[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 175 (Thursday, December 3, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S8426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       NATIONAL BISON LEGACY ACT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of 
S. 2032 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2032) to adopt the bison as the national mammal 
     of the United States.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third 
time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and 
laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 2032) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 
was read the third time, and passed, as follows:

                                S. 2032

       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 ``National Bison Legacy Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) bison are considered a historical symbol of the United 
     States;
       (2) bison were integrally linked with the economic and 
     spiritual lives of many Indian tribes through trade and 
     sacred ceremonies;
       (3) there are more than 60 Indian tribes participating in 
     the Intertribal Buffalo Council;
       (4) numerous members of Indian tribes are involved in bison 
     restoration on tribal land;
       (5) members of Indian tribes have a combined herd on more 
     than 1,000,000 acres of tribal land;
       (6) the Intertribal Buffalo Council is a tribal 
     organization incorporated pursuant to section 17 of the Act 
     of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ``Indian 
     Reorganization Act'') (25 U.S.C. 477);
       (7) bison can play an important role in improving the types 
     of grasses found in landscapes to the benefit of grasslands;
       (8) a small group of ranchers helped save bison from 
     extinction in the late 1800s by gathering the remnants of the 
     decimated herds;
       (9) bison hold significant economic value for private 
     producers and rural communities;
       (10) according to the 2012 Census of Agriculture of the 
     Department of Agriculture, as of 2012, 162,110 head of bison 
     were under the stewardship of private producers, creating 
     jobs and providing a sustainable and healthy meat source 
     contributing to the food security of the United States;
       (11) on December 8, 1905, William Hornaday, Theodore 
     Roosevelt, and others formed the American Bison Society in 
     response to the near extinction of bison in the United 
     States;
       (12) on October 11, 1907, the American Bison Society sent 
     15 captive-bred bison from the New York Zoological Park, now 
     known as the ``Bronx Zoo'', to the first wildlife refuge in 
     the United States, which was known as the ``Wichita Mountains 
     Wildlife Refuge'', resulting in the first successful 
     reintroduction of a mammal species on the brink of extinction 
     back into the natural habitat of the species;
       (13) in 2005, the American Bison Society was reestablished, 
     bringing together bison ranchers, managers from Indian 
     tribes, Federal and State agencies, conservation 
     organizations, and natural and social scientists from the 
     United States, Canada, and Mexico to create a vision for the 
     North American bison in the 21st century;
       (14) there are bison herds in National Wildlife Refuges and 
     National Parks;
       (15) there are bison in State-managed herds across 11 
     States;
       (16) there is a growing effort to celebrate and officially 
     recognize the historical, cultural, and economic significance 
     of the North American bison to the heritage of the United 
     States;
       (17) a bison is portrayed on 2 State flags;
       (18) the bison has been adopted by 3 States as the official 
     mammal or animal of those States;
       (19) a bison has been depicted on the official seal of the 
     Department of the Interior since 1912;
       (20) the buffalo nickel played an important role in 
     modernizing the currency of the United States;
       (21) several sports teams have the bison as a mascot, which 
     highlights the iconic significance of bison in the United 
     States;
       (22) in the 2nd session of the 113th Congress, 22 Senators 
     led a successful effort to enact a resolution to designate 
     November 1, 2014, as the second annual National Bison Day; 
     and
       (23) members of Indian tribes, bison producers, 
     conservationists, sportsmen, educators, and other public and 
     private partners have participated in the annual National 
     Bison Day celebration at several events across the United 
     States and are committed to continuing this tradition 
     annually on the first Saturday of November.

     SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADOPTION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN 
                   BISON AS THE NATIONAL MAMMAL.

       The mammal commonly known as the ``North American bison'' 
     is adopted as the national mammal of the United States.

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