Fire-Retardant Material Exemption Extension

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the legislation before us. While the Delta Queen may be a historic vessel, exempting her from cruise ship fire safety law sets a terrible precedent, and it puts families at risk.

Moreover, this bill is designed to help one ship in the passenger cruise market at the expense of all others.

I understand the Delta Queen has a long and a distinguished history. Since it was built in the 1920s, it carried three Presidents; it is a national historic landmark. But that is all the more reason why fire safety law is important here.

This is an old ship, made almost entirely of wood and powered by out-of-date technology, that has been in dry dock for the past 4 years and not inspected in 5 years. The Queen's antique engines and steam boilers are prone to cause a fire at any moment.

In fact, the last fire on board was in 2008. So there is good reason why the U.S. Coast Guard opposes this legislation. The boat could pose a significant danger to families staying on board overnight.

You know, the issue about on the sea, on the river, people can die on the river as well as die on the sea.

In addition to that, there is nothing in this legislation that requires the owners to implement the safety upgrades. And you know, as my colleague said, and I would take issue with him on the other side of the aisle, safety is not a red herring.

And even beyond the specific circumstances of the Delta Queen, I do not believe it is a wise policy for the Congress to get into the habit of exempting businesses from basic safety regulations; nor should we be choosing, through legislation, which cruise ship companies have to follow the rules and which do not.

There are many ways to recognize and to honor the Delta Queen's rich history on the Mississippi River. This is not the right approach. As such, I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation.

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