To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to allow the transport, purchase, and sale of pelts of, and handicrafts, garments, and art produced from, Southcentral and Southeast Alaska northern sea otters that are taken for subsistence purposes.

Cost and committee reports

Official records Congress.gov attaches to H.R. 8401.

• 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. 172, No. 70, April 21, 2026, Page H3046):
  Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following provisions of the Constitution of the United States: Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 (the Commerce Clause), which grants Congress the authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the several States, and with Indian Tribes. This legislation amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to regulate the transport, purchase, sale, and export of certain sea otter pelts and products, activities that constitute interstate, tribal, and foreign commerce. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18 (the Necessary and Proper Clause), which authorizes Congress to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution…
  Source: Congress.gov, Congressional Record April 21, 2026 ↗

  Evidence

  Field in the Congress.gov record

  constitutionalAuthorityStatementText

  Statement length

  814 characters

  Congress.gov bill record

  H.R. 8401, 119th Congress

  Congress.gov API record

  https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/119/hr/8401

  Record last updated by Congress.gov

  September 19, 2026

  PORKER copy retrieved

  September 24, 2026

  Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file

  9ef2592afb909748725ff049f34ec784efdbdbea9af296ad664a6ae4c5c8fcbf

  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. 8401, 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.