Title: To ensure fair treatment in licensing requirements for the export of certain echinoderms.
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
This bill: (1) exempts exporters of sea urchins and sea cucumbers that are designated as food for humans or animals or taken for recreational purposes from licensing requirements; and (2) requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to amend regulations concerning transporting wildlife to clarify that those sea urchins and sea cucumbers are fishery products exempt from the export permission requirements under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Thus, those exporters will be exempted from: (1) inspections to ensure shipments of those fishery products do not contain endangered or threatened species, and (2) related inspection fees.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2504 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2504

 To ensure fair treatment in licensing requirements for the export of 
                          certain echinoderms.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 17, 2017

  Ms. Pingree (for herself and Mr. Poliquin) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 
   addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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 ensure fair treatment in licensing requirements for the export of 
                          certain echinoderms.

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

SECTION 1. EXEMPTION OF EXPORTATION OF CERTAIN ECHINODERMS FROM 
              PERMISSION AND LICENSING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Exemption.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service shall amend section 14.92 of title 50, Code of Federal 
Regulations, to clarify that--
            (1) fish or wildlife described in subsection (b) are 
        fishery products exempt from the export permission requirements 
        of section 9(d)(1) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
        U.S.C. 1538(d)(1)); and
            (2) any person may engage in business as an exporter of 
        such fish or wildlife without procuring permission under such 
        section of that Act or an export license under subpart I of 
        part 14 of such title.
    (b) Covered Fish or Wildlife.--The fish or wildlife referred to in 
subsection (a) are members of the phylum Echinodermata that are 
commonly known as sea urchins and sea cucumbers, including products 
thereof, that--
            (1) do not require a permit under part 16, 17, or 23 of 
        title 50, Code of Federal Regulations;
            (2) are harvested in waters under the jurisdiction of the 
        United States or are processed in the United States; and
            (3) are--
                    (A) exported for purposes of human or animal 
                consumption; or
                    (B) taken in waters under the jurisdiction of the 
                United States or on the high seas for recreational 
                purposes.
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