Democrats Earl Blumenauer from Oregon, and Robert Wexler, from Florida, have been joined by Illinois Republican Jerry Weller to expand existing federal prohibitions on illegal wildlife and plants.
They are supported by various environmental groups.
The congressmen said up to 30% of hardwood lumber and plywood traded globally comes from forest reserves or other fragile areas in the Peruvian Amazon or Indonesia. Using this timber also costs the US timber industry US$1bn a year in lost sales.
Mr Blumenauer conceded the bill might be difficult to pass as it would probably push up timber prices for US consumers.
The International Wood Products Association, which represents US importers, said the bill would not do much to help entrenched problems in faraway countries, while it could expose US firms to higher costs and penalties.
