Bill Sponsor
Senate Bill 1590
116th Congress(2019-2020)
RAWR Act
Active
Active
Passed Senate on Oct 22, 2019
Overview
Text
About Linkage
Multiple bills can contain the same text. This could be an identical bill in the opposite chamber or a smaller bill with a section embedded in a larger bill.
Bill Sponsor regularly scans bill texts to find sections that are contained in other bill texts. When a matching section is found, the bills containing that section can be viewed by clicking "View Bills" within the bill text section.
Bill Sponsor is currently only finding exact word-for-word section matches. In a future release, partial matches will be included.
About Linkage
Multiple bills can contain the same text. This could be an identical bill in the opposite chamber or a smaller bill with a section embedded in a larger bill.
Bill Sponsor regularly scans bill texts to find sections that are contained in other bill texts. When a matching section is found, the bills containing that section can be viewed by clicking "View Bills" within the bill text section.
Bill Sponsor is currently only finding exact word-for-word section matches. In a future release, partial matches will be included.
S. 1590 (Introduced-in-Senate)


116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1590


To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize rewards for thwarting wildlife trafficking linked to transnational organized crime, and for other purposes.


IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

May 22, 2019

Mr. Merkley (for himself and Ms. Collins) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations


A BILL

To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize rewards for thwarting wildlife trafficking linked to transnational organized crime, 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 “Rescuing Animals With Rewards Act of 2019” or the “RAWR Act”.

SEC. 2. Findings; sense of congress.

(a) Findings.—Congress finds the following:

(1) Wildlife trafficking is a major transnational crime that is estimated to generate over $10,000,000,000 a year in illegal profits and which is increasingly perpetrated by organized, sophisticated criminal enterprises, including known terrorist organizations.

(2) Wildlife trafficking not only threatens endangered species worldwide, but also jeopardizes local security, spreads disease, undermines rule of law, fuels corruption, and damages economic development.

(3) Combating wildlife trafficking requires a coordinated and sustained approach at the global, regional, national, and local levels.

(4) Congress stated in the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–231) that it is the policy of the United States to take immediate actions to stop the illegal global trade in wildlife and wildlife products and associated transnational organized crime.

(b) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that the Department of State’s rewards program is a powerful tool in combating sophisticated international crime and that the Department of State and Federal law enforcement should work in concert to offer rewards that target wildlife traffickers.

SEC. 3. Wildlife trafficking prevention rewards program.

Subparagraph (B) of section 36(k)(5) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708(k)(5)) is amended by inserting “wildlife trafficking (as defined by section 2(12) of the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016 (16 U.S.C. 7601(12); Public Law 114–231)) and” after “includes”.