Bear Poaching Elimination Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 9631 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 9631 To conserve global bear populations by prohibiting the importation, exportation, and interstate trade of bear viscera and bear viscera products, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 9, 2026 Mr. McCaul (for himself, Mr. Lieu, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Ms. Goodlander) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To conserve global bear populations by prohibiting the importation, exportation, and interstate trade of bear viscera and bear viscera products, 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 Poaching Elimination Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds that-- (1) all 8 extant species of bear--Asian black bear, brown bear, polar bear, American black bear, spectacled bear, giant panda, sun bear, and sloth bear--are listed in appendix I or II of CITES; (2) article XIV of CITES provides that Parties to CITES may adopt stricter domestic measures regarding the conditions for the trade, taking, possession, or transport of species listed in appendix I or II, and the Parties to CITES adopted a resolution in 1997 (Conf. 10.8) urging the Parties to take immediate action to demonstrably reduce the illegal trade in bear parts; (3) in Asia, thousands of bears are cruelly confined in small cages to be milked for their bile