Doris Matsui: “Over 10 million Americans travel on cruise lines each year. Unfortunately, many are unaware that they are at risk of…”

“Over 10 million Americans travel on cruise lines each year. Unfortunately, many are unaware that they are at risk of being victims of crime while on their vacations. And, it concerns me even more that these victims have inadequate access to assistance or law enforcement in the aftermath of a crime. In recent years, the media has reported on a number of high-profile cases of passengers falling overboard, passengers going missing, and passengers being raped and sexually assaulted. Sadly, many of these cases remain unresolved, and the perpetrators of sexual violence and other violent crimes on cruise ships are rarely brought to justice. I became personally involved after a constituent of mine, Laurie Dishman, came to me for assistance after she had been a victim of a violent crime on a cruise ship. As a result of continued cases of crimes on the high seas, and with the leadership of Chairman Cummings, this Congress has held two hearings on safety on cruise ships. We learned that we must take action to inform people of exposure to risk while on cruise vacations. Mr. Chairman, sometimes even cruise ships need sunshine. Our amendment seeks to do just that by requiring the Coast Guard to post on-line the number of deaths, missing persons, and reported crimes committed on cruise ships. The amendment also requires cruise lines to include a link to this data base on their public web sites.”