Alaska Representative Don Young (R) is well known for is sharp tongue and gruff personality. On Thursday, he suggested that if you let loose wolves in some congressional districts, they “wouldn’t have a homeless problem anymore.”
Forward to minute 5:00 to hear Mr. Young’s comment about homelessness.
The comment was made during a five minute exchange with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on her agency’s budget. In addition to his remarks about wolves, he accused her and the Department of the Interior of making decisions without consulting the states these decisions would impact.
While we’re on the subject of Don Young and wolves, Young supports removing gray wolves from the endangered species list and openly mocked a letter that 79 members of congress sent to Jewell urging further protection of the endangered species.
“How many of you have got wolves in your district?” he asked. “None. None. Not one.”
“They haven’t got a damn wolf in their whole district,” Young continued. “I’d like to introduce them in your district. If I introduced them in your district, you wouldn’t have a homeless problem anymore.”
In Alaska, it is legal to hunt wolves, as Sarah Palin is so ready and willing to demonstrate.
A spokesperson for Representative Young said the “analogy was purposely hyperbolic to stress the point that these predators pose serious threats to wildlife management and their listing has damaging impacts to local communities.”