To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to allow importation of polar bear trophies taken in sport hunts in Canada before the date the polar bear was determined to be a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Cost and committee reports

Official records Congress.gov attaches to H.R. 6251.

• Constitutional authority statementThe sponsor’s statement of where the Constitution gives Congress the power to pass this bill. Statement by Mr. BEGICH, as printed in the Congressional Record (Vol. 171, No. 197, November 21, 2025, Page H4896):
  Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following provisions of the Constitution of the United States: Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 (the Commerce Clause), which grants Congress the authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations. The bill amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act to govern the importation of certain polar bear parts from Canada, an activity squarely within foreign commerce. Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 (the Necessary and Proper Clause), which authorizes Congress to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, including regulation of wildlife importation and permitting under federal law.
  Source: Congress.gov, Congressional Record November 21, 2025 ↗

  Evidence

  Field in the Congress.gov record

  constitutionalAuthorityStatementText

  Statement length

  682 characters

  Congress.gov bill record

  H.R. 6251, 119th Congress

  Congress.gov API record

  https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/119/hr/6251

  Record last updated by Congress.gov

  September 19, 2026

  PORKER copy retrieved

  September 24, 2026

  Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file

  0e89faa44dc42a9357f397dcb528d61d36fec7e319c2ca279e24d6a1567fbfcb

  PORKER shows the statement exactly as printed, with the page markup removed. It is the sponsor’s claim; it is not a legal finding.

Congress.gov’s record for this bill does not list a CBO cost estimate or a committee report (as of September 19, 2026). Not every bill gets one.

From the Congress.gov bill record for H.R. 6251, last updated September 19, 2026. PORKER’s copy was retrieved September 24, 2026 and is refreshed nightly. Open “Evidence” on any line for the record, field and file fingerprint.