[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9637 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9637

    To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to authorize 
  intentional lethal take by certain Indian Tribes of California sea 
  lions and Steller sea lions in a specified portion of the Columbia 
                     River, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 9, 2026

  Ms. Perez introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to authorize 
  intentional lethal take by certain Indian Tribes of California sea 
  lions and Steller sea lions in a specified portion of the Columbia 
                     River, 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 ``Protecting Columbia River Salmon Act 
of 2026''.

SEC. 2. INTENTIONAL LETHAL TAKE BY CERTAIN INDIAN TRIBES OF CERTAIN 
              PINNIPEDS IN COLUMBIA RIVER.

    (a) In General.--Section 120 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 
1972 (16 U.S.C. 1389) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) Intentional Lethal Take by Certain Indian Tribes of Certain 
Pinnipeds in Columbia River.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, a covered Indian Tribe may intentionally lethally take 
        covered pinnipeds on covered waters.
            ``(2) Requirements.--With respect to the intentional lethal 
        take of covered pinnipeds on covered waters, a covered Indian 
        Tribe--
                    ``(A) may carry out such take--
                            ``(i) without limitation on--
                                    ``(I) the number of covered 
                                pinnipeds the covered Indian Tribe may 
                                take; or
                                    ``(II) when the covered Indian 
                                Tribe may take covered pinnipeds; and
                            ``(ii) notwithstanding whether the covered 
                        pinnipeds are individually identifiable; and
                    ``(B) shall carry out such take--
                            ``(i) in a manner the covered Indian Tribe 
                        determines to be humane; and
                            ``(ii) using methods the covered Indian 
                        Tribe determines appropriate.
            ``(3) Designees.--A covered Indian Tribe may designate a 
        person to intentionally lethally take covered pinnipeds on 
        covered waters in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 
        (2) on behalf of the covered Indian Tribe.
            ``(4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection may 
        be construed to limit existing Tribal rights or authorities 
        under treaties, executive orders, or other provisions of law.
            ``(5) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Covered indian tribe.--The term `covered 
                Indian Tribe' means an Indian Tribe (as such term is 
                defined in section 102 of the Federally Recognized 
                Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130)) that 
                has ancestral ties to any part of covered waters.
                    ``(B) Covered pinniped.--The term `covered 
                pinniped' means a--
                            ``(i) California sea lion (Zalphus 
                        californianus); and
                            ``(ii) Steller sea lion (Eumetopias 
                        jubatus) that is part of the Eastern Distinct 
                        Population Segment of Steller sea lions.
                    ``(C) Covered waters.--The term `covered waters' 
                means the mainstem and tributaries of the Columbia 
                River in the States of Washington and Oregon from River 
                Mile 0 to the McNary Dam.''.
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