Christopher Shays: “This industry may be highly regulated by State, Federal and international governments, but because all are involved, no…”

“This industry may be highly regulated by State, Federal and international governments, but because all are involved, no one takes ownership. I had an experience with a constituent, George Smith, who was lost at sea on his honeymoon on board a cruise ship in the Mediterranean. We had hearings on this tragedy, and had people contact us with unbelievable stories of someone missing, the family never being notified, the cruise line taking the person's possessions and putting them in a lost-and-found and then selling them, of sexual assaults and thefts, and no information being provided about the crimes to the proper authorities. What this language does, the Matsui amendment, requires the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to maintain a numerical account of missing persons and alleged crimes committed on cruise ships. The database will be updated quarterly and aggregated by the cruise line industry. It requires cruise lines to include a link to this database on their public Web site. The public has a right to know about the exact circumstances that take place on board cruise ships. This is a sensible amendment. It needs to pass. And I thank her for introducing it.”