Sheila Jackson Lee: “Let me, first of all, thank the Rules Committee for making my amendment in order. Let me also thank Mr. Wittman and Mr.…”

“Let me, first of all, thank the Rules Committee for making my amendment in order. Let me also thank Mr. Wittman and Mr. Beyer for their leadership on this issue. Let me state for the record that I am from Texas, where there are many fishermen, many hunters, and many sportsmen and -women, but we are also a people that understand unto whom much is given, much is expected. My amendment speaks to that very issue. My amendment No. 3 strikes title III of the underlying bill that creates a loophole in the Marine Mammal Protection Act that would allow a handful of hunters to import polar bear trophies into the United States. Let me provide for my colleagues a simple bit of information. Most people do not know, but polar bears are officially classified as marine mammals and, as such, are included under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. They are also listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, affording the iconic animals further protection against hunting, trapping, and capturing. Over the last few years, these laws did not stop a handful of wealthy individuals from flying up to Canada to bag a trophy polar bear for their collection back home, even though they were warned that U.S. law would prohibit the importation of skins, heads, and other products from bears that they were hunting.…”