Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in very strong support of H.R. 1961, legislation that my colleagues and I introduced to save the Delta Queen steamboat. And I want to particularly thank the gentleman from Missouri--St. Louis, in particular--my Democratic colleague, Lacy Clay, for his leadership on this particular issue. This legislation is basically one line. It doesn't cost a penny, and it has two very important functions. It preserves an important piece of American history, and it supports American jobs. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1961 reinstates the Delta Queen's grandfathered status--not an earmark--the grandfathered status from a law that prohibits wooden boats--which the superstructure of the Delta Queen is. The hull of it is steel--for carrying overnight passengers. The Delta Queen is actually capable of carrying up to 176 passengers comfortably overnight; and under the law as it currently exists, 50 is the cutoff point. Congress granted the Delta Queen a reprieve from this law for the last 40 years. So for 40 years, the United States Congress granted this exemption. It did so because she was constructed before the law was in place and because the law was intended for boats at sea, not riverboats--boats, oceangoing vessels at sea. It was never intended for river-faring boats like the Delta Queen. That's why the Congress granted this exemption for 40 years.…”