Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1961 to save a historical treasure, the Delta Queen steamboat. I grew up in Kentucky's Fourth District. We have 276 miles of the Ohio River. My memories are rich with the images of this great vessel going up and down the river. These are images that my four children will never have, unless we pass this bill today. Just think of the inspiration and majesty of this ship. It's a ship that's rich with history. Her debut cruise took place on June 2, 1927. For the next 13 years, she ran overnight trips between Sacramento and San Francisco. From 1940 to 1946, she served the U.S. Navy as a floating barracks and a training facility in the San Francisco Bay. She traveled the Ohio River for 60 years. In 1966, Congress passed the Safety of Life at Seas Act. Not ``at rivers,'' but ``at seas.'' This ship was caught up in an overly broad regulation. We seek to right that wrong today. I just want to speak to the bipartisan nature of this bill. I serve on the Transportation Committee. It received overwhelming bipartisan support, and no rules were suspended to debate this bill within the committee. In fact, in 2008, as Congressman Chabot from Ohio stated, the Senate bill to extend this exemption garnered bipartisan support from Senator Mitch McConnell and then-Senator Barack Obama. Please help us save the Delta Queen by voting ``yes'' on H.R. 1961.”