[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 968 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 968

   To require the Secretary of the Interior to prohibit the import, 
export, sale, purchase, and possession of bear viscera or products that 
   contain or claim to contain bear viscera, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                June 27 (legislative day, June 19), 1995

 Mr. McConnell introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Secretary of the Interior to prohibit the import, 
export, sale, purchase, and possession of bear viscera or products that 
   contain or claim to contain bear viscera, 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 ``Bear Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF BEAR VISCERA.

    In this Act, the term ``bear viscera'' means the body fluids or 
internal organs (including the gallbladder) of a species of bear.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITED ACTS.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall prohibit--
            (1) the import into the United States, or export from the 
        United States, of bear viscera or products that contain or 
        claim to contain bear viscera; and
            (2) the sale, barter, offer of sale or barter, purchase, or 
        possession with intent to sell or barter, in interstate or 
        foreign commerce, of bear viscera or products that contain or 
        claim to contain bear viscera.

SEC. 4. REPORT BY SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of 
the Treasury, shall prepare and submit to Congress a report that 
describes--
            (1) how to improve the effectiveness of the wildlife 
        monitoring and inspection program of the Department of the 
        Interior (including the computerized information system or any 
        other system of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service or 
        the United States Customs Service that records data) with 
        respect to the importation or exportation of bear viscera and 
        other bear and other wildlife body parts to and from the United 
        States; and
            (2) any plans of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
        Service to monitor the illegal movement of, or commercial 
        activity in, bear viscera or other bear body parts.

SEC. 5. DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING TRADE PRACTICES.

    The United States Trade Representative and the Secretary of the 
Interior shall--
            (1) discuss issues involving trade in bear viscera with the 
        appropriate representatives of such countries trading with the 
        United States as are determined jointly by the Secretary of 
        Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior to be the leading 
        importers, exporters, or consumers of bear viscera; and
            (2) attempt to establish coordinated efforts with the 
        countries to protect bears.

SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW.

    Nothing in this Act precludes the regulation under State law of the 
sale, barter, offer of sale or barter, purchase, or possession with 
intent to sell or barter, of bear viscera or products that contain or 
claim to contain bear viscera, if the regulation--
            (1) does not authorize any sale, barter, offer of sale or 
        barter, purchase, or possession with intent to sell or barter, 
        of bear viscera or products that contain or claim to contain 
        bear viscera, that is prohibited under this Act; and
            (2) is consistent with the international obligations of the 
        United States.
                                 <all>