[House Report 112-308]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 112-308
======================================================================
POLAR BEAR CONSERVATION AND FAIRNESS ACT
OF 2011
_______
December 1, 2011.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 991]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 991) to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act
of 1972 to allow importation of polar bear trophies taken in
sport hunts in Canada before the date the polar bear was
determined to be a threatened species under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill
as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness
Act of 2011''.
SEC. 2. PERMITS FOR IMPORTATION OF POLAR BEAR TROPHIES TAKEN IN SPORT
HUNTS IN CANADA.
Section 104(c)(5)(D) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16
U.S.C. 1374(c)(5)(D)) is amended to read as follows:
``(D)(i) The Secretary of the Interior shall, expeditiously
after the expiration of the applicable 30-day period under
subsection (d)(2), issue a permit for the importation of any
polar bear part (other than an internal organ) from a polar
bear taken in a sport hunt in Canada to any person--
``(I) who submits, with the permit application, proof
that the polar bear was legally harvested by the person
before February 18, 1997; or
``(II) who has submitted, in support of a permit
application submitted before May 15, 2008, proof that
the polar bear was legally harvested by the person
before May 15, 2008, from a polar bear population from
which a sport-hunted trophy could be imported before
that date in accordance with section 18.30(i) of title
50, Code of Federal Regulations.
``(ii) The Secretary shall issue permits under clause (i)(I)
without regard to subparagraphs (A) and (C)(ii) of this
paragraph, subsection (d)(3), and sections 101 and 102.
Sections 101(a)(3)(B) and 102(b)(3) shall not apply to the
importation of any polar bear part authorized by a permit
issued under clause (i)(I). This clause shall not apply to
polar bear parts that were imported before June 12, 1997.
``(iii) The Secretary shall issue permits under clause
(i)(II) without regard to subparagraph (C)(ii) of this
paragraph or subsection (d)(3). Sections 101(a)(3)(B) and
102(b)(3) shall not apply to the importation of any polar bear
part authorized by a permit issued under clause (i)(II). This
clause shall not apply to polar bear parts that were imported
before the date of enactment of the Polar Bear Conservation and
Fairness Act of 2011.''.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 991, as ordered reported, is to amend
the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to allow importation
of polar bear trophies taken in sport hunts in Canada before
the date the polar bear was determined to be a threatened
species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
Background and Need for Legislation
The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) was enacted in 1972
to ensure that marine mammals are maintained at, or in some
cases restored to, healthy population levels. The original Act
established a moratorium on the taking or importing of marine
mammals and marine mammal products except for certain
activities which are regulated by permit. The MMPA defines
``take'' as ``to harass, hunt, capture, or kill or attempt to
harass, hunt capture, or kill any marine mammal.''
Under the MMPA, jurisdiction over marine mammals in the
wild is split between two agencies: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS), within the Department of the Interior, and the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), within the Department
of Commerce. FWS has jurisdiction over sea otters, polar bears,
manatees, dugongs and walrus, while NMFS has jurisdiction over
all other marine mammals.
The MMPA has been amended a number of times, with the last
and most extensive amendments occurring in 1994. The 1994 MMPA
amendments amended section 104 of the Act to allow for the
importation of polar bear trophies from Canada. The Secretary
of the Interior was authorized to issue a permit for the
importation of polar bear trophies from Canada, if the
following criteria were met: (1) the applicant provides
documents showing the polar bear was legally taken in Canada;
(2) Canada has a monitored and enforced sport hunting program,
consistent with the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar
Bears; (3) Canada's sport program is based on scientifically
sound quotas that ensure a sustainable population; and (4) the
exportation and importation of the trophy is consistent with
the provisions of the Convention on the International Trade in
Endangered Species. The Secretary of the Interior was also
authorized to charge a permit fee of up to $1,000 for each
trophy import application. The collected permitting fees were
authorized to be directed into a fund for the conservation of
polar bears in the United States and Russia.
Since 1994, Canada and FWS have successfully worked
together to ensure that imported polar bear trophies have come
from hunts conducted in a sustainable manner. Canada has
management authority over 13 of the 19 worldwide polar bear
populations. The governments in Canada that manage polar bear
hunts issue hunting quotas or ``tags'' to its Native villages
based on science-driven assessments. These villages can use a
portion of the tags for sport hunts. Hunters can pay anywhere
from $30,000 to $50,000 to the Native village for the sport
hunt privilege. After reviewing Canada's management actions,
FWS has created a list of approved polar bear populations in
Canada. At the time of the listing, six out of the 13 Canadian
polar bear populations were considered approved populations.
This approved population list guided U.S. hunters to those
populations that could sustain hunting. A hunter with a polar
bear trophy from one of these approved populations had been
able to import his or her trophy into the U.S. after paying the
importation fee. According to FWS, between 1997 and 2008, 969
trophies had been taken in Canada and imported into the U.S.,
raising $969,000 for the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Conservation
Fund.
On May 15, 2008, the Secretary of the Interior listed the
world-wide polar bear population as threatened under the
Endangered Species Act. Threatened and endangered marine
mammals are considered depleted species under the MMPA and the
Act bans the importation of depleted species. At the time of
the polar bear threatened listing, there were roughly 41
hunters, with legally hunted polar bear trophies, in the
permitting process. Under existing laws, these hunters have no
way to import the legally taken trophies into the U.S. and the
roughly $40,000 in permit fees cannot be collected for
conservation activities for the shared U.S.-Russia polar bear
population.
H.R. 991 would amend section 104(c)(5)(D) of the MMPA to
allow the Secretary of the Interior to issue permits to those
eligible hunters with legally taken polar bear trophies from
approved populations prior to the May 15, 2008, ESA listing. As
a result of this legislation, approximately $40,000 would be
available for the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Conservation Fund to
support conservation activities for the shared U.S.-Russia
polar bear population.
Committee Action
H.R. 991 was introduced on March 9, 2011, by Congressman
Don Young (R-AK). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs. On May 12,
2011, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On October
5, 2011, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider
the bill. The Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and
Insular Affairs was discharged by unanimous consent.
Congressman Don Young (R-AK) offered amendment designated .001.
Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) offered an amendment to the
Young amendment; the amendment was ruled non-germane. The
amendment offered by Mr. Young was adopted by voice vote. The
bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the
House of Representatives by voice vote.
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 991--Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act of 2011
H.R. 991 would require the Secretary of the Interior to
issue permits to hunters seeking to import polar bear remains
from Canada that were acquired during hunts that took place
prior to the polar bear being listed as a threatened species
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Thus, only hunters who
submitted applications for permits to import such remains prior
to May 15, 2008, the date the polar bear was listed under ESA,
would be eligible to receive a permit under the bill.
Based on information from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, CBO estimates that processing and issuing the roughly
40 permits that would be affected by the legislation would have
a negligible impact on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 991
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 991 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.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. Based on
information from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, CBO
estimates that processing and issuing the roughly 40 permits
that would be affected by the legislation would have a
negligible impact on the federal budget.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill, as ordered reported, is to amend the
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to allow importation of
polar bear trophies taken in sport hunts in Canada before the
date the polar bear was determined to be a threatened species
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
Earmark Statement
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, 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):
MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT OF 1972
* * * * * * *
TITLE I--CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF MARINE MAMMALS
* * * * * * *
PERMITS
Sec. 104. (a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(c)(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(5)(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(D) The Secretary of the Interior shall, expeditiously after
the expiration of the applicable 30 day period under subsection
(d)(2), issue a permit for the importation of polar bear parts
(other than internal organs) from polar bears taken in sport
hunts in Canada before the date of enactment of the Marine
Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994, to each applicant who
submits, with the permit application, proof that the polar bear
was legally harvested in Canada by the applicant. The Secretary
shall issue such permits without regard to the provisions of
subparagraphs (A) and (C)(ii) of this paragraph, subsection
(d)(3) of this section, and sections 101 and 102. This
subparagraph shall not apply to polar bear parts that were
imported before the effective date of this subparagraph.]
(D)(i) The Secretary of the Interior shall, expeditiously
after the expiration of the applicable 30-day period under
subsection (d)(2), issue a permit for the importation of any
polar bear part (other than an internal organ) from a polar
bear taken in a sport hunt in Canada to any person--
(I) who submits, with the permit application, proof
that the polar bear was legally harvested by the person
before February 18, 1997; or
(II) who has submitted, in support of a permit
application submitted before May 15, 2008, proof that
the polar bear was legally harvested by the person
before May 15, 2008, from a polar bear population from
which a sport-hunted trophy could be imported before
that date in accordance with section 18.30(i) of title
50, Code of Federal Regulations.
(ii) The Secretary shall issue permits under clause (i)(I)
without regard to subparagraphs (A) and (C)(ii) of this
paragraph, subsection (d)(3), and sections 101 and 102.
Sections 101(a)(3)(B) and 102(b)(3) shall not apply to the
importation of any polar bear part authorized by a permit
issued under clause (i)(I). This clause shall not apply to
polar bear parts that were imported before June 12, 1997.
(iii) The Secretary shall issue permits under clause (i)(II)
without regard to subparagraph (C)(ii) of this paragraph or
subsection (d)(3). Sections 101(a)(3)(B) and 102(b)(3) shall
not apply to the importation of any polar bear part authorized
by a permit issued under clause (i)(II). This clause shall not
apply to polar bear parts that were imported before the date of
enactment of the Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act of
2011.
* * * * * * *