To require the Secretary of the Interior to refine the Department of the Interior program for providing assistance for the conservation of neotropical migratory birds.

February 2, 2005

Mr. KIND (for himself and Mr. GILCHREST) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

To require the Secretary of the Interior to refine the Department of the Interior program for providing assistance for the conservation of neotropical migratory birds.

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 `Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Improvement Act of 2005'.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION ACT.

(a) Findings- Section 2(1) of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 6101(1)) is amended by inserting `but breed in Canada and the United States' after `the Caribbean'.

(b) Purposes- Section 3(2) of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 6102(2)) is amended by inserting `Canada,' after `United States,'.

(c) Definition of Caribbean- Section 4 of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act is amended by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) in order or paragraphs (3) and (4), and by inserting paragraph (1) the following:

`(2) CARIBBEAN- The term `Caribbean' includes Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands'.

(d) Cost Sharing- Section 5(e) of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 6104(e)) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1) by striking `25 percent' and inserting `50 percent'; and

(2) in paragraph (2) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:

`(B) FORM OF PAYMENT-

`(i) PROJECTS IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA- The non-Federal share required to be paid for a project carried out in the United States or Canada shall be paid in cash.

`(ii) PROJECTS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN- The non-Federal share required to be paid for a project carried out in Latin America or the Caribbean may be paid in cash or in kind.'.

(e) Advisory Group-

(1) REQUIREMENT TO CONVENE- Section 7(b)(1) of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 6106(b)(1)) is amended by striking `may' and inserting `shall'.

(2) DEADLINE- The Secretary of the Interior shall convene an advisory group pursuant to the amendment made by paragraph (1) by not later than 6 months after the effective date of this Act. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the schedule previously established by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for the submission, judging, and awarding of grants shall not be delayed by virtue of the convening of the advisory group.

(3) COMPOSITION- The advisory group as a whole shall have expertise in the methods and procedures set forth in section 4(2) of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C 6103(2)) in each country and region of the Western Hemisphere.

(4) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT- The provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the advisory committee required by the amendment made by paragraph (1).

(f) Report- Section 8 of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 6107) is amended by striking `October 1, 2002,' and inserting `2 years after the date of the enactment of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Improvement Act of 2005'.

(g) Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Fund-

(1) IN GENERAL- Section 9 of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 6108) is amended by striking so much as precedes subsection (c) and inserting the following:

`SEC. 9. NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION FUND.

`(a) Establishment- There is established in the Treasury a separate account, which shall be known as the `Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Fund'. The Fund shall consist of amounts deposited into the Fund by the Secretary of the Treasury under subsection (b).

`(b) Deposits Into the Fund- The Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit into the Fund--

`(1) all amounts received by the Secretary in the form of donations under subsection (d); and

`(2) other amounts appropriated to the Fund.'.

(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES- Section 9(c)(2) of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 6108(c)(2)) is amended by striking `$80,000' and inserting `$150,000'.

(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS- The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act is amended as follows:

(A) In section 4 (16 U.S.C. 6103), by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:

`(1) FUND- The term `Fund' means the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Fund established by section 9(a).'.

(B) In section 9(d) (16 U.S.C. 6108(d)), by striking `Account' and inserting `Fund'.

(4) TRANSFER- The Secretary of the Treasury may transfer to the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Fund amounts that were in the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Account immediately before the enactment of this Act.

(h) Authorization of Appropriations- Section 10 of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 6109) is amended to read as follows:

`SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

`(a) In General- There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund to carry out this Act the following amounts:

`(1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.

`(2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.

`(3) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008.

`(4) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2009.

`(b) Availability- Amounts appropriated under this section may remain available until expended.

`(c) Allocation- Of amounts appropriated under this section for each fiscal year, not less than 75 percent shall be expended for projects carried out outside the United States.

`(d) Limitation on Expenditures for Projects in Canada- Amounts appropriated under this section for a fiscal year may not be used for any project in Canada unless the amount available to carry out this Act for that fiscal year is greater than $10,000,000.'.

END