Marine mammal protection anyone?

Here's another example of what comes over my e-mail every day. This notice came from the office of U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, the ranking GOPer (pronounced goober) on the House National Resources Committee.

The Marine mammal Rescue Assistance Act Amendments (H.R. 1006) extends the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program, first authorized in 2000, to address the funding needs of facilities assisting the National Marine Fisheries Service with the recovery and rehabilitation of stranded marine mammals.

"This program has been very successful in supporting facilities around the nation to rehabilitate marine mammals and return many of them to the wild," Young said. "For those animals that cannot be returned to the wild, due to illness or other factors, the facilities have taken on the responsibility of caring for those marine mammals."

Facilities, like the Alaska Sea Life Center, which is the only permanent stranding facility for marine mammals in Alaska, apply for grants to help cover the cost of rehabilitating stranded marine mammals. In addition, the Administration will be authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with qualified individuals to respond while at-sea to marine mammals entangled in floating debris to prevent the stranding and or death of the animal.

Now a literal libertarian, I believe, would be obligated to call this pork spending and say private companies should do this sort of thing. That makes some sense, but I'll let my bleeding heart liberal side show itself and say I think any time we're saving animals, particularly those that are in danger solely because of something stupid or mean we humans have done, I'm all for it.

But the thing that really caught my attention in this press release was this sentence.

"While the Prescott Grant Program has been successful in these areas, there are still some areas of the country that do not have appropriate coverage. The Alaska region and the Southeast region are two examples."

Soooo

Marine mammal protection is properly funded everywhere but in Alaska and the Southeast ... that means those Idaho and North Dakota marine mammals are being properly protected but Alaska and Florida marine mammals aren't.

Hmm.

One more example of Congressional leaders in Idaho and North Dakota overstepping their authority?????

Got to be.

Let's give 'em hell peeps.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, R-North Dakota, (202) 224-2551 or senator@dorgan.senate.gov

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, (202) 224-2752.

P.S. You might want to mention that drilling thing too.