PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jul 14, 2016
Invasive Fish and Wildlife Prevention Act of 2016
This bill sets forth a regulatory process for preventing the introduction and establishment in the United States of certain injurious wildlife that is likely to cause harm to: (1) humans; (2) interests in agriculture, horticulture, or forestry; or (3) wildlife or wildlife resources.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) may: (1) designate certain wildlife as injurious, and (2) make immediate and temporary emergency designations if the injurious wildlife poses an imminent threat. Interested persons may petition the USFWS to designate wildlife as injurious.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The bill: (1) gives the Department of the Interior the primary authority to prevent the importation and sale of wildlife pathogens and harmful parasites, and (2) establishes requirements that address those pathogens and parasites.
The bill prohibits: (1) importing into the United States, or transporting between states, injurious wildlife or wildlife not in trade; and (2) possessing or releasing into the wild such wildlife.
USFWS may issue permits that authorize the importation or transport of injurious wildlife for scientific, zoological, medical research, or educational purposes.
USFWS must establish user fees for live wildlife imports.
The bill establishes civil and criminal penalties for violations.
Interior must establish a grant program for supporting states and Indian tribes in: (1) inspecting and monitoring interstate transport of wildlife, and (2) assessing risks associated with the intentional importation of wildlife.
The bill establishes the Injurious Wildlife Prevention Fund to carry out this bill. Revenues generated by user fees and penalties must be deposited into the fund.
People & committees
Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] · D–NY
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.3278 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.3278 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.3278 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.3278 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.