Bill Keating: “I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Tiffany) for his support, the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Luna), and the…”

“I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Tiffany) for his support, the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Luna), and the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman) for his great support on this and so many other issues we work on together. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2560, the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act of 2023. This bill is an important piece of legislation that, for the first time, provides assistance to many organizations that work to ensure the continued survival of endangered sea turtle populations in the United States. Every species of sea turtle in the United States today is considered either threatened or endangered--every single one. In my region, warming waters in the North Atlantic have wreaked havoc with the annual migration of sea turtles. Changing conditions are causing many sea turtles to become cold-stunned as they depart Cape Cod Bay in the fall during their southern migration. Having become hyperthermic, these turtles eventually wash ashore on our beaches, and sadly, they perish from exposure and predation. They perish at a rate of nearly 100 percent. There has been a sudden, shocking change in the incidence of this mortality. As the temperatures in the ocean have vacillated and gotten colder, within the 2-year period of 2020 to 2022, the amount of mortality has increased twentyfold, a dramatic increase in just a short period of time.…”