IB 

Union Calendar No. 563 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2245 

[Report No. 116–680, Part I] 

To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to prohibit import and 

export of any species listed or proposed to be listed under such Act 

as a threatened species or endangered species, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 10, 2019 

Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

CARTWRIGHT, Mr. COHEN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. TED LIEU of California, 

Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, and Mr. MOULTON) 

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 

DECEMBER 21, 2020 

Additional sponsors: Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. KUSTER of New 

Hampshire, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. 

DEFAZIO, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. 

HASTINGS, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. DEAN, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SOTO, 

Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. QUIGLEY, 

Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL, Mr. 

BLUMENAUER, Mr. CARBAJAL, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. SCHIFF, 

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. POCAN, Mr. CONNOLLY, 

Ms. SHALALA, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. 

SCANLON, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. PASCRELL, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. 

CRIST, Ms. TITUS, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. SPANBERGER, 

Mr. YARMUTH, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. BEYER, Mr. 

LIPINSKI, Mr. FOSTER, and Mrs. LURIA


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DECEMBER 21, 2020 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with amendments 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

DECEMBER 21, 2020 

Committees on Foreign Affairs and Ways and Means discharged; committed 

to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 10, 2019] 

A BILL 

To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to prohibit 

import and export of any species listed or proposed to 

be listed under such Act as a threatened species or 

endangered species, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Conserving Ecosystems 

5 by Ceasing the Importation of Large Animal Trophies Act’’ 

6 or the ‘‘CECIL Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO PROHIBITED ACTS. 

8 Section 9(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

9 (16 U.S.C. 1538(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(3) Except as provided in section 10 of this Act, it 

12 is unlawful for any person to import into or export from 

13 the United States any sport-hunted trophy of a species list14 ed or proposed to be listed under section 4(c) as a threatened 

15 species or endangered species.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. IMPORTS OF SPORT-HUNTED TROPHIES. 

17 Section 10(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

18 (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(3) Before issuing any permit under this Act author21 izing import of any sport-hunted trophy of a species that 

22 is listed or proposed to be listed as an endangered or threat23 ened species, the Secretary must make a finding after public 

24 notice and comment pursuant to section 553 of title 5, 

25 United States Code, of whether the country where the aniVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Dec 22, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2245.RH H2245

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1 mal was killed adequately provides for the conservation and 

2 monitoring for that species, including that— 

3 ‘‘(A) a management plan for that species based 

4 on the best available science that— 

5 ‘‘(i) addresses existing threats to the species; 

6 ‘‘(ii) provides a significant conservation 

7 benefit to the species; 

8 ‘‘(iii) formally coordinates with adjacent 

9 countries to protect transboundary populations; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(iv) ensures that any take is sustainable 

12 and does not contribute to the species’ decline in 

13 either the short-term or long-term according to 

14 current population estimates derived through the 

15 use of the best available science; 

16 ‘‘(B) such management plan is being actively 

17 implemented; 

18 ‘‘(C) the country where the animal was killed 

19 demonstrates transparency, accountability, and 

20 verifiability in governance to ensure that any benefits 

21 of trophy hunting, including revenue from such tak22 ing, materially, directly and substantially benefits the 

23 conservation of that species; 

24 ‘‘(D) hunting of the species in such country en25 hances the propagation or survival of the species; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) the local community in which the trophy 

2 hunting occurs directly and substantially benefits 

3 from the hunting of the species. 

4 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding subsections (b) and (c)(2) of sec5 tion 9, no permit may be issued by the Secretary for the 

6 import of a sport-hunted trophy of an elephant or lion 

7 taken in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, or Zambia.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. PERMIT FEES FOR SPORT-HUNTED TROPHY IM9 PORTS. 

10 Section 10(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

11 (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(2)) is amended by redesignating sub12 paragraph (C) as subparagraph (D), and by inserting after 

13 subparagraph (B) the following: 

14 ‘‘(C) No permit may be issued by the Secretary under 

15 this Act for import of a sport-hunted trophy unless the ap16 plicant pays to the Secretary all administrative costs in17 curred by the United States that are associated with proc18 essing the permit application.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. TRANSPARENCY OF SPORTS-HUNTED TROPHY IM20 PORT PERMITS. 

21 Section 10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

22 (16 U.S.C. 1539(c)) is amended by inserting ‘‘The Secretary 

23 shall publish notice in the Federal Register of each applica24 tion for an exemption or permit which is made under this 

25 Act for a sport-hunted trophy of a species that is listed or 


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1 proposed to be listed as an endangered species or threatened 

2 species.’’ after ‘‘section.’’ 

3 SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE CON4 SERVATION COUNCIL. 

5 The International Wildlife Conservation Council of the 

6 United States Fish and Wildlife Service is hereby abolished. 

7 SEC. 7. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

10 of the United States shall conduct and submit to the Con11 gress a report on the results of a study of the effectiveness 

12 of trophy hunting in supporting international wildlife con13 servation efforts. 

14 (b) REPORT.—The report shall— 

15 (1) include a detailed analysis of how permit fees 

16 and other payments from hunters to government enti17 ties and hunting guides in host countries are applied 

18 to tangible actions supporting the conservation of the 

19 target species and other wildlife in such countries; 

20 (2) identify data gaps and recommend informa21 tion that hunters and host countries must submit to 

22 verify the impacts of trophy hunting on wildlife con23 servation efforts; and 


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1 (3) recommend actions that the Department of 

2 the Interior and the Congress should take to ensure 

3 that trophy hunting contributes to conservation. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to amend the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973 to strengthen protections for endangered and threatened species, as well as 

species proposed to be listed, by requiring certification by 

the Fish and Wildlife Service that any international trophy hunting of those species enhances the conservation of 

the species before any import of the trophy would be permitted, and for other purposes.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 563 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2245 

[Report No. 116–680, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to 

other purposes. threatened species or endangered species, and for or proposed to be listed under such Act as a prohibit import and export of any species listed 

DECEMBER 21, 2020 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with 

amendments 

DECEMBER 21, 2020 

Committees on Foreign Affairs and Ways and Means disprinted House on the State of the Union and ordered to be charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS