Bill Keating: “I thank the gentleman from Virginia for his leadership and his willingness to preserve resources for marine mammal…”

“I thank the gentleman from Virginia for his leadership and his willingness to preserve resources for marine mammal stranding response in the fiscal year 2013 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill. I understand that the House Report 112 463 includes language encouraging NOAA to maintain funding for essential marine mammal stranding grants. The competitive Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance grant program is a cost-effective, community-oriented program that works with stranded mammals, enables the collection of data to prevent future strandings, and deals with the practical dilemma communities face with beached dolphins weighing 200 to 500 pounds, as well as with right whales. Based on conversations with the chairman and ranking member, I will not be offering my amendment specifying this grant at this time. I look forward, rather, to working with the gentleman from Virginia towards inserting this language in conference.”