Sen. Craig To Visit Antarctica Station

Sen. Larry Craig is taking his interest in balancing the nation’s budget on a Senate Appropriations Committee visit to Antarctica.

Craig, R-Idaho, is scheduled to spend three days and two nights next week at McMurdo Station and elsewhere. The visit by committee chairman Ted Stevens of Alaska, Craig and other members follows a $70 million budget increase for construction and upgrades at Antarctic research bases.

With cuts to other federal research programs, he wanted to better understand the work being done in Antarctica, Craig said.

“Given this era of tight budgets and tough choices, I share the concern of others on the Appropriations Committee that we fund only those programs that best serve our nation’s interests,” he said.

Craig’s visit will coincide with midsummer in the Southern Hemisphere.

High temperatures will probably reach the 30s or 40s, said Rob Jensen of Moscow. He spent three summers there studying Weddell seals.

The plane will land on the Ross Ice Shelf near McMurdo Station, which is located on an island about 40 miles off the continent, Jensen said.

New Zealand serves as the take-off point. While there, Craig said he plans to visit with the island nation’s ministers to discuss agriculture, trade and commerce. The group will also visit Australia.