OCEAN CITY, Md. — According to the National Aquarium, a piece of legislation aimed at bolstering support for endangered sea turtles, has successfully passed the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act seeks to enhance federal funding for sea turtle stranding response, rescue, rehabilitation, and release efforts. The National Aquarium says this provides essential financial backing for entities like them, who operates a Stranding Response Center in Ocean City.
Historically, while the federal government has supported similar initiatives for marine mammals, it has not established a permanent grant program for sea turtle rescue endeavors. However, leadership from Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and other bipartisan congressional leaders has led to preliminary federal funding for sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation efforts over the past two years.Â
The focus now shifts to the U.S. Senate, where the Aquarium says a companion bill is currently gaining bipartisan traction.