1 captive1 and farmed    
populations of cervids in the ,united   
,states4  7#b7 ,requirements ,the       
arrangement under paragraph 7#a7 shall  
provide that the actual expenses        
incurred by the ,academy in conducting  
the study under paragraph 7#a7 shall be 
paid by the ,secretaries4  7b7 ,contents
 of the study ,the study under          
subsection 7a7 shall-- 7#a7 with respect
 to wild1 captive1 and farmed           
populations of cervids in the ,united   
,states1 identify--  7,a7 7i7 the       
pathways and mechanisms for the         
transmission of chronic wasting disease 
within live cervid populations and      
cervid products1 which may include      

pathways and mechanisms for transmission
 from ,canada2  7ii7 the infection rates
 for each pathway and mechanism         
identified under clause 7i72 and  7iii7 
the relative frequency of transmission  
of each pathway and mechanism identified
 under clause 7i72  7,b7 7i7            
anthropogenic and environmental factors 
contributing to new chronic wasting     
disease emergence events2  7ii7 the     
development of geographical areas with  
increased chronic wasting disease       
prevalence2 and  7iii7 the overall      
geographical patterns of chronic wasting
 disease distribution2  7,c7 significant
 gaps in current scientific knowledge   
regarding the transmission pathways and 
mechanisms identified under subparagraph
 7,a77i72 and  7,d7 for prioritization  
the scientific research projects that   
will address the knowledge gaps         
identified under subparagraph 7,c72 and 
7#b7 review and compare science-based   
best practices1 standards1 and guidance 
regarding the management of chronic     

wasting disease in wild1 captive1 and   
farmed populations of cervids in the    
,united ,states that have been developed
 by--  7,a7 the ,national ,chronic      
,wasting ,disease ,herd ,certification  
,program of the ,animal and ,plant      
,health ,inspection ,service2  7,b7 the 
,united ,states ,geological ,survey2 and
  7,c7 ,state wildlife and agricultural 
agencies1 in the case of practices1     
standards1 and guidance that provide    
practical1 science-based recommendations
 to ,state and ,federal agencies for    
minimizing or eliminating the risk of   
transmission of chronic wasting disease 
in the ,united ,states4  7c7 ,deadline  
,the study under subsection 7a7 shall be
 completed not later than #ahj days     
after the date on which funds are first 
made available for the study4  7d7 ,data
 sharing ,the ,secretaries shall share  
with the entity conducting the study    
under subsection 7a7 data and access to 
databases on chronic wasting disease    
under the jurisdiction of--  7#a7 the   

,veterinary ,services ,program of the   
,animal and ,plant ,health ,inspection  
,service2 and  7#b7 the ,united ,states 
,geological ,survey4  7e7 ,report ,on   
completion of the study1 the            
,secretaries shall submit to the        
,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 
and ,forestry1 the ,committee on ,energy
 and ,natural ,resources1 and the       
,committee on ,environment and ,public  
,works of the ,senate and the ,committee
 on ,agriculture and the ,committee on  
,natural ,resources of the ,house of    
,representatives a report that          
describes--  7#a7 the findings of the   
study2 and  7#b7 any conclusions and    
recommendations that the ,secretaries   
determine to be appropriate4