Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge the passage of the Senate amendments to H.R. 3360, the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010. The House passed H.R. 3360 on November 17 by a vote of 416-4. On June 10, 2010, the Senate passed this legislation with an amendment which is now before us for consideration today. I applaud my distinguished colleague, Congresswoman Doris Matsui, the author of H.R. 3360, for her hard work on this legislation and for her tireless work on behalf of her constituent, Ms. Laurie Dishman, and of all victims of crimes on cruise ships. As chairman of the Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, I've convened two hearings to examine the issue of crime on cruise ships. I applaud Ms. Dishman and so many other victims and family members of victims for testifying before my subcommittee and for their long effort to support the development of legislation that would help ensure no one else is a victim of a crime on a cruise ship. Almost all of the nearly 200 cruise vessels embarking and disembarking passengers in the U.S. are registered in foreign countries. As a result, when Americans step onto a cruise vessel, they are stepping onto what becomes a floating piece of another country's jurisdiction as soon as it leaves U.S. waters. All available statistics indicate that crime is rare on cruise vessels, but it does happen. Therefore, H.R.…”