Ted Poe: “I certainly believe responsible parties for this disaster in the Gulf of Mexico near my home State of Texas, should be…”

“I certainly believe responsible parties for this disaster in the Gulf of Mexico near my home State of Texas, should be held accountable to every extent of the law, and injured individuals and the families of those who have died should be compensated. However, I wish to address just one provision of this act: The detrimental effect on maritime shipping in the United States if this legislation is passed. The unintended consequences of H.R. 5503 could be widespread. Among other things, H.R. 5503 repeals the Limitation of Liability Act, which is a drastic fundamental change in American maritime law. This change would end the longstanding practice in the United States that all maritime claims be determined in one Federal forum. It also ends the limitation on U.S. vessels owners' liability, a limitation which is in place in virtually every other country in the maritime industry. The loss of this limitation will handicap U.S. ship owners in the competitive world of shipping. H.R. 5503 would cause insurance rates to spin out of control, damaging American maritime industry and putting thousands of American jobs in jeopardy. American shipping is already in serious decline. In fact, there are only 220 United States flagged vessels in a global shipping fleet of 37,000. I fear this legislation could put our remaining 220 shippers out of business.”