WASHINGTON, April 28 (UPI) -- The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill naming the bison a "historical symbol," and moving it closer to being an official national symbol.
The National Bison Legacy Act was passed in a bipartisan effort, and is expected to be passed in the Senate this week and signed by President Barack Obama. The legislation will move the animal that most Americans call buffalo, and was once near extinction in the late 1800s, into equal status with the bald eagle as a symbol of the country.