On the recordApril 29, 2021
I just want to make clear after Senator Lee's statement, No. 1, that I appreciate my colleagues from Alaska being as cooperative as they have been. These issues are a matter of vital consumer protection and worker safety. We are talking here about defibrillators and a requirement that there be certain minimum numbers on these ships. We are talking about bodies, tragically, having to be returned if there is a death on one of these ships. We are talking about some rights for consumers that the industry itself has approved and that we are just incorporating into this amendment and enabling the Department of Transportation to enforce. So I want to make clear that these are reasonable and, in fact, in my view, very minimal protections--a first-step, another step. I appreciate the agreement that we have been able to reach with our colleagues from Alaska on them, and I am disappointed that our colleague from Utah has objected. But I will do my best to work with them in trying to resolve Senator Lee's objection. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
